BRUSSELS, October 5, 2026 — The International Cooperative Alliance [ICA] is set to conduct a four-session online training series to equip cooperative organisations with knowledge and practical skills to engage with European Union institutions, access funding opportunities and meet EU compliance requirements.
The training, organised under the ICA-EU Partnership [2024-2028], also known as #coops4dev, will run throughout October, beginning on October 7.
The series, titled “EU Delegations and EU Compliance for the Cooperative World”, is aimed at helping ICA member organisations, national cooperative apex bodies, federations and individual cooperatives understand the EU’s external action system and identify opportunities for engagement with EU Delegations and Member State institutions.
The programme will also introduce participants to the EU’s Global Gateway initiative, including its financing mechanisms involving grants, loans and guarantees.
According to the ICA, the training will help cooperative organisations develop stronger value propositions, present their work effectively to potential EU partners and improve their readiness to manage EU-funded projects.
The first session, scheduled for October 7, will focus on the EU external action ecosystem and the role of key institutions, including the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), the European External Action Service [EEAS] and EU Delegations.
Participants will examine how EU priorities are translated into country-level programmes and identify possible entry points for engaging EU Delegations and Member State institutions.
The second session, on October 13, will focus on Global Gateway readiness for cooperative organisations, examining the initiative’s financing architecture and how it differs from traditional EU grant funding.
The October 20 session will focus on building a strong value proposition for EU Delegations. Participants will learn how to align their organisations’ strengths and impact with EU and Global Gateway priorities while improving their communication and engagement with potential partners.
The final session, on October 29, will address EU compliance, organisational readiness and practical next steps. It will cover financial rules, project budgeting, due diligence and other organisational requirements for accessing and managing EU funding.
Each session will be delivered twice to accommodate participants in different time zones. The English-language morning cohort will run from 9:30am to noon Central European Summer Time [CEST], while the afternoon cohort, featuring live English-to-Spanish interpretation, will run from 4pm to 6:30pm CEST.
The ICA said participants will receive practical exercises and materials that can be used within their organisations.
In addition to the four live sessions, participants will have access to two follow-up consultation clinics where they can seek guidance on specific issues. Learning materials will also be made available through a dedicated online learning platform, while recordings of the sessions will be accessible for a limited period.
The ICA is encouraging participants to attend all four sessions because the programme is designed to build progressively, from understanding the EU institutional landscape and Global Gateway to developing engagement, compliance and organisational readiness skills.
Participants have also been encouraged to complete a pre-training survey to help organisers tailor the programme to their needs and expectations.
The training is open to cooperative organisations both within and outside the European Union.
The ICA-EU Partnership [2024-2028] is a five-year international cooperative development programme intended to strengthen the ICA network and promote cooperatives as key development actors within the EU development agenda.
The training sessions will be delivered live via Zoom. More information is available through the ICA events platform.
https://thecooperator.news/ica-announces-63-new-cooperative-cultural-heritage-inscriptions/
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