The Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP) initiative with two Canadian cooperative experts, Michael Casey and Robby Tulus is working with the Government of Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment to evaluate its existing cooperative law and provide evidence-based, contextualized input into its new legislation.
Michael and Robby will collaborate closely with two national experts working side-by-side with the Ministry of Planning and Investment on this project. The work includes ensuring best practices in evidence-based policy development by filling data gaps. Coops play an essential role in Vietnam’s economy and offer significant opportunities to empower and support women and other marginalized groups.
Of particular focus is research on the participation of women and marginalized groups in cooperatives, the role cooperatives play in climate change and climate action, and the importance, value, and social and economic benefits of applying international cooperative principles in the establishment of cooperatives. A combined workshop and training exercise with the Ministry of Planning will review the recommendations from this research. The goal is that most, if not all, of these recommendations, make their way into the coop law amendments.
Experts
Robby Tulus
International Cooperative Expert/Advisor
Robby Tulus is an international advisor with extensive experience in working on cooperatives, credit unions, legal and policy frameworks, research, governance and community development. With a career launched almost six decades ago, Robby advised and trained cooperatives, associations, research institutes, communities, and governments in the Asia-Pacific region.
Michael Casey
Community and Social Development Specialist
Michael Casey’s experience as an international leader in community and social development spans over five decades. He started working with the cooperative movement in Canada’s Northwest Territories in 1973, where he spent almost 20 years of his career working with indigenous communities on the Canadian Arctic. During this time, he developed his passion for cooperatives, community development work, and the international reach of the global co-operative movement.