Cooperative Development Program (CDP) Overview
USAID supports overseas cooperative development in partnership with US cooperative development organizations (CDOs). The CDP is a competitive grant program that responds to the needs of local, host country cooperatives and other member-owned businesses by utilizing the expertise and resources of long-established U.S. cooperative organizations, their members, and volunteers.
Cooperatives (co-ops) are member-owned, democratically-governed enterprises. They allow members to direct and control their own development while directing increased returns to them.
The program focuses on developing, implementing and extending workable solutions to key cooperative development challenges, including:
- Restrictive cooperative law and regulation
- Policy-based governance
- Raising member financial participation as a major element in self-reliance
- Achieving scale consistent with quality
- Reducing the dependency that can result from external assistance
The program's public outreach also helps raise U.S. cooperative and member awareness of international development efforts.
Program Purpose and Objectives:
- The purpose of the Cooperative Development Organization (CDO) Program is to strengthen the development of cooperative systems overseas by:
- Promoting the growth of cooperative systems in developing and transitional economies
- Enhancing cooperative performance through technical assistance, training, and advisory services
- Encouraging the establishment of long-term partnerships between U.S. CDOs and host country cooperatives
- Expanding support for international cooperative development activities from U.S. cooperatives and their members
- Broadening the U.S. CDO development resource funding base and encourage long-term sustainability of cooperative development activities overseas
Current programs focus on credit, housing, agribusiness, technology transfer, democratic institutions, rural telecommunications and electrification, private enterprise development, and insurance protection. The current program began in mid-2004 and will end in 2010. A FY2009 Request for Applications will be issued in the fall of 2009.
Contact Person:
Tom Carter, Technical Advisor, Cooperative Development Program, Private and Voluntary Cooperation Division, Office of Development Partners, USAID E-Mail: thcarter@usaid.gov
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