Regional Cooperative Agreement

What Regional Cooperative Agreement does

RCA is an intergovernmental cooperative framework, established in 1972 under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), that enables 22 Asia-Pacific member states to jointly plan and execute technical cooperation projects in nuclear science and technology. Its work spans thematic sectors including agriculture, human health, industry, environment, energy, research reactor utilization, and radiation safety, delivered through approximately 180 projects coordinated via National RCA Representatives, Lead Country Coordinators, and counterpart institutions such as KAERI, KIRAMS, KINS, KAIST and BARC.

Programme delivery is supported by the RCA Regional Office (RCARO), hosted by the Korean government at KAERI in Daejeon, Korea, with a staff of 11-50. Funding flows primarily through the IAEA Technical Cooperation Fund (~80%) supplemented by extra-budgetary contributions (~20%); historical UNDP support exceeded $11 million between 1979 and 2000, and Korean host support has ranged $0.4M-$0.7M annually in recent cycles.

RCA operates as a non-commercial public-good institution — it does not sell products or services, has no proprietary revenue mechanics, and is governed by a renewed intergovernmental agreement (last updated 2017). Strategic direction is set annually at the National Representatives Meeting, periodically elevated through Ministerial-level gatherings (first held in 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary), and increasingly delivered through the E-Campus digital learning platform launched in 2021.

Name

Regional Cooperative Agreement

Legal name

Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology for Asia and the Pacific

Website

https://rcaro.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

RCA is an IAEA-auspices intergovernmental framework, established in 1972, that enables 22 Asia-Pacific member states to jointly deliver approximately 180 technical cooperation projects in nuclear science, agriculture, health, energy, and radiation safety.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Nuclear Cooperation

NAICS

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921), Regulation and Administration of Communications, Electric, Gas, and Other Utilities (92613)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825)

akta.pro primary industry

Instrumentation, Controls & Automation (DCS/PLC/SCADA, SIS, Metering) (EUAEAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Picture Archiving & Communication Systems (PACS) (HLACALAA), Instrumentation, Controls & Automation Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAM), EMS Training & Competency Development (EUAHAIAH)

Keywords

• Nuclear technology cooperation
• Radiation safety training
• Peaceful nuclear applications
• Technical cooperation programs
• Regional capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Daejeon

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. IAEA Technical Cooperation Fund (TCF): Primary funding source providing approximately 80% of RCA budget, consisting of voluntary contributions from IAEA member states
2. Extra-budgetary Contributions: Voluntary contributions from member states including Japan and Australia contributing several millions of dollars over the years, representing approximately 20% of budget
3. UNDP Funding: Historical funding from UNDP exceeding $11 million between 1979 and 2000 for various RCA projects
4. Korean Government Host Support: Operational budget contributions from Republic of Korea government for RCARO operations (2002: $0.4M, 2003: $0.5M, 2004: $0.6M, 2005: $0.7M)
5. KOICA Training Programmes: Funding from Korea International Cooperation Agency for nuclear medicine internship and regional training courses

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

RCA is an intergovernmental agreement that coordinates research, development and training in peaceful nuclear science and technology across 22 Asia-Pacific member states under IAEA auspices. It delivers the Regional Programme Framework covering seven thematic sectors (Agriculture, Human Health, Industry, Environment, Energy Planning, Research Reactor Utilization, Radiation Protection) through approximately 180 cooperative projects and 50-60 annual training events. The operational secretariat is the RCA Regional Office (RCARO) hosted by Korea's KAERI in Daejeon, supported by the E-Campus learning platform, DATA-HUB data platform, and the RCARO–NNSA/ORS eBeam technology project.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RCA E-Campus: Online e-learning platform for RCA training courses and educational materials
• DATA-HUB
• NNSA Project

Products and services

• RCA Programme (Regional Programme Framework) Biennial-cycle cooperative programme for research, development and training in peaceful nuclear science and technology across 22 Asia-Pacific Government Parties, covering seven thematic sectors (Agriculture, Human Health, Industry, Environment, Energy Planning, Research Reactor Utilization, Radiation Protection) and approximately 180 projects.
• RCA E-Campus Platform Online learning management system providing scheduled courses, open courses and an e-material archive on nuclear medicine, radiation safety, industrial applications, and quality control, available to RCA member state participants.
• DATA-HUB

