Welcome to the website of the Independent Forum of Commonwealth Organisations (IFCO), the umbrella group for Accredited Commonwealth Organisations.
IFCO facilitates the collective voice of Commonwealth Accredited Organisations (AOs) and their networks and promotes the voice of civil society within the Commonwealth as a strategic partner with Member States and the Commonwealth Inter-Governmental Institutions. Whilst Accredited Organisations had formed partnerships and groupings over the years, this became more explicit after a meeting in 2016, although still informal. IFCO coordinated the collective AO submission to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings in 2018 and has continued to do so. The need for a more formal structure was identified in 2019 and a basic governance framework was approved, enabling the partnerships to strengthen and evolve.
IFCO completed a major governance review in 2026 with a revised constitution including a framework for elections. The IFCO conference, open to all AOs, is the formal governing structure, with a Steering Committee (formerly “Steering Group”) including Honorary Officers responsible for operations. The first Steering Committee was elected in April 2026 and the first IFCO Conference under this new structure, in April 2026, welcomed contributions from the Commonwealth Deputy Secretary General, the Commonwealth Head of Communications, the Director General of the Commonwealth Foundation, the President of the Commonwealth of Learning and the UK Commonwealth Envoy from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The conference also approved a new Code of Conduct and the IFCO submission to CHOGM 2026.
IFCO continues to provide a forum for mutual support and partnership, to represent the views and needs of Accredited Organisations and to promote the value of the Commonwealth as a network of peoples and a multilateral framework for good.
Primary aims of IFCO
1. To serve the Commonwealth and its peoples, to promote Commonwealth values as expressed by the Commonwealth Charter.
2. To harness the collective expertise of Commonwealth Accredited Organisations making this impactful experience, knowledge and skill more accessible to governments and Commonwealth Inter-governmental Organisations for use in promoting democratic, economic, environmental and social resilience, including through thematic clusters of Accredited Organisations.
3. To promote a better appreciation of the role and value of civil society contributions and voices in furthering Commonwealth objectives.
4. To provide a forum where organisations can exchange experience and information, co-ordinate views and prepare proposals and submissions for consideration by competent authorities.
5. To serve as a sounding board for ideas and proposals articulated by its partners.
6. To encourage organisations to engage in critical self-examination and analysis with a view to improving performance and maintaining the highest standards of integrity, accountability and transparency.
Member Countries of the Commonwealth
Updated 4 August 2026