On November 13-15, 2024, the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) together with the International Cooperative Research Group (ICRG) conducted the Training of Trainers (TOT) on the Cooperative Business Continuity and Resilience (CBCR) Tool.
The ICRG, represented by Ms. Barbara Czachorska-Jones, PhD, Senior Learning and Training Advisor and Resource Person of the training, emphasized that the “CBCR Tool is an assessment tool, not a performance tool”. The CBCR Tool was developed by the ICRG to serve as an educational instrument and member engagement mechanism for cooperative leaders and members to assess their preparedness to respond to and continuing operations during periods of external shock. The ICRG is a research and learning arm of the Overseas Cooperative Development Council (OCDC) and the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Cooperative Development Program (CDP).
The three (3) days of training used lectures, workshops, role-playing, and interactive presentation platforms to discuss the CBCR toolkit which contains several types of materials: Worksheet, Toolkit Guide, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
- Step 1: Self-Assessment
This worksheet focused on how resilient and well-prepared cooperatives are in ten key areas so cooperatives can determine what their next step should be.
- Governance
- Communication
- Planning
- Member Participation/Engage
- Member Services
- Physical
- Supply Chain/Climate
- Financial
- Stakeholders and Environment
- Social/Education
- Step 2: Action Plan
Step 2 focused on internal actions to promote cooperative business continuity and resilience and allow cooperatives to determine strategies for improvement.
- Step 3: Monitoring
This worksheet monitors activity progress and can help cooperatives stay on top of how they are doing with their plan to become more resilient.
The training was participated by current and new trainers of CBCR from the CDA Regional Extension Offices and attended by its officials Asec. Santiago S. Lim, Deputy Administrators Ray R. Elevazo, Atty. Elizabeth O. Batonan, and Director Marieta P. Hwang from CDA Region III.
The CBCR is expected to be pilot-tested in all regions in the 1st quarter of 2025 and fully rolled out to cooperatives in the remaining months of 2025. The CBCR will facilitate the formulation of a policy for the Business Continuity Plan and its framework that can be used by cooperatives.
For more information on the CBCR Tool, you may visit their website at https://ocdc.coop/initiatives/cooperative-business-continuity-and-resilience-cbcr.
