Linkages and Networking of Member-Owned Institutions in Remote Rural Areas

This paper examines close linkages formed by member-owned institutions (MOIs), and compares costs of building and nurturing such linkages with the benefits they deliver. MOIs can build linkages with secondary higher tier MOIs, NGOs, private businesses, government bodies or banks. The paper provides case studies that showcase each of these options. Study findings indicate that:

• Some benefits of local control must be sacrificed in order to obtain a broader range of services through linkages;
• Secondary level MOIs should not be imposed on small local institutions unless there are real advantages to be gained by the members;
• State-promoted entities are not usually the best basis for a mutually beneficial and sustainable relationship;
• Linkages should ideally be initiated by primary level MOIs;
• Horizontal linkages between similar institutions may be a necessary precursor to evolution of higher-level service providers;
• Less formal networks providing non-financial services like training and advocacy may be suitable tasks for second tier institutions.

Finally, the study found that the most successful case was one that needed no close or permanent linkages than was normal, indicating that linkages are not the solution to every problem.