SCOPE & ICF Launch a Landmark Coaching & Leadership Initiative

In February 2026, the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), the apex association representing India’s government-owned Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs), and the International Coaching Federation (ICF) announced a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to transform leadership development across India’s public sector and beyond.

Who are the key players?

• SCOPE represents and advocates India’s public-sector companies, from energy and infrastructure to manufacturing and services. As the collective voice of these companies, SCOPE oversees a sector that constitutes the backbone of India’s national economy and employs a vast majority of its industrial workforce.

• ICF is the largest professional association for coaching worldwide, setting global standards for coaching practice, research, and credentialing.

• Talent at Work is leading the on-the-ground implementation of this important collaboration as ICF’s official representative in India.

What is the purpose of this MoU?

The partnership aims to integrate coaching as a strategic leadership tool, moving beyond traditional training toward a culture of sustained professional development within large organizational systems. This is not just about individual courses; it is about embedding coaching into leadership practices, organizational structures, and performance frameworks.

Core components of the collaboration include:

• A joint research study titled “State of Coaching within Indian PSEs”, designed to assess current coaching practices, gaps, and opportunities across public enterprises. The study will measure the impact of coaching on leadership performance and organizational outcomes.

• A focus on capacity building, with strategic frameworks to develop internal coaching talent and embed coaching competencies into organizational leadership practices.

• Exploration of mechanisms to recognize excellence, potentially including awards or benchmarks that highlight best-in-class coaching initiatives.

Why this is significant for associations:

For many associations, leadership development and professional certification are core offerings. This MoU is important because it signals a broader shift in India and increasingly in other large economies toward institutional adoption of professional standards at scale. Rather than isolated training programs, organizations are prioritizing evidence-based frameworks that demonstrate impact on organizational performance.

Here is why association leaders should pay attention:

1. Large-scale organizational demand:

India’s public enterprises encompass hundreds of thousands of employees across diverse sectors. Embedding coaching into these systems creates demand for structured frameworks that can be scaled, measured, and aligned with organizational performance goals.

2. Global standards meet national priorities:

The collaboration pairs ICF’s internationally recognized standards with India’s public sector governance frameworks. For associations with global reach, this type of integration illustrates how global best practices can be adapted to national development goals.

3. Research drives adoption:

By anchoring the initiative in rigorous study, the partnership is creating evidence that associations can leverage when positioning leadership, coaching, or competency frameworks in other markets. Data-driven insights are increasingly necessary for institutional acceptance.

4. Enterprise transformation over episodic training:

The focus here is not on one-off workshops or seminars. It is about building capability systems that last, which resonates with executives responsible for national and organizational outcomes, not just participation numbers.

In essence, this alliance reflects a deepening maturity in how leadership and human capital development are conceptualized and operationalized at scale. For associations with proven frameworks, research capabilities, and scalable credentialing models, collaborations like this offer a valuable reference point and a potential blueprint for meaningful engagement in India and similar markets.