After two years and eight months supporting Capacity4dev through the MELDEA project, we have concluded a communications and outreach assignment for the European Commission’s knowledge-sharing platform for international cooperation. Spanning strategic communications, digital engagement, community building, institutional outreach and partnership development, the assignment operated across a global and multidisciplinary environment, reflecting the geographic reach and thematic breadth of the EU’s international partnerships.

Delivered through the project Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Design for External Action (MELDEA), the assignment supported the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) in strengthening communications, outreach, knowledge sharing and engagement around Capacity4dev.

As Capacity4dev Communications Expert, our Managing Director Dimitrios Chaidas contributed to the development and implementation of the platform’s Communication and Outreach Strategy, working closely with DG INTPA.D4 and as part of the MELDEA team.

The assignment formed part of MELDEA’s broader support to EU external action, with a particular focus on strengthening knowledge sharing, collaboration, continuous learning and the exchange of experience and expertise.

At a glance

• 2 years & 8 months supporting Capacity4dev through MELDEA

• 1,799 social media posts across four channels

• 29 editions of the LinkedIn newsletter Capacity4dev News

• 80+ platform Ambassadors across three programme editions

• Global outreach across the EU international partnerships community

Communicating across a global and multidisciplinary environment

Capacity4dev operates at the intersection of knowledge, policy and international cooperation. Its community brings together practitioners, institutions and partners working across regions worldwide and across the breadth of DG INTPA’s policy areas.

This made the communications assignment both geographically and thematically diverse. It required communicating complex and often highly specialised knowledge to different audiences, while identifying common narratives capable of connecting people working across countries, organisations and policy fields.

Over the course of the assignment, Dimitrios Chaidas contributed to strategic communications and outreach, digital engagement, campaigns, community management, institutional outreach, partnership development and communications performance monitoring — reflecting the broad scope of the Capacity4dev Communications Expert role.

Sustaining digital engagement and community building

A major strand of the work focused on maintaining a consistent and engaging digital presence for Capacity4dev and bringing the knowledge, opportunities and people behind the platform closer to its community.

Between 2024 and 2026, 1,799 social media posts were developed and published across LinkedIn, Facebook, X and Bluesky, complemented by 29 editions of the LinkedIn newsletter Capacity4dev News.

Dedicated organic campaigns, including #Tips4Users, #MeetOurAmbassadors, #CooperationTips and #Capacity4devIsYou, provided additional opportunities to showcase expertise, encourage interaction and place members of the Capacity4dev community at the centre of communications.

Community building was also at the heart of the Capacity4dev Ambassadors Programme. Across three editions, more than 80 Ambassadors were selected to help foster knowledge sharing, peer exchange and engagement within the community. Dimitrios managed the programme across its successive editions, from communications and outreach to engagement with the Ambassador community.

Connecting institutions, partners and expertise

Communications extended well beyond Capacity4dev’s own channels. A significant part of the assignment involved engagement with EU Delegations around the world, European Commission services and other actors across the EU external-action ecosystem, promoting greater awareness, uptake and use of Capacity4dev.

Outreach and collaboration involved DG INTPA units as well as FPI, DG NEAR and subsequently DG ENEST. At the same time, engagement with other knowledge platforms and international organisations — including Education for Climate, the OECD and United Nations actors — created opportunities to exchange good practices, build relationships and explore communication and knowledge-sharing synergies.

This partnership-building dimension was an integral component of the assignment, alongside outreach to EU institutions and Delegations and support for greater participation in the platform.

Capacity4dev’s presence at major European Commission gatherings, including Cooperation Days 2025 and INTPA Days 2026, was also supported to strengthen engagement with colleagues and practitioners working across EU international partnerships.

Making knowledge accessible through people and stories

Alongside institutional and digital communications, the assignment explored formats for bringing specialist knowledge closer to audiences through interviews, conversations and people-centred storytelling.

Podcast content brought together senior experts, practitioners and other voices from organisations including the European Commission and UNDP, as well as civil-society actors, to discuss issues and approaches relevant to international cooperation.

Across these activities, the objective remained consistent: to make expertise more accessible, encourage exchange and connect people with knowledge that could support their work.

What made this assignment particularly rewarding was its extraordinary breadth — geographically, thematically and in terms of the people and organisations involved. Communications was never simply about producing content or increasing visibility. It was about connecting people with knowledge, creating opportunities for exchange and helping expertise travel further across a truly global international cooperation community. — Dimitrios Chaidas, Managing Director

Taking the experience forward

The conclusion of the assignment marks an important milestone for DevComm and further strengthens the company’s experience in strategic and institutional communications, digital engagement, stakeholder outreach, community building, knowledge sharing and partnership development within complex European and international environments.

It also reinforces a principle at the heart of DevComm’s work: effective communication is not an end in itself. At its best, it helps organisations make knowledge accessible, build meaningful relationships, strengthen communities and ultimately create greater public value.

Does your project or organisation need communications and outreach support?

Whether you are looking to develop a communications strategy, strengthen stakeholder engagement, build a community, expand your digital presence or turn complex knowledge into accessible and engaging content, DevComm can help.