Selection criteria and process for participating organisations and representatives

This program has been designed to strengthen institutional capacity while also enhancing individual knowledge and skills through a train-the-trainer model.

SME chambers, industry associations, and trade-related institutions will act as the primary agents of change, facilitating knowledge transfer and wider dissemination of learnings across SME networks.

What are the organisational selection criteria? (Phase 1 – Training Pilot and Scale-up)

Participating organisations will be selected based on the following:

  • Institutional role in SME and supply chain ecosystems
    • Demonstrated active engagement with SMEs in trade, export, procurement, logistics, or supply chain support
  • Strategic relevance to program objectives
    • Alignment with supply chain resilience, diversification, ESG, and SME development mandates
  • Organisational capacity and scale
    • Sufficient size and reach sufficient to translate learning into downstream SME support, including:
      • The ability to deliver SME training initiatives
      • The capacity to provide advisory services to SMEs
      • The ability to act as a conduit between industry and government on SME policy matters
    • Commitment to Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI)
      • Demonstrated capacity to include women-led, youth-led, disability-inclusive, and regional SMEs.
      • Existing policies or practices that support gender equality, disability and social inclusion
    • SME engagement footprint
      • The approximate number of SMEs supported annually aligns with the program objectives
      • Primary sectors or industries supported are consistent with the program priorities.
    • Strategic intent and motivation
      • Alignment of the program with the organisation’s mandate
      • Demonstrated understanding of supply chain and SME challenges
      • Demonstrated interest in strengthening advisory, training, or policy engagement capabilities

How will participants for organisations be assessed?

Participants will be assessed based on:

  • Seniority and decision-making influence within the organisation
  • Position or role relevant to supply chain, trade, procurement, or SME development
  • Ability to implement or influence organisational change
  • Capacity to act as a trainer or knowledge multiplier post-program
  • Commitment to full program participation and application of learning

How many participants can each organisation provide?

  • 2–3 participants per organisation may be selected to ensure institutional depth and continuity.

What is the selection process

  • Submission of Expression of Interest (EOI)
  • GTPA review against criteria
  • Shortlisting based on institutional balance, inclusion, and sector coverage
  • Final confirmation of participants to program participation and pre-training briefing .

What are the SME selection criteria? (Phase 1 – Training Pilot and Scale-up)

Participating SMEs will be selected based on:

  • Business role in supply chains and trade ecosystems

SME’s must:

  • Strategic relevance to program objectives
  • Demonstrate active participation in domestic or international supply chains
  • Be engaged in management, manufacturing, production, services, logistics, trade, export, or procurement-related activities
  • Demonstrated their current or potential role in the supply chain as suppliers, exporters, importers, distributors or services providers.
  • Strategic relevance to program objectives
  • Demonstrated alignment with supply chain resilience, diversification, ESG practices, and trade capability development objectives of the Program
  • Exposure to supply chain disruption, market access challenges, or growth constraints
  • Demonstrated need or interest in improving operational, export, or procurement capability
  • Business capacity and readiness to apply learning
  • Ability to implement practical operational or supply chain changes
  • Internal capacity to adopt tools, frameworks, provided through the program
  • Willingness to engage in applied exercises, case studies, and implementation tasks
  • Interest in scaling or formalising supply chain or export activity
  • Commitment to Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI)
    • Have policies or a demonstrated understanding supporting GEDSI principles
  • SMEprofile:
  • Business size (micro, small, medium)
  • Number of employees and operational scale
  • Industry or sector focus (e.g. agriculture, manufacturing, services, logistics, digital trade)
  • Existing or emerging engagement in supply chain networks
  • Strategic intent and motivation
  • Clear interest in strengthening business capability in supply chain resilience or diversification
  • Willingness to participate in training and applied learning exercises
  • Commitment to improving business readiness for trade and market expansion
  • Alignment with broader business growth, sustainability, or export development goals

Who can SME nominate as their representatives?

Each SME may nominate one or more representatives based on:

  • Role in business operations (Owner, Founder, Manager, or equivalent decision-maker role)
  • Direct involvement in or management of operations, procurement, logistics, production, or trade functions
  • Ability to implement operational or supply chain improvements
  • Capacity to engage consistently program activities
  • Willingness to act as an internal knowledge champion

What is the Selection process?

  • Submission of Expression of Interest (EOI) by SMEs or via partner organisations
  • Review by GTPA against selection criteria, including GEDSI and sector balance considerations
  • Final confirmation of SME participants
  • Participation in a pre-program briefing and onboarding session prior to commencement

Phase 2 commitment – Immersion and system-level engagement

How are participants selected for the Immersion activity?

