CANADIAN CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION SEEKS INNOVATORS IN CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNANCE

The Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) launched today a call for entries for its inaugural Innovation in Co-operative Governance Awards.

These awards will recognize governance innovation and excellence in co-operatives and credit unions across Canada. The awards seek to showcase the movement’s strengths in the area of governance and provide the opportunity for co-op and credit union boards to learn from each other.

CCA established a Good Governance Committee in early 2007 and tasked them with the dual objectives of overseeing the development of governance indicators to measure effective and distinctive co-operative governance, and to oversee the awards process. The Committee is comprised of leading governance academics, experts, regulators and serving board members from the co-operative and credit union system.

“We know, as a system, that our governance practices and processes are some of the most robust in Canada and by benchmarking our practices we can continue to strengthen them further,” says CCA President Dave Sitaram. “The excellent work put in by the Good Governance Committee and CCA staff has created a robust framework to measure excellence and innovation across our system. I urge directors and managers alike to support these Awards and submit an application.”

The Awards criteria are based on three factors: overall governance excellence; effective co-operative governance practices; and innovation in governance. Applicants will be required to complete a questionnaire on their co-op’s/credit unions’ governance practices. The questionnaire responses are used by the judges to benchmark selected indicators of co-operative governance as part of the evaluation process.

The awards are broken down by category – Large, Medium and Small – and are based on membership numbers.

The closing date for applications is January 31, 2008.

The winners will be announced at the CCA Annual General Meeting in Winnipeg in June 2008.

For further details on how to apply and the Awards Guidance Notes please go to CCA’s dedicated governance website – www.governance.coop.

The Canadian Co-operative Association is a national association for co-operatives in Canada, representing more than seven million co-operative and credit union members from over 2,000 organizations. CCA members come from many sectors of the economy, including finance, insurance, agri-food and supply, wholesale and retail, housing, health and the service sector. CCA provides leadership to promote, develop, and unite co-operatives and credit unions for the benefit of people in Canada and around the world.