This guide has sought to provide an overview of why data on co-operatives should be collected, and particularly how such data should be collected. There are many aspects of co-operatives that are important to monitor. The point of view of the ILO opens interesting questions on the measurement of the employment and membership dimensions, highlighting in particular the complexity of the process of collecting this type of data both from the methodological and operational points of view. The discussion of this data collection process is ongoing and involves national statistical offices; the goal is to arrive at international standards that allow for the production of solid and internationally comparable data. It will take a few years for the results of this effort to be visible, but the interest aroused by this discussion bodes well for the future.

The Alliance offers several reasons why data should be gathered on co-operatives, highlighting the need to obtain data in order to promote the role of these organizations both nationally and internationally. Ac- cording to the Alliance, understanding the true quantitative and qualitative volume of the global co-operative economy is essential to their advocacy efforts. For this reason, high-quality data are essential, and the World Co-operative Monitor is an example of the work undertaken by the Alliance. By recognizing that a lack of accurate knowledge concerning the economic and social impact of co-operatives affects the view of how important these organizations are, the World Co-operative Monitor project intends to promote an improved methodology for data collection and analysis of co-operatives worldwide.

To summarize, this chapter has shown a strong need for methodologically robust, internationally comparable, and regularly updated data to elucidate the role and importance of co-operatives. Achieving this objective is not simple, and it will require a huge amount of work by both the co-operatives and researchers. To provide some examples of how to implement data collection, the next few chapters will present some case studies on countries that have launched nationwide, systematic data collection projects related to co-operatives in recent years.