Progression to Phase 2 (Brisbane immersion and Local Advisory Group engagement) is contingent on demonstrated commitment during Phase 1, assessed through:

  • Active engagement and completion of training modules and case studies
  • Application of learning in practical exercises and organisational context
  • Peer reflection and contribution to cohort learning outcomes
  • Completion of ISO/IEC-aligned assessment (international standard alignment)
  • Demonstrated commitment to knowledge transfer and train-the-trainer outcomes
  • Signed Statement of Intent to participate in immersion and ecosystem development
  • Commitment to work with GTPA in establishing Local Advisory Groups (LAGs)

Expected level of commitment (duration, schedule, and training requirements)

The program runs over a 12-month active delivery cycle, commencing February 2026 and concluding end March 2027, with the pilot implementation followed by scale-up across ODA-eligible IPEF countries.

What is the Programs structure?

  1. Online training phase (6-8 weeks core delivery)
  • 12 modules (1.5–2 hours module) plus exercises between modules for Organisation participants,
  • 11 modules (1.5-2 hours per module) plus exercises between modules for SME participants
  • Delivery format: online workshops + facilitated Q&A sessions
  • Commitment:
    • 1–2 hours live training per module
    • Minimum 30+ hours of case studies, exercises, and applied learning
  • Participants are expected too independently pace through:
    • Reading materials
    • Toolkits
    • Supporting texts and resources
  1. ISO/IEC-aligned assessment
  • Equivalent to approximately 1 full day
  • Focus: application of knowledge, reflection, and competency validation
  1. Immersion program (Brisbane)
  • 4-day intensive program
  • Approximately 6 days total including travel
  • Includes:
    • Workshops and simulations
    • Field visits
    • Peer learning and feedback sessions
  1. Applied implementation phase
  • 6–8 weeks supported development of SME training initiatives
  • Participants design and begin delivering their own SME capacity-building activities using GTPA tools and frameworks
  1. Local Advisory Group (LAG) engagement
  • 2–4 weeks distributed engagement over several months
  • Focus on policy dialogue, ecosystem coordination, and industry-government collaboration

What are the Participation expectations?

Participants are expected to:

  • Attend all scheduled training sessions and workshops
  • Complete all learning modules, assessments, and assignments
  • Actively contribute to group discussions and case studies
  • Apply learning within their organisation and SME ecosystem
  • Participate in final reporting, presentations, and implementation outputs

What is the role of participants?

This program positions participants as institutional change agents and knowledge multipliers within national SME and supply chain ecosystems. Participants will be:

  • Active learners and contributors
  • Organisational change agents applying resilience and diversification practices
  • Cross-organisational collaborators within regional cohorts
  • Contributors to pilot initiatives and applied case studies
  • Future trainers and SME advisors

What are the Key deliverables?

Participants and/or their organisations will contribute to:

  • Organisational or institutional action plans for supply chain improvement
  • Participation in case study development and diagnostic assessments
  • Completion of applied implementation tasks within their organisation
  • Development and delivery of SME training initiatives using program tools
  • Contribution to final presentations, reports, or showcase outcomes
  • Feedback loops and evaluation inputs to strengthen program design
  • Engagement in Local Advisory Groups (LAGs) for policy dialogue and coordination

What are the Program timelines

Overall program duration

  • February 2026 – March 2027 (Active delivery phase)

Phased implementation

Phase 1: Pilot (2–3 ODA-eligible IPEF countries)

  • Feb–mid 2026: Program onboarding, participant selection, and baseline mapping
  • Mid 2026: Delivery of online training (15 modules)
  • Mid–late 2026: ISO assessment and selection for immersion
  • Late 2026: Brisbane immersion program (approx. 25 participants)

Phase 2: Scale-up (7 ODA-eligible IPEF countries)

  • Late 2026 – early 2027: Expanded delivery across all eligible countries
  • Continued online training, assessment, and immersion selection

Phase 3: Implementation and ecosystem development

  • 2026–2027 (overlapping):
    • SME training delivery by participants
    • Establishment and operationalisation of Local Advisory Groups (LAGs)
    • Policy engagement and industry-government coordination activities

Post-program engagement

  • From March 2027 onward:
    • Participants remain passively engaged for long-term impact
    • Continued access to GTPA online portal (resources, templates, toolkits, recordings)
    • Ongoing use of materials to support SME training and institutional capacity-building

What is the Program’s design intent (cross-cutting principle)?

The program is intentionally structured to:

  • Strengthen institutional capability (not just individual skills)
  • Enable train-the-trainer cascading impact to SMEs
  • Build government–industry–SME coordination mechanisms via LAGs
  • Ensure long-term sustainability through embedded national capacity
  • Create an integrated ecosystem for resilient and diversified supply chains across IPEF ODA-eligible countries

For further information please contact:

Lisa McAuley

CEO

GTPA

e-mail: lisamcauley@gtpalliance.com

WhatsApp: + 61 430 172 458