Founded in 1961, the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance is a social and economic organization which promotes the development of cooperatives and the cooperative economy, supports policy formulation around the cooperative sector, and represents the rights of members. The alliance is comprised of more than 7000 member cooperatives and represents a range of sectors including agriculture, trade, industry, and construction, among others. The alliance also conducts research related to program design and implementation and provides consulting services and support for cooperatives and SMEs.