It has been my responsibility and pleasure to chair the Alliance's Principles Committee that has overseen the drafting and publication of these Guidance Notes on the Co-operative Principles.

The Principles are an integral part of the Alliance's Statement on the Co-operative Identity and must be understood within its context. The Co-operative identity is two dimensional. The first is that a co-operative is an association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations. The second is that these needs and aspirations are met through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

The seven Co-operative Principles are the internationally agreed foundational principles that, when applied to the day-to-day governance and management of co-operative enterprises, enables them achieve the objective of meeting their members' needs and aspirations. The Principles are not inscribed in stone, nor are they rigid rules to be followed; they are the sound ethical principles to be applied with vision and proportionately according to the national economic, cultural, social, legal and regulatory context and particularities within which each co operative enterprise operates. A co-operative is the only form of entrepreneurship organisation with such an international agreed and recognised definition, values and principles. The Principles make a valuable difference.

These Guidance Notes give detailed guidance and advice on the practical application of the Principles to co-operative enterprise. Their primary audience is the upcoming generation of co operative leaders: the Notes aim to encapsulate the knowledge and expertise of the current generation of co-operators for the benefit of the next. They aim to help co-operative members, leaders and managers to run their co-operatives more efficiently and effectively. We also hope that they will be a world-wide resource for co-operative educators and learners and for others seeking to understand how the Principles are to be applied in practice.

The process the Principles Committee oversaw to produce the Guidance Notes has been an exhaustive and collaborative one. We first asked international experts to produce discussion drafts for each Principle. These were considered in depth by the Principles Committee with David Rodgers, former President of Co-operative Housing International, who we commissioned to edit the drafts in the light of the Principles Committee's discussions and to ensure that each Note was consistent in structure, style and use of language. Following consideration by the Alliance's Board, Regional Offices, and Sectoral Organisations, revised drafts were published for wide global consultation with Alliance members and others who wished to comment. This was a genuine consultation exercise; every response was duly considered and, where appropriate, further amendments made to produce the Guidance Notes in this book.

These Guidance Notes too are not inscribed in stone or set in aspic. They are a statement of our understanding of the Principles now, but they are living documents, not static. The Principles and our guidance on their application may evolve again as the co-operative movement evolves and meets new challenges and opportunities. These guidance Notes aim to state our understanding of the application of the Principles in contemporary terms for the 21st century.

I trust that you will gain understanding and inspiration from them.

Jean-Louis Bancel,
Chair, Principles Committee