Consortium

Consortium is a term used to describe a group 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.

Definition

A consortium is an association 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 word, meaning 'partnership', 'association' or 'society' and derives from consors 'partner', itself from con- 'together' and sors 'fate', meaning owner and sharer of means.

Types of Consortium

Consortiums can be classified into non-profit and for-profit. Non-profit consortiums occur in the sectors of education, healthcare, research, and certain other public sectors, where non-profit organizations join together in order to pool resources and collaborate on a specific project or objective. For-profit consortiums, on the other hand, are often formed in the business sector, especially in high-cost industries such as energy, pharmaceuticals, and aerospace.

Benefits of Consortium

The primary reasons for businesses to join or form a consortium are often cost reduction, improved efficiency, and improved speed in reaching goals. Consortiums can also be formed to gain collective bargaining power, to pool buying power, to share large and expensive pieces of equipment, or to share risk.

Examples

Examples of well-known consortiums include the Open Handset Alliance, the World Wide Web Consortium, and the Project Management Institute.

See Also

• Partnership
• Collaboration
• Joint Venture
• Syndicate

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  University Consortium of Pori in its early October evening glory