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Consortium
 
 
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A consortium is an association
Professional body

A professional association is a non-profit organization seeking to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession, and the public interest....
 of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal.

Consortium is a Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 word, meaning 'partnership, association or society' and derives from consors 'partner', itself from con- 'together' and sors 'fate', meaning owner of means or comrade.

example, Five Colleges, Inc.
Five Colleges (Massachusetts)

The Five Colleges comprises four Liberal arts colleges in the United Statess and one university in the Connecticut River Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, belonging to a consortium called Five Colleges, Incorporated, which was established in 1965....
 is one of the oldest and most successful consortia in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.






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A consortium is an association
Professional body

A professional association is a non-profit organization seeking to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession, and the public interest....
 of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal.

Consortium is a Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 word, meaning 'partnership, association or society' and derives from consors 'partner', itself from con- 'together' and sors 'fate', meaning owner of means or comrade.

Economics


Examples

For example, Five Colleges, Inc.
Five Colleges (Massachusetts)

The Five Colleges comprises four Liberal arts colleges in the United Statess and one university in the Connecticut River Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, belonging to a consortium called Five Colleges, Incorporated, which was established in 1965....
 is one of the oldest and most successful consortia in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. The participants in Five Colleges, Inc. are: Amherst College
Amherst College

Amherst College is a private university Liberal arts colleges in the United States in Amherst, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821, it is the third oldest college in List of colleges and universities in Massachusetts, and has been coeducational since 1975....
, Hampshire College
Hampshire College

Hampshire College is a private Liberal arts colleges in the United States located in Amherst, Massachusetts, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, to be in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachu...
, Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College

Mount Holyoke College is a highly selective Liberal arts colleges in the United States Women's colleges in the United States in South Hadley, Massachusetts, Massachusetts....
, Smith College
Smith College

Smith College is a Private university, Independent school Women's colleges in the United States Liberal arts colleges in the United States located in Northampton, Massachusetts....
, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a selective research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, Massachusetts. The University of Massachusetts Amherst offers over 90 undergraduate and 65 graduate areas of study....
. Another example of a successful consortium is the Five Colleges of Ohio
Five Colleges of Ohio

The Five Colleges of Ohio is an academic consortium of five selective private Liberal arts colleges in the United States in the U.S. state of Ohio....
 of Ohio: Oberlin College
Oberlin College

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1833 by Presbyterian ministers, and is home to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, making it the only top-ranked Liberal arts colleges in the United States with a top-ranked conservatory....
, Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University is a private university Liberal arts colleges in the United States in Delaware, Ohio, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Ohio Valley residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Five Colleges of Ohio ? a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges....
, Kenyon College
Kenyon College

Kenyon College is a private Liberal arts colleges in the United States in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary....
, College of Wooster and Denison University
Denison University

Denison University is a private, residential Liberal arts colleges in the United States and sciences college in Granville, Ohio, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, Ohio....
. These consortia have pooled the resources of their member colleges and the university to share human and material assets as well as to link academic and administrative resources.

An example of a for-profit consortium was Airbus Industrie
Airbus

Airbus Soci?t? par actions simplifi?e is an Aerospace manufacturer subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Toulouse, France, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
 ("Airbus"). Formed in 1970, Airbus is one of the world's premier manufacturers of civilian airliners. Airbus is now owned by EADS
EADS

The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS N.V. is a large European aerospace corporation, formed by the merger on 10 July 2000 of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace of Germany, A?rospatiale-Matra of France, and Construcciones Aeron?uticas SA of Spain....
. EADS itself is a merger of Aérospatiale-Matra
Aérospatiale-Matra

A?rospatiale-Matra was a European missile and aircraft manufacturer. It was formed in 1999 by the merger of France companies A?rospatiale and Matra#Matra Haute Technologie....
 of France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, Daimler-Chrysler Aerospace
DASA

DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG, or DASA, was the former aerospace subsidiary of Daimler-Benz from 1989. In July 2000 DaimlerChrysler Aerospace merged with Aerospatiale-Matra and Construcciones Aeron?uticas SA to form EADS....
 of Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, and Construcciones Aeronáuticas of Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
, which were originally separate partners in the consortium, owning 37.9%, 37.9%, and 4.2%, respectively. BAE Systems owned the remaining 20% but sold this in 2006. Airbus' status as a consortium means that profits accrue to the partner companies representative to their interests. Work is allocated on the same basis as profits.

Another example of a for-profit consortium is when a group of banks collaborate to give a loan. This is more commonly known as a syndicated loan
Syndicated loan

A syndicated loan is a large loan in which a group of banks provide funds for a borrower, usually several but without joint liability. There is usually a lead bank or group of banks that takes a percentage of the loan and syndicates or sells the rest to other banks....
. In England it is common for a consortium to buy out financially struggling football clubs in order to keep them out of liquidation
Liquidation

In law, liquidation refers to the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation can also be referred to as winding-up or dissolution , although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation....
.

See also

  • Consortium fraternitatis
  • Consortium imperii
    Consortium imperii

    Consortium imperii is a Latin term dating from the Roman dominate, denoting the sharing of imperial authority between two or more emperors, hence designated as consors imperii, i.e....
     (Roman sharing of imperial power)
  • Consortium magistorum
  • Joint venture
    Joint venture

    A joint venture is an entity formed between two or more parties to undertake economic activity together. The parties agree to create a new entity by both contributing Ownership equity, and they then share in the revenues, expenses, and control of the enterprise....
  • Patent pool
    Patent pool

    In patent law, a patent pool is a consortium of at least two companies agreeing to cross-licensing patents relating to a particular technology. The creation of a patent pool can save patentees and licensees time and money, and, in case of blocking patents, it may also be the only reasonable method for making the invention available to the pub...
  • Loss of consortium
    Loss of consortium

    Loss of consortium is a term used in the law of torts that refers to the deprivation of the benefits of a family relationship due to injuries caused by a tortfeasor....


Sources and external links

  • passim