Transformative Cooperative Law Research: Early Career Researchers Agenda and Priorities for and Post 2025

The problems of restrictive, non-conducive and fragmented cooperative policies and legal frameworks have, for a long time, been reported in most developing countries. These have, in one way or the other, affected cooperative enterprises operations and ultimately sustainability. Laws, in some countries, have existed for a long time without any substantive changes. Besides, the role of cooperative law research as a driving force for solutions for these problems has not been sufficiently explored. Significantly, the nexus between cooperative law studies and human socio-economic needs pointed out in the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030 is unsatisfactorily underlined. It is hard, today, for example in some Anglophone African countries, because of existing restrictive and static cooperative laws, to establish cooperatives that can engage into clean energy harnessing, natural resources preservation, online service provision (platform cooperatives), as well as professional services. This is notwithstanding the two times specific reference to cooperatives as important private sector actors in realisation of UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Globe has neither been into a serious discussion on role of cooperative law research for sustainable cooperative operations and ultimately members’ livelihood nor has it set agenda for cooperative law research and priority areas. It is on the basis of the issues aforementioned that the Panel is thought of and considered timely and imperative. The Panel seeks to deliberate on cooperative law research agenda and priorities for 2025 and beyond. It targets agenda and priorities that can be utilised by, inter alia, early career researchers in pursuit of cooperative enterprises transformative change for justice, sustainability, and prosperity. It is a forum where cooperative law researchers can dwell into the identification of cooperative law research agenda for developed and developing countries and respective priority areas. The discussion will uniquely focus on transformative cooperative law research divulging priority areas for 2025 and after. Discussions will include cooperative law research issues and priorities, areas for transformation and priorities, implementation and monitoring strategies. The Panel will ultimately come up with transformative cooperative law research agenda and their priorities. These will be used as means to strengthening existing legal environment and creating conducive ones. It is proposed to be held in the year 2025 which has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Cooperatives alongside the ICA Global Research Conference scheduled to take place in Montreal, Canada between 8-11 July 2025. The ICA Global Research Conference is an important avenue for early career researchers to harness best practices and emerging areas for cooperative research from deliberations with prominent cooperative researchers and practitioners. The ICA Global Research Conference emphasise on the importance of inter-cooperation in driving transformative change for justice, sustainability, and prosperity. The diverse and pervasive research themes selected offers vast opportunity for early career researchers to learn and subsequently join hands and minds in addressing common issues generally against mankind and specifically against all types of cooperatives and their members.