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Abstract
The evolution of community development theory has not yet generated a parallel advancement
in implementation strategies. In this paper we introduce a strategy—cooperative
development—that compliments contemporary community development paradigms (self-help,
asset-based, and self-development theories); thus providing communities and practitioners
with an effective (and perhaps unfamiliar) vehicle for development. Although cooperative
leaders, cooperative developers, and cooperative scholars consider cooperatives an important
vehicle for community development, most have stopped short of prescribing how cooperatives
can be incorporated into community development paradigms. Our objective is to motivate
community development scholars and practitioners to start thinking about cooperatives in new
ways, as part of their theory and strategies.