Self-Assessment and Strategic Planning at a Small Retail Food Co-op: Using the Sustainability and Planning Scorecard Kit in a Crisis Context

Abstract

After the 2015 collapse of Co-op Atlantic, the second-tier co-operative providing services and support to retail co-operatives in Canada’s Atlantic Provinces, many co-operatives contracted with Sobeys to provide services under the Foodland ban-ner. The co-operatives’ ongoing challenge is to reaffirm their place in the community and their co-operative identity, con-tributing to ongoing innovation around a co-operative model appropriate to these new circumstances. This article analyzes the strategic planning process undertaken by a small PEI Foodland co-operative as it defined new directions during this crisis. It also examines the co-operative’s use of a collaboratively developed Sustainability and Planning Scorecard Toolkit. The toolkit was designed to help co-operatives through their self-evaluation process, while also facilitating the further steps of planning and taking action.