Co-op Involvement in Public Policy

摘要

Every day elected and appointed government officials make public policy decisions that have an impact on the way cooperatives and their members do business. Yet most cooperatives have little or nothing in the way of plans to influence those decisions. The report focuses on how a cooperative can develop a program to make members' voices heard in the public policy arena. The suggestions were developed from numerous interviews with representatives of cooperatives that have effective public policy programs, and trade association officials. The report describes the roles members, directors, managers, staff, and outside advisers can play in the policy process. Its purpose is to encourage cooperatives to develop public policy programs as a tool to improve the environment in which they provide services to their members.