P6 in Action
The Global Cooperative Census
Building the first real-time understanding of the global cooperative movement.
What it Is
A Shared Foundation for the Cooperative Movement
The Global Cooperative Census is a coordinated, ongoing effort to collect structured, comparable data from cooperatives around the world. It’s not a one-time survey — it’s the beginning of a living dataset that grows more powerful as more cooperatives participate.
By contributing your cooperative’s information, you’re helping build something the movement has never had before: a common language for understanding who we are, how we operate, and where we’re headed.
The Census creates a shared foundation for:
- Benchmarking — See how your cooperative compares to others in your sector, region, or size category
- Insight Generation — Surface trends, patterns, and opportunities that no single cooperative could identify alone
- Global Visibility — Make the cooperative model more legible — and more credible — to policymakers, funders, and the public
Participate in the Global Cooperative Census
By participating in our 3-part survey, you can help us understand cooperatives like yours and see how you compare to other cooperatives around the world. Together, we can learn and grow.Â
Why it Matters
The Cooperative Movement Is Massive. The Data Isn’t.
Cooperatives represent hundreds of millions of members and trillions in economic activity across every sector imaginable. But for all that scale, the movement has long operated without consistent, comparable global data. Individual cooperatives track their own metrics. Federations compile what they can. But the full picture — across regions, sectors, and models — has never clearly existed.
The Census changes that.
“When cooperatives share what they know, the entire movement gets smarter.”
Without shared data, the cooperative movement struggles to tell its own story — to advocates, to policymakers, to the public, and even to itself. The Global Cooperative Census is how we fix that. Every cooperative that participates adds to a growing body of intelligence that makes the entire sector stronger, more visible, and better equipped to grow.
This is where cooperation among cooperatives—cooperative principle number 6—moves beyond theory and becomes a working system.
What It Enables
Better Data. Better Decisions. Bigger Impact.
The Census isn’t just about collecting information — it’s about what that information makes possible. When cooperatives across the world contribute structured data to a common platform, the results compound.
Global Benchmarking
For the first time, cooperatives can measure themselves against genuine peers — not just anecdotal comparisons, but real data from organizations of similar size, structure, and sector. Know where you stand. Find where you can grow.
Better Decision-Making
Leaders and federations gain access to aggregated insights that cut through guesswork. Whether you’re evaluating a new strategy, making the case for investment, or planning for the future, Census data puts evidence behind your decisions.
Stronger Advocacy
The cooperative model needs a stronger voice in policy conversations. Consistent, credible global data is how we earn a seat at the table — and how we make the argument that cooperatives aren’t a niche, they’re a movement.
Getting Started
Simple to Complete. Designed to Be Useful.
The Global Cooperative Census is designed to be straightforward, flexible, and accessible — whether you’re a large federation or a small community cooperative just getting started. Participation takes minutes, not hours, and you can complete it in stages that fit your schedule.
There are two ways to get involved.
*The 2026 Global Cooperative Census will be available soon. If you want to be notified when the census is live, please be sure to join our email list.Â
Join Principle 6 — Then Take the Census
The best way to participate is as a Principle 6 member. When you register with P6, your Census responses connect to a broader profile — giving you access to richer insights, ongoing benchmarking, and the full power of the cooperative intelligence network.
As a Principle 6 member, you can:
- Track your progress across all three Census segments in one place
- Access your benchmarking results and compare them against sector peers
- Participate in CoopAI-powered Collaborative Communities
- Unlock AI-generated analysis, recommendations, and trend insights tailored to your cooperative
Or, Take the Census on Its Own
Not ready to register? That’s okay. You can participate in the Global Cooperative Census directly — no account required. The Census is divided into three short parts, each focused on a different dimension of cooperative life. Complete one, two, or all three — every response counts.
Part 1: AI & Technology How is your cooperative approaching artificial intelligence? This section helps you understand where your organization stands today — what tools you’re using, where gaps exist, and where the biggest opportunities are ahead.
Part 2: Operations & Performance Share key information about your cooperative’s structure, scale, and how you operate day-to-day. This is the backbone of global benchmarking — and the data that helps the movement understand its true footprint.
Part 3: Engagement & Impact How does your cooperative engage its members and create value in the community it serves? This section captures the social and relational dimensions of cooperative life — the things that make the model distinct.