Researchers

The interdisciplinary research team included some 15 academics from universities across the country. These researchers have expertise in the areas of co-operatives, Aboriginal cultures and business, agriculture, agricultural economics, business administration, Canadian and co-operative history, communications, globalization, political studies, sociology, rural sociology. The interdisciplinary approach to the research and the active participation of the partner organizations creates a rich and vibrant research environment in which to study co-operative membership and social cohesion.

The team included two historians, two political scientists, three sociologists, two management and marketing specialists, two Aboriginal scholars, two specialists in communications and culture, and two economists. A majority have done previous interdisciplinary work concerning co-operatives and several have previously collaborated with other members of this team.

Brett Fairbairn, University of Saskatchewan, principal investigator, is an historian of co-operatives, co-operative thought, and democratic politics, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, a university-industry joint venture. (Project Manager; Clusters 2 and 4; lesser role in Clusters 1 and 3).

Morris Altman, University of Saskatchewan, co-investigator, studies behavioural economics with a focus on co-operation among economic agents and economic and social justice. He is editor of the Journal of Socio-Economics and associate editor of the Journal of Economic Psychology. (Cluster 1)

Leslie Brown, Mount Saint Vincent University, co-investigator, is a sociologist specializing in co-operative democracy and participation, social auditing, and the practice of social responsibility in co-operatives. (Clusters 1 and 2)

Mario Carrier, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, co-investigator, is holder of the Chaire Desjardins en développement des petites collectivités and a member of the department of management sciences. (Cluster 2)

Cristine de Clercy, University of Saskatchewan, co-investigator, studies leadership, democracy, and federated organizations and is a political scientist. (Clusters 1 and 2)

William Coleman, McMaster University, co-investigator, directs the Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition and holds a Canada Research Chair in Global Governance and Public Policy. He is a political scientist with an interest in business policy. (Project Co-ordination Group; Cluster 3)

Isobel Findlay, University of Saskatchewan, co-investigator, is a humanist trained in language and literary study, now working in a department of management on Aboriginal business and postcolonial models of the firm. (Clusters 3 and 4)

Murray Fulton, University of Saskatchewan, co-investigator, is an agricultural economist and a leading authority on current changes in agricultural co-operatives. (Clusters 1 and 4)

Michael Gertler, University of Saskatchewan, co-investigator, studies the sociology of co-operation and rural development. (Clusters 1 and 2)

Lou Hammond Ketilson, University of Saskatchewan, co-investigator, is one of Canada's leading specialists in co-operative management and marketing. (Clusters 3 and 4)

Benoît Lévesque, Université du Québec à Montréal, co-investigator, is a historical sociologist and co-ordinator of CRISES (Collectif de Recherche sur les Innovations Sociales dans les Entreprises et les Syndicats), a large inter-university research network. (Project Co-ordination Group; Cluster 2)

Ian MacPherson, University of Victoria, co-investigator, is a world authority on co-operatives, a historian of Canada, and director of the B.C. Institute of Co-operative Studies. (Project Co-ordination Group; Clusters 3 and 4)

George Melnyk, University of Calgary, co-investigator, is a writer known for his books on co-operatives, community, and Western Canadian regional identity. (Cluster 1)

David Newhouse, Trent University, co-investigator, is a specialist in Aboriginal economic development. (Cluster 3)

Wanda Wuttunee, University of Manitoba, co-investigator, brings research expertise in Aboriginal culture and business management. (Cluster 3)

Mark Lyons, is a collaborator representing the Australian Centre for Co-operative Research and Development, an industry-academic partnership. (Cluster 4)

For additional information about the reserach project please contact Allison Muri, Project Manager,Centre for the Study of Co-operatives. Phone: 306.966.7917 or fax: 306.966.8517.