The Technical Cooperation Programme: How Does it Work?
Technical cooperation seeks to forge human and institutional capacity in Member States to safely utilize nuclear technologies to address local needs, global issues and contribute to national development.
The IAEA’s technical cooperation (TC) programme is the primary mechanism for delivering the Agency’s capacity-building services to its Member States.
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The programme supports the safe and secure application of nuclear science and technology for sustainable socioeconomic development in Member States.
All IAEA Member States can participate in the technical cooperation programme.
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In 2022, 146 countries received support.
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More than 80 per cent of the recipients are non-nuclear power countries, participating for the many other benefits of nuclear technology.
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Technical cooperation projects can be categorized as national, regional and interregional.
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(Photo: S. Anuraj/University of Peradeniya)
The programme concentrates on improving human health; supporting agriculture, rural development and food security; advancing water resource management; addressing environmental challenges; helping sustainable energy development, including the use of nuclear power for electricity; and promoting nuclear safety and security.
Although the TC programme is regarded as having a two-year cycle, programme planning and design starts two years in advance. This period includes strategy formulation, project concept identification, the drafting of project proposals, and project design. The two-year planning process concludes with the submission of the new TC programme for approval by the IAEA Board of Governors. Then begins the two-year TC programme cycle, during which the project is implemented and all planned activities are executed. Once the implementation cycle begins, planning for the following cycle already starts. TC projects are not limited to two years and can continue up to five years.
The TC programme is developed through a consultative process with Member States to identify priority development needs, using a results based management approach.
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The programme also uses a methodology called the Logical Framework Approach (LFA) to plan and design projects. This technique helps Member States to define the course of an entire project, identifying key problems, solutions to address them and feasible alternatives for implementation.
The programme team includes the National Liaison Officer, Counterpart, IAEA staff, appropriate thematic institutions in Member States, and other partners.
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The national technical cooperation programme identifies stakeholders, end users and partners to ensure that the programme takes all possible groups of participants into account.
Pre-planning missions are also carried out, if requested by Member States, to support the preparation of project concepts. A country’s nuclear safety and regulatory needs can be further assessed during these missions.
National TC programmes are usually prepared to address priority areas identified in the Country Programme Framework (CPF), which is a programming tool that provides a frame of reference for technical cooperation between the IAEA and its Member States.
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The CPF serves to ensure that projects effectively focus on agreed needs and priorities within the overall framework of Member State development plans, identifying where nuclear technologies can be used to address national development priorities, taking the relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals into account.
Longstanding partnerships with other international organizations, including other UN agencies, play a key role in complementary areas, such as food, health and energy.
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For instance, the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture advances and supports the safe and appropriate use of nuclear and related technologies in food and agriculture.
Nuclear safety issues are always considered when developing a national programme, as well as whether there is an adequate regulatory infrastructure in the country.
Member States each submit their national programme through the National Liaison Officer to the IAEA. This includes a programme overview, details of the consultation process and the regulatory infrastructure, together with project concepts.
The submitted project concepts are checked for technical feasibility, and any safety issues are identified and addressed.
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Projects are also checked for proliferation risk by Safeguards, in accordance with the Statute, INFCIRC/267, and all other relevant decisions, including UN Security Council resolutions.
The draft technical cooperation programme is released to Member States in advance of the annual November meeting of the Technical Assistance and Cooperation Committee (TACC). The TACC reviews the proposed programme and submits it to the IAEA Board of Governors for approval.
Implementation of the TC programme cycle starts in the January of the year following approval.
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Implementation is managed through the IAEA’s Department of Technical Cooperation with the cooperation of Member States and the IAEA’s technical departments.
Implementation is primarily delivered through human resource capacity building activities and procurement. Capacity building is supported by expert missions and meetings, through the provision of fellowships and scientific visits, and via special training courses.
Over the last five years, the IAEA has trained over 14,500 people through fellowships and scientific visits.
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In 2021, around 1400 people benefitted from the fellowship and scientific visitor programme, and over 2900 people enhanced their knowledge through training courses.
