Co-operatives in Saskatchewan 2012: A Survey of Public Perceptions and Expectations

1. Co-operatives in Saskatchewan 2012: A Survey of Public Perceptionsand Expectations Michael Gertler michael.gertler@usask.ca and Lou Hammond Ketilson hammondk@edwards.usask.ca

2. Project parameters conceived by Centre for the Study of Co-operatives as a project for IYC 2012 conducted with the assistance of the Social Sciences Research Labs (SSRL) at the University of Saskatchewan 23 students were hired to conduct the telephone survey

3. To learn about… familiarity with and membership in co-ops perceptions and expectations of co-ops views re co-ops as economic development instruments and to what degree they should be supported/promoted activities and initiatives might be attractive to co-op members and potential members

4. To learn more about the perceptions and expectations of: co-op members and non-members women and men Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal rural and urban residents older and younger residents self-employed, workers, retirees, etc. newcomers higher and lower income groups

5. The survey survey was administered as a 15-minute telephone survey August 9 – 27, 2012 1,300 completed interviews among randomly-selected SK residents, ≥ 18 years results of the survey, which generated a response rate of 27.3%, are generalizable to the SK population (≥ 18 years) ± 2.72% at the 95% confidence interval (19 times out of 20)

33. Is there anything else that you would like to say about co-operatives and the future of the province? Why don't we have more housing coops I wish Aboriginals were more fairly represented. We'd be nowhere without co-ops. Protect co-ops. They are very important. People rely on them. If we would not have had them, my parents would not have survived. They should make themselves more visible to the people.

34. They keep giving back to the community. People don't realize what they do for the province. They hold a strong place in the fabric of our province. I hope they continue serving the community. It is business literacy that is important because we understand how co-ops work versus other organizations. We need to educate our children about them. It should be part of business literacy at the high schools.

35. What we are finding… co-ops don’t operate in a climate of low expectations—lots of hopes, expectations, concerns… there are opportunities to show greater leadership some citizens feel ill-informed and would like more information

36. What we are finding… co-ops are seen as important instruments of economic and social development there is support for supporting co-ops and co-operative development co-ops enjoy a positive reputation among a great many Saskatchewan residents—including non-members