Quantifiable outcome

• Extrabudgetary funding of over $11 million attracted from UNDP between 1979-2000
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 1972IAEA serves as the secretariat for RCA and provides technical backstopping and funding through the Technical Cooperation Programme. The agency performs secretariat duties, facilitates policy meetings (NRM and GCM), and provides technical support for RCA projects under the IAEA Technical Cooperation framework.
• UNESCAPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint project collaboration on Hazardous Waste Management between RCA and UNESCAP.
• Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerComplementary cooperation with FNCA for synergistic impact in nuclear technology applications across Asia.
• Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for RCARO, provides facilities and collaborates on research reactor utilization, radiation technology, and other nuclear applications. Accepts post-doc fellowships from member states.
• Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences (KIRAMS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on medical physics training, radiation oncology, and transferred Co-60 radiation equipment with sources to member states for cancer treatment.
• Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners on radiation safety harmonization and radiological emergency response projects for RCA member states.
• Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAccepts students from member states for Master's degree courses in nuclear and quantum engineering as part of human resources development.
• United Nations University (UNU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint academic course collaboration on nuclear policy establishment with UNU.
• Government of ThailandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost partner for the July 2026 Project Coordination Meeting on eBeam technology, demonstrating active participation in RCA programme implementation.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN): CERN is an intergovernmental scientific cooperation organization with a similar membership-funded, treaty-based governance model to RCA. While focused on particle physics rather than applied nuclear science, it is structurally analogous as a long-running multilateral R&D framework.
• International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA): IIASA is an intergovernmental research institute based in Austria with member-state funding for systems analysis. It shares RCA's intergovernmental, member-funded research-cooperation model and capacity-building mandate, though focused on systems analysis rather than nuclear science.
• Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME): SESAME is an intergovernmental scientific cooperation facility in Jordan under UNESCO auspices, structurally similar to RCA in that it pools regional member-state contributions to operate shared scientific infrastructure. It is comparable as a multilateral science cooperation model rather than as a direct nuclear competitor.

Direct peers

• African Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology (AFRA): AFRA is the African counterpart to RCA, operating under the same IAEA Technical Cooperation framework for nuclear science research, development and training. The two agreements share an identical structural model — intergovernmental, member-state funded via TCF, multi-sector thematic coverage — making AFRA the most structurally comparable peer.
• Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA): FNCA is a Japan-led nuclear cooperation forum covering Asia-Pacific countries, explicitly listed as a complementary partner of RCA. FNCA overlaps in membership, thematic scope (agriculture, health, industry, environment) and nuclear focus, making it the most thematically overlapping peer.
• Cooperative Agreement for Arab States in Asia for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology (ARASIA): ARASIA is a third IAEA-brokered regional cooperative agreement covering Arab States in Asia. It mirrors RCA in purpose (peaceful nuclear technology cooperation), membership composition (overlapping with Asia-Pacific), and IAEA TC funding model, though with a smaller membership base.
• Acuerdo Regional de Cooperación para la Promoción de la Ciencia y la Tecnología Nucleares en América Latina y el Caribe (ARCAL): ARCAL is the Latin America/Caribbean regional cooperative agreement for nuclear science under IAEA, sharing the same purpose, governance model and funding architecture as RCA. ARCAL operates as a sibling mechanism to RCA with regional scope and IAEA secretariat support, making it a near-perfect structural parallel.

Regional players

• United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP): UNESCAP is a UN regional commission covering Asia-Pacific, with which RCA has a documented joint project on Hazardous Waste Management. It is comparable as a regional intergovernmental cooperation platform, though operating with a broader development mandate rather than nuclear-specific focus.

Broad incumbents

• Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the OECD: OECD NEA is an intergovernmental body promoting nuclear technology cooperation among advanced/developed economies. It is comparable to RCA as a multilateral nuclear cooperation platform, though it targets OECD members and focuses more on nuclear power/regulation than RCA's development-oriented training mandate.
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Cooperation Programme: The IAEA TC Programme is the global umbrella under which RCA operates (RCA's parent). It is comparable because it sets policy, provides funding (~80% of RCA budget), and runs parallel regional mechanisms; it is broader in geographic scope (global) and not specialized to Asia-Pacific.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights1 record

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Regional Cooperative Agreement