International Research Colloquium on Cooperatives

Trento, Italy

In celebration of the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives, our institutional member EURICSE, in collaboration with the International Cooperative Alliance Global Committee on Cooperative Research (ICA CCR), EMES International Research Network, CIRIEC International, and the University of Trento is organizing a Thematic Research Colloquium on Cooperatives.

This colloquium complements a series of conferences already scheduled for the International Year of Cooperatives, including events organized by CIRIEC, EMES, the European Commission, ICA, and other key organizations. The event aims to shine a spotlight on the positive impact of cooperatives and the broader social and solidarity economy while fostering academic exchange and advancing cooperative enterprise knowledge during this global celebration.

Colloquium Rationale

The primary goal of the International Research Colloquium on Cooperatives is to stimulate the co-design of shared research agendas by scholars and their networks. These networks are already engaged in investigating the roles, impact, limitations, and potential of cooperatives, drawing from various disciplines such as economics, law, sociology, management, political science, history, geography, and others.

The colloquium will provide an opportunity for participants to discuss and collaborate on cooperative research, focusing on diverse geographic regions, including Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and Africa.

Key Objectives 

Drawing on the research findings achieved so far, participants will:

• Reflect on the capacity and limitations of cooperatives in addressing pressing global challenges.
• Critically discuss new research avenues to explore in the coming years, both for individual scholars and the wider cooperative research community.
• Explore the differences and similarities across the participating networks, focusing on:
  • Research topics and areas of focus
  • Methodologies, theories, and funding mechanisms
  • Organizational structures and institutional support

 Participation

Each co-organizing institution depends on its members to represent and actively participate, and EMES is no exception. Ten EMES members who have expressed interest will represent our network at this important colloquium.