Costa Rica and Dominican Republic advance institutionalization of ILO cooperative training tools

Costa Rica and Dominican Republic advance institutionalization of ILO cooperative training tools

Twenty-eight trainers from national institutions in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic have received ILO certification, strengthening national capacity to progressively integrate ILO cooperative training tools and methodologies into existing programmes and services.

21 August 2026

GENEVA (ILO News) - Twenty-eight trainers from national institutions in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic have completed the ILO certification process after applying Think.COOP with end users, marking a further step towards embedding ILO cooperative training methodologies in national institutions.

The certification builds on a process launched in October 2025 to progressively integrate Think.COOP and Start.COOP into the services of participating institutions in both countries. The objective is not only to train individual facilitators, but to build nationally owned capacity and know-how so that institutions can apply, adapt and sustain the methodologies through their own programmes.

The initiative brings together institutions with complementary mandates. In Costa Rica, the National Learning Institute (INA), the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MTSS) and the National Institute for Cooperative Development (INFOCOOP) are linking cooperative development with vocational training and national cooperative support. In the Dominican Republic, the National Institute for Technical and Vocational Training (INFOTEP) and the Dominican Council for Fisheries and Aquaculture (CODOPESCA) are applying the approach through vocational training and within in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

For the participating institutions, certification therefore represents more than recognition of individual trainers. It strengthens their own capacity to provide cooperative development support. Edgar Oviedo Blanco, President of INA, highlighted the contribution of the methodologies to strengthening the institution's vocational and technical training services and their alignment with INA's strategic objectives. Maira Morla Pineda, Director-General of INFOTEP, similarly emphasized their contribution to the institution's training and business advisory services.

From training to institutional delivery

Think.COOP introduces the cooperative business model and helps participants assess whether working together through a cooperative could respond to their shared needs and aspirations. Start.COOP supports groups that decide to move forward, guiding them through the initial steps of establishing a cooperative, from developing their business idea to preparing a basic business plan.

At this stage, certification was based on trainers' application of Think.COOP with end users. The experience provides a foundation for participating institutions to expand their use of the ILO tools, including Start.COOP, in line with their mandates, priorities and the needs of the groups they serve.

"This certification consolidates national capacities and puts the tools in the hands of the institutions themselves. The next step is to expand and sustain the application of these methodologies through the institutions, strengthening their capacity to support more people and groups in creating and developing cooperatives, with the potential to generate decent work opportunities, strengthen livelihoods and contribute to local development," said Rodrigo Mogrovejo, ILO Specialist on Sustainable Enterprises and Just Transition.

Building national ownership

Certification opens the next phase of the process. Participating institutions will determine how the methodologies can be further integrated into their programmes and adapted to the needs of the people, economic activities and territories they support. Certified trainers will continue applying the tools and sharing information on their activities with the ILO during the three-year validity period of their certification.

This approach reflects the broader ILO model for cooperative capacity development: rather than relying on one-off training activities, it aims to develop national pools of trainers and embed methodologies and delivery capacity within institutions. This helps ensure that cooperative education and support can be adapted to national contexts and sustained over time.

Closing the certification event, Waltteri Katajamäki, Social and Solidarity Economy Specialist in the ILO's Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy Unit in Geneva, situated the initiative within the ILO's broader support to constituents across the social and solidarity economy policy cycle. He highlighted the role of capacity development in translating legal and policy frameworks into practical support delivered through national institutions.

Capacity development forms part of a wider ILO approach to creating a conducive environment for cooperatives and other social and solidarity economy entities. Alongside supporting policy and legal frameworks, the ILO works with its constituents to strengthen institutions and implementation capacities needed to put those frameworks into practice and enable cooperatives and other SSE entities to contribute to decent work, social justice and sustainable development.

This approach is grounded in the ILO's 2022 Resolution concerning decent work and the social and solidarity economy and its subsequent Strategy and Action Plan (2023-29).

The ILO will continue to support these nationally led processes through its country and regional presence, backed by specialized technical expertise across the Organization, while facilitating learning and exchange among institutions and countries.