Co-operative researchers, educators, practitioners and organisations have access to a new tool that aims to support access to, and the sharing of, knowledge and research on co-operatives.
PortailCoop is a digital platform developed and managed by the Institut international des coopératives Alphonse-et-Dorimène-Desjardins (IICADD) at HEC Montréal, and is the result of a new partnership with the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA).
The two organisations signed a memorandum of understanding in November to “strengthen the sharing, accessibility and dissemination of knowledge on co-operatives and mutuals worldwide”.
PortailCoop provides access to more than 37,000 resources in 36 languages, covering over 150 years of co-operative history and drawing on content from 84 countries. It brings together resources from more than 4,100 organisations, including over 10,000 organisational reports, more than 500 practical tools and around 900 audio and video resources. Registration is free and open to all, giving users access to all the platform’s resources.
“PortailCoop was created to make knowledge on co-operatives and mutuals more visible, accessible and shared,” says Inmaculada Buendia Martinez, director of PortailCoop, IICADD. “By bringing together research, resources, and the achievements and experiences of co-operative organisations from around the world, the platform helps connect knowledge with those who can use it in practice.
“Through our collaboration with the ICA, we hope to broaden the reach of this knowledge and foster even greater exchange across the co-operative movement worldwide.”
Under the project, co-operative organisations and individuals will be encouraged to contribute by sharing knowledge through PortailCoop. It also aims to strengthen connections between knowledge produced through research and the experience and expertise of co-operative practitioners worldwide.
The collaboration also builds on the ICA’s 2026–2030 strategy, “Practice, Promote, Protect”, which recognises the importance of data, knowledge, evidence, and research in strengthening the co-operative movement, supporting informed decision-making and increasing its visibility and influence.
“Sound research is the cornerstone of building a co-operative body of knowledge based on evidence and rigorous methodologies,” says Cynthia Giagnocavo, global chair of the ICA Committee on Cooperative Research (ICA CCR).
“Co-operative education and management depend on it. The ICA Committee on Cooperative Research, a cross-cutting thematic committee of the ICA which is present across the globe and in all four regions, welcomes the role that PortailCoop will play in consolidating accessible co-operative knowledge and research.”
Researchers, educators, practitioners, and co-operative organisations around the world are now invited to contribute research, publications, reports, and other resources to PortailCoop, helping make co-operative knowledge more accessible and strengthening the connections between research and practice.
Find out more at portailcoop.hec.ca
