Measuring cooperatives in Türkiye and beyond: Webinar on global and national progress on cooperative statistics

On November 5, 2024, the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences in Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University hosted a webinar to examine global and national advancements in cooperative statistics. The online event gathered prominent experts to discuss the application of international standards on labour statistics to cooperatives and their implementation in Türkiye.

Welcome and Context

Prof. Dr. Hatice Hicret Özkoç, Vice Rector and Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, delivered the opening remarks, underlining the crucial role of cooperative statistics in shaping informed economic and social policies. She emphasized universities' contribution to fostering dialogue and research in sustainable development and social solidarity economy (SSE) frameworks. Prof. Dr. Aylin Çiğdem Köne moderated the session, facilitating an engaging discussion on cooperative statistics' role in advancing policy-making and global collaboration.

Where are we at

The Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives were adopted at the 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in October 2018, which were then approved by the Governing Body of the ILO in March 2019. The guidelines are a first step toward an international norm on statistics of cooperatives. The Guidelines cover concepts and definitions, types of cooperatives, statistical units, and other relevant topics, including work in cooperatives. The Guidelines also contains information on ways of collecting, tabulating, and analysing statistical data on cooperatives. 

At a time when evidence-based policymaking is crucial, cooperative statistics provide the data that brings cooperatives' work to light, measuring their contributions to economic growth, job creation, and social development. Attended by over 50 participants, including policy makers, researchers, and practitioners, refining the international guidelines concerning statistics of cooperatives, adopted at the 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in 2018. The first phase of the project, on Advancing the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives, conducted five country case studies in Costa Rica, Italy, the Republic of Korea, Tanzania, and Türkiye to understand the applicability of the Guidelines. The country case studies were supported by one global and five national advisory committees. In 2023, these findings were presented and discussed at the 21st ICLS. A proposed roadmap for developing social and solidarity economy (SSE) statistical guidelines was also introduced, discussed, and agreed upon at the ICLS.

Insights from Global and National Experts

The webinar highlighted both achievements and challenges, focusing on the integration of data systems and alignment with international standards. Mr Mustafa Hakkı Özel, a retired expert from the ILO Statistics Department, reflected on Türkiye’s journey in cooperative statistics, including legal frameworks, policies, and the socio-economic impact of cooperatives. He stressed the role of ILO conventions like Recommendation No. 193 and Guidelines adopted at the 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in enhancing comparability in data collection globally.

Ms Simel Eşim, Head of ILO Cooperative, Social, and Solidarity Economy, talked about the steps involved in developing statistics on cooperatives. Key milestones to date include adoption of statistical guidelines, addressing methodological challenges, developing information guide and compendium on statistics of cooperatives. She highlighted the next steps envisioned around the development of statistics on economic contribution of cooperatives, including the establishment of a technical working group. She mentioned that the ILO will develop a manual on statistics of cooperatives using a modular approach for discussion and possible adoption during the 22nd ICLS in 2028. She pointed out the ILO’s steadfast commitment to strengthening cooperative statistics through research, consultations, standard setting and pilot initiatives, including Türkiye as a key partner. These efforts aim to integrate cooperative statistics into education and research, measure their socio-economic impacts, and advance decent work worldwide.

