As we approach the end of one Decade of Action within the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, international development cooperation stands at a crossroads.

Old models of aid and assistance are being questioned and giving way to new forms of partnerships. These emphasize local leadership, knowledge networks, global coalitions to address shared challenges, public–private partnerships, and technology transfer

The Development Cooperation Academy 2026 invites practitioners, policymakers, and visionaries to reflect on how cooperation must evolve to serve an increasingly interconnected and multipolar world. As the international cooperation landscape transforms, we are called to ask: who do we want to become? What is our best collective self, and how do we get there?

We seek to uphold our shared values within interdependent relationships, embrace shared responsibility in the spirit of multilateralism, and co-create a pathway toward our common good.

This year, the Academy will serve as a Futures and Foresight Hub for international development cooperation. Through its plenary sessions, participants will be exposed to recent experiments, novel ideas, methods, and alternative partnerships that will shape the way things are done in the next decade.

Together, we will explore how localized leadership, South-South and triangular cooperation, new forms of partnership, intergenerational partnerships for lasting social impact, and digitally driven collaboration can power the next generation of development cooperation programmes, projects, and practitioners. We will also reflect on how we can become more agile and adaptive, ensuring that we continue to uphold and deliver on our shared values.

Our vision will be reinforced through solid learning and skills development in the seven parallel workshops.

The seven disciplines offered in 2026 are:

1. Programme and Project Design – Designing high-impact, fundable, and context-driven initiatives.
2. Effective Project Management – Managing complex development projects with agility and purpose.
3. Monitoring and Evaluation – Using evidence to assess performance and drive learning.
4. Financial Management for Development Projects – Strengthening financial accountability and risk management.
5. Impact Evaluation – Measuring and communicating long-term development impact.
6. Data Analytics and Storytelling for Development – Leveraging data and digital ecosystems for cooperation.
7. Suivi-Evaluation des programmes et projets - Utiliser des données probantes pour évaluer les performances et stimuler l'apprentissage.

More specifically, the 2026 Academy aims to:

• Reimagine development cooperation paradigms: How do we want to change? What can future cooperation models look like? How can we shift from classical donor funded cooperation to a more multi-modal model?
• Strengthen capacities of each participant in order to lay a robust foundation for development cooperation, including design and management of initiatives, monitoring and evaluating them, analysing data, managing knowledge and measuring impact.
• Expanding Your Global Network: Strengthen your professional reach, forging lasting connections and collaborations with a diverse network of peers, setting the stage for future partnerships and learning opportunities.

Participants will specialize in one of the disciplines above and will receive a Certificate of Achievement upon completion of the whole programme with all three phases. This Certificate will count towards the Diploma of Development Cooperation Specialist.

Inspired by the success of the last three editions of the Development Cooperation Academy, ITCILO comes back with the innovative format, blending elements of a conference and certification courses.

Participants choose one specific discipline for certification, which they study both online and in person during the Academy’s duration. The programme features an on-campus event where each day includes a plenary session. This year, the session will take the form of Futures and Foresight Labs.

Each day of the on-campus week will feature one Lab session, devoted to a specific frontier of next-generation cooperation:

1. Reimagining Development Cooperation Paradigms: Making Chaos Creative
2. Narrowing the Digital Gap: Innovating systems and capabilities for the future: AI and digitalisation
3. Local Power and Networked Ecosystems of Change: South-South and Triangular Cooperation
4. New public–private–philanthropic and intergenerational ecosystems for social impact and financial viability
5. Foresight Laboratory: when it all comes together in a shared vision

The Development Cooperation Academy is scheduled to take place in three phases from 8 June to 24 July 2026. 

The cost of participation is fixed at 2 730 euro including tuition fees and the full-board accommodation on campus for the five days.

The application deadline is 26 April 2026

If you have already determined which discipline you would like to specialize in at the Development Cooperation Academy, simply follow the link provided below for that specific discipline and register directly to the Academy and the chosen discipline on the designated page.

Should you have any queries regarding the event, feel free to contact us directly to ppcm@itcilo.org

Join us now by expressing your interest!

Seize this unique opportunity to deepen your expertise in the development cooperation project cycle, specialize in a specific function, uncover strategies for building sustainable partnerships and securing financing, and position your organization for the future of development cooperation.