Technical Assistance CS provides technical assistance to existing cooperatives facing specific problems or challenges. Technical assistance could include helping a cooperative develop a strategic marketing plan to cope with new competitive forces, in making a crucial decision whether to merge or form a joint venture with other cooperatives, or in finding a way to turn the raw products of cooperative members into value-added products. These matters are often life and death issues not only for a cooperative, but for the rural communities in which they operate. CS can help improve a cooperative's business structure and operating efficiency. This work often involves an analysis of operations or assessing the economic feasibility of new facilities or adding new products or services.
Studies cover the full range of decisionmaking facing cooperative business enterprises.
Technical assistance is largely designed to benefit a specific cooperative business or group. However, the results often provide business strategy for all cooperatives. Research CS conducts research to provide a knowledge base necessary to support cooperatives dealing with changing markets and business trends. Studies include financial, structural, managerial, policy, member governance, legal, and social issues, as well as various other economic activities of cooperatives. Research is designed to have direct application to current and emerging requirements of cooperatives.