KOOP-BIS: Centralizing Cooperative Data in Türkiye

Mr Orkun Doğan, an expert on the SSE and a researcher at the Sustainability Platform of Özyeğin University, presented the development of cooperative statistics in Türkiye. He shared the results of the ILO Türkiye pilot study within the scope of the initiative to develop guidelines for cooperative statistics, current situation, and next steps to be taken to align Türkiye's cooperative data systems with international standards and enhances policy-making capacity.  The national report for Türkiye stressed that, while cooperatives have been an essential pillar of the economy and society for more than a century and have a robust legal framework, they are somewhat invisible in national statistics. A big part of the reason for this, pointed out Mr Doğan, is the absence of harmonized statistical definitions and standardized statistical classifications for cooperatives. He noted that the fragmented mandates of public bodies responsible for cooperatives is another primary factor. Over the past decade, however, there has been a growing effort among public agencies and the Turkish cooperative movement to identify key trends and challenges and to improve the collection and analysis of statistics on cooperatives, Mr Doğan suggested. The report also highlighted the need for a Manual on statistics of cooperatives to provide guidance on measuring the contribution of cooperatives to inclusive economic growth, and on measuring their contribution to social justice, and ecologically sustainable development. Mr Doğan noted, that the report concluded that, while Türkiye has improved its capacity to produce relevant, up-to-date, and internationally comparable statistics on cooperatives, analysis of the gap between cooperative statistics in Türkiye and the ILO Guidelines revealed the need for further improvements and adjustments. He highlighted the key elements of the suggested next steps as follows:

• Formalize cooperation between the Ministry of Trade and TurkStat with support from a technical working group consisting of statisticians and experts from the relevant institutions;
• Integrate and transfer administrative records within the cooperative information system and create data fields to enable individual cooperatives to be identified and matched across administrative records;
• Following roll-out of a complete database of cooperatives, conduct a pilot study on producing conventional statistics for measuring the economic contribution of cooperatives;
• Develop new data collection methodologies, and new questionnaires to be integrated into current register-based surveys for generating statistics not presently available in the existing statistics (such as unpaid work or voluntary work); and
• Conduct conceptual studies on developing new methods for measuring the social and economic contributions of cooperatives.

Advancing Data Integration and Policy Development

Mr Fatih Polattimur, Expert at the Ministry of Trade, detailed the operational aspects of KOOP-BIS and its integration into Türkiye’s Official Statistics Program (RIP). He outlined the use of administrative records to provide comprehensive, consistent, and reliable data on cooperatives, emphasizing both advantages, such as wide coverage, and challenges, including structural biases in non-statistical data sources. Polattimur highlighted the progress made in digitalizing bureaucracy, centralizing data, and integrating validation techniques into data collection processes. Future efforts focus on filtering detailed economic and employment statistics to support evidence-based policymaking and strengthening the cooperative sector's role in sustainable development.

Challenges and Future Directions

Ms Ayşe Turunç Kankal, Livelihoods Officer at the ILO Office for Türkiye, shared insights about ILO Türkiye’s cooperative statistics efforts, explaining how such data can strengthen cooperatives’ positions and highlight their critical role in sustainable development. She also emphasized the need to address data fragmentation and enhance cooperative visibility. She outlined the role of the ILO Office for Türkiye within this initiative and the national advisory committees. The aim to establish a robust data infrastructure that reflects cooperatives' contributions to regional development, gender equality, and economic resilience.

Building a Future on Solid Data

This webinar represents a turning point in Türkiye’s approach to cooperative statistics, advancing efforts to align with global standards and maximize cooperative contributions to sustainable development. Through partnerships like Ministry of Trade and ongoing ILO support, Türkiye is paving the way for a data-driven policy framework that ensures cooperatives' economic and social impacts are recognized and amplified. Similar country specific presentations and discussions are envisioned in the other pilot countries (Costa Rica, Italy, Republic of Korea and Tanzania)

For those who missed the webinar, the full recordings offer essential insights:

Introductory Session on Cooperative Statistics and Global Standards

KOOP-BIS System and Integrative Efforts

The ILO’s ongoing commitment to cooperative statistics continues to ensure data-backed growth and advocacy, strengthening cooperatives' roles in social and economic frameworks worldwide.

Additionally, learn more about ongoing cooperative development with experts like Melih Toprak and Fatih Polattimur through the ILO's article.

The ILO’s continued commitment to cooperative data ensures that these entities can grow stronger, better understood, and equipped to contribute meaningfully to Türkiye’s social and economic fabric.

For more information on statistics of cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy, see here.