Free and Sponsored International Training Courses for NGOs and Individuals

Many international donors allocate grants to build the capacities of NGOs and individuals in developing countries. These grants are specially aimed at empowering the civil society not only for improving their organizational management but also to help them gain awareness about new approaches to address developmental challenges.

The Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP) is an initiative of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of the development cooperation of the Netherlands Government. The programme aims to “promote capacity building within organisations in 51 countries by providing fellowships for training and education for professionals.” Fellowships cover participation of selected beneficiaries in short courses, Master’s degree programs and PhD studies.

While the Netherlands embassies in different countries can develop their own focus areas, food security and private sector development are priority sectors of thesetraining courses. Besides, 50% of the budget is allocated for applicants from Sub Saharan Africa and female applicants are highly encouraged to apply and participate in the courses.

The fellowship covers the costs of living, the costs of tuition fees, visas, travel, insurance and thesisresearch.

Similarly, the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) organizes International Training Programmes (ITP) for candidates from low and middle income countries “to support and strengthen the participants own plans for change on organizational and sectoral levels and should not be regarded as individual competence training.”

The programmes cover areas of strategic importance to the social, environmental and economic development of co-operating countries and are based on identified priorities and needs. In the long-term perspective, the programmes shall contribute to institutional strengthening and capacity development in the co-operating countries.

In both the above cases, training programmes are usually conducted by third-party agencies like universities, training institutes or public authorities. Every year a training schedule is announced where interested individuals can submit their applications and request sponsorships. In some cases, ITP also organizes training programmes in other countries, besides Sweden.

There are currently several training courses and programme open for NGOs and individuals from developing countries to apply and attend them. These programmes cover issues such as education, gender, infrastructure, agriculture, food security, climate change, sustainable development, rural entrepreneurship and other areas.

To view the list of these training courses and how to attend them, click on the ‘next’ link below.