The story that has resulted in the creation of a community of trainers, experts and consultants in the field of food safety, the creation of their professional network and the development of this IT tool started in the summer of 2019 at the general meeting of the participants of the CiSEP School (Civic School for Sound EU Practice). Students were invited to prepare ideas and projects on a wide range of issues related to the implementation of the EU-UA Association Agreement (AA) and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). So, the group, which was studying legislation and practice of consumer rights protection in the EU proposed the idea of ​​creating a professional community in the field of consumer rights protection in Ukraine. This group of profile specialists came together during four 3-day training sessions of the SiCEP School in Ukraine and the following trip to Berlin and was very enthusiastic with implementation of the EU experience in the food safety sphere. Graduates of the SiCEP School intended to concentrate the potential of profile specialists in one place, strengthen the exchange of information and knowledge, deepen interaction aimed at the development of the national system of consumer rights protection in accordance with European and international standards and thus increase their influence on officials and the state.

The organizers of the SiCEP School from the Institute of European Policies, which has been working in Germany since the 1960s and deals with issues of European integration, supported and developed the idea to gather SiCEP graduates under the umbrella of a contemporary network. They proposed to involve in the network not only participants of a separate direction of training, but also all graduates of the SiCEP School. It should be the sound community of specialists who are thoroughly familiar with EU legislation, the best European practices and are ready to become agents of change in Ukraine. 

And this idea did not remain at the level of a proposal or general wish. The SiCEP graduates community was formed on a sound theoretical basis during a special training session on networking:  first in Lviv, first in Lviv, and as COVID quarantine started - in the distant mode. Sam Boering, a specialist of the MDF consulting company from the Netherlands, was invited to teach on the basics of modern networking. He presented not only deep theoretical knowledge of key aspects of modern networking, but also practical experience in the development of professional networks, partially in the agricultural sector of the Netherlands. During the training session, the SiCEP graduates developed a number of basic documents of the network based on the theory and practices.  

Inspired by the work on creating the network for SiCEP graduates, specialists on food safety issues decided to apply the gained knowledge also to forming a community of professional trainers, experts and consultants invol;ved into activity on preparation of Ukrainian agrarian and food business for state inspections and the next entry to the EU markets. This appeared possible within the framework of the project  "Enhancing the position of regional NGOs as players for reforming of the food safety system aimed to combat corruption" financed by the MATRA program of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine. This project was implemented by the NGO "Analytical Center of the Agrarian Union of Ukraine" in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation during 2019-2021.

The team of this project adapted the knowledge and materials on modern networking to the conditions of Ukraine, specified and expanded the  SiCEP School materials. The course on networking has become an organic part of the training agenda for trainers and public activists (T2T), as well as for agrarian and food businesses (T2B). Two separate networks were proposed to serve the needs of food safety specialists' community and needs of the food business.

The KDK trainers' network was established on July 17, 2020 at the constituent assembly. Thus the real innovation brought by the Ukrainian team to the sphere of professional networking was the development of the IT tool for supporting the activities of the professional network, which is now in your hands. It implements the principles of building a modern network, provides simple and convenient opportunities for professional realization and career growth of every specialist, organizes the life of the professional community and, finally, convinces that there is nothing more practical than a good theory. 

In 2022, during the war, the KDK trainers' network received support through the EaP Civil Society Forum Re-granting Scheme (FSTP) to Members funded by the European Union. This enables NGO "Analytical Center of the Agrarian Union of Ukraine", which is a resourcing supporter of the network to develop an English version of this IT tool. As well, under the framework of the EaP Civil Society Forum Re-granting Scheme the strategic session on the after-war development of the food safety specialists community has been held. It figured out the ways and means for strengthening positions of food safety professionals in eurointegration process according to EU Green Deal and the 'from farm to fork' concept.