Vision

A world free of poverty and injustice in which technology is used to the benefit of all.

Mission

ITDGPractical Action aims to eradicate poverty in developing countries by developing and using technology, and by demonstrating results, sharing knowledge and influencing others.

Ambition

To become the leading international authority on the use of technology to reduce poverty in developing countries.

ITDGPractical Action's core principles

People first

Our work with technology is people-centred. It concentrates on what matters most to the people with whom we work, respects their rights, and supports their own efforts to improve the quality of their lives.

Working in partnership

Poor people work hard to find their own solutions to poverty. ITDGPractical Action can help them to get access to information, knowledge and options - to identify their priorities and choose the way to deal with them.

A concern for future generations

ITDGPractical Action projects aim to be sustainable - economically, environmentally, socially and institutionally.

Respect for diversity

ITDGPractical Action respects basic human rights regardless of differences in gender, ethnicity, religion or physical ability.

Our challenge in a divided and fragile world:

Poverty and technology

ITDGPractical Action is well placed to confront the challenges facing poor people in the early 21st century. Our distinctive approach combines the best of:

• participatory methods and poverty-focused development
• analysis and concern for environmental sustainability
• practical technology applications

The challenge for international development at the beginning of the 21st century remains the elimination of poverty and inequality. While the proportion of the world's population living in poverty declined in the 1990s, the number of people living on less than a dollar a day has remained constant at 1.2 billion.

The majority of the world's poor - around 70% - are women. They are at the forefront of meeting the basic needs of their families, and the survival of many communities depends on their technical skills and knowledge. Successful development initiatives that target women often result in greater social impact.

There is no single cause of poverty and it has many features. However, lack of "technology" is a key facet of living in extreme poverty:

• 2 billion people still do not have modern, efficient forms of energy

• 1.5 billion people have inadequate housing

• 1 billion people have no access to safe water, and 2.4 billion have no sanitation

• 3 billion people rely on firewood for cooking.

Nonetheless, poor people are energetic, entrepreneurial and skilful. With very limited resources, they draw on their own abilities, skills, knowledge and support from family, community and social networks.

Technical change has the potential to help millions of people in their daily struggle to survive. Improved technologies can bring poor people better livelihood options, increase their productivity and incomes, improve the quality of the goods and services that they use, and enhance the quality of their lives.

However, the ability of poor communities to overcome the barriers that prevent them working their way out of poverty is often constrained by social, economic and political policies or processes that are outside their control or influence.

Poverty, technology and vulnerability

Poor people are the most vulnerable. Their lives are highly susceptible to shocks or disruptions caused by climate change, natural disasters, conflict and the spread of infectious disease.

The unsustainable use of fossil fuels in developed countries makes the planet more vulnerable to climate change, and the developing world is the hardest hit. Even a small degree of environmental degradation can damage the local ecology and livelihoods.

The effect of climate change, combined with rapidly changing socio-economic conditions, is an increased incidence of natural disasters that create more refugees than wars and conflict. Today, 96 per cent of all deaths from natural disasters occur in developing countries.

Armed conflicts are increasing and are now mainly within rather than between states. Poorer and more marginalised people are the principal victims of such conflicts rather than members of the armed forces, and the death and destruction that conflict brings to people living in poverty also contributes to their displacement and the disruption of their livelihoods.

Climate change, environmental degradation and under-resourced public health systems in developing countries also aid the spread of diseases such as HIV/AIDs and malaria - to which poor people are particularly vulnerable.

While the challenges are great, technology can offer viable solutions that change lives for the better.

Aim 1 Reducing vulnerability

To strengthen the ability of poor people to use technology to cope with threats to from natural disasters, environmental degradation and civil conflict, by:

• Strengthening the ways that people who live in fragile environments cope with the environmental degradation which threatens their livelihood opportunities
• Improving vulnerable communities' ability to prepare for, survive and rebuild homes and livelihoods after natural disasters
• Preventing and managing conflicts over scarce natural resources and competition for common property resources
• Rebuilding the livelihoods of people affected by civil war or conflict

Examples of ITDGPractical Action's work to reduce vulnerability

Poverty, technology, production and markets

Poor women and men, working in their fields, households and small workshops, depend for their livelihoods upon their own assets, skills and enterprise. They have little capital, very limited access to credit, very little power in the market and rarely receive support from formal institutions.

Rural livelihoods are under greater strain then ever before. The unsustainable use of natural resources is creating environmental crises. Industrialised agriculture and the introduction of biotechnology threaten the rights of farmers to control the technologies they need to feed their families. Over one billion people face the threat of hunger.

Half the world's population live in urban areas, and by 2025 the proportion will have reached two-thirds. Here, poor people have low levels of productivity because of their limited assets and resources. But simple changes in technology can often increase productivity and conserve resources by incorporating elements of traditional knowledge and modern science.

That said, small-scale businesses find it increasingly difficult to compete with bigger, often multinational companies under liberalised trade regimes. Many companies from traditionally wealthy parts of the world have benefited from subsidies and protection that many less wealth countries and producers have either lost or been denied.

Poor producers need good information about market opportunities and support to upgrade their technologies to access local, regional or international markets on favourable terms.

Aim 2 Making markets work for poor people

To enable poor women and men to use technologies to build secure livelihoods, through improved systems of production, processing and marketing, by:

• Improving the livelihoods of society's most disadvantaged groups (for example, disabled people and those affected by HIV/AIDs)
• Increasing the productivity of small-scale businesses
• Improving the access of poor people to the resources, support and infrastructure they need to build their livelihoods
• Advocating policy changes that enable poor people to access and benefit from markets

Examples of ITDGPractical Action's work to make markets work for poor people

Poverty, technology and services

Poor people are often excluded from essential services such as water, sanitation, energy, education and health - as well as lacking adequate shelter. The trend to privatise basic services has also increased costs for many poor people, and small scale providers tend to be under-resourced and expensive. The impact on the lives of women and children in particular - on their time, energy and health - is huge.

Locally-managed, sustainable and decentralised services offer low-income communities the best hope of satisfying their need for affordable water, sanitation, housing and energy.

Aim 3 Improving access to useful services, systems and structures

To improve the access of poor women and men to locally-managed services, by developing and disseminating:

• Technology that improves access to locally-managed water and sanitation services
• Housing technology and access to adequate shelter and secure tenure
• Modern, clean sustainable energy services (including cooking technologies)
• Transport technologies to improve mobility
• Technologies for solid waste management
• Technologies for locally-managed communications services

Examples of ITDGPractical Action's work to improve access

Poverty, technology and the future

The role of technology in development is perhaps even more important in the new century than it was in the last. In the era of globalisation, new technologies are rapidly reshaping the livelihoods and lifestyles of people throughout the world at a pace beyond the capacity of society to understand and regulate its impacts.

Knowledge and communications-based industries are rapidly reshaping the global economy, causing a 'knowledge divide' between the information-rich and the information-poor. There is an urgent need to regain control of the ways new technologies are developed and used. Crucially, it is not recognised widely enough that the poor are able to innovate themselves, and their own creativity, thinking and potential solutions are often not supported.

Aim 4 Responding to new technologies

To enable poor people to assess and respond to the challenges of new technologies, and to develop and adopt applications that improve their livelihoods.

We will:

• Enable poor people to assess the opportunities and threats presented by new technologies
• Identify and test potential opportunities for poverty reduction presented by new technologies
• Ensure that policies, regulations and institutions are favourable to poor people and can be influenced by poor people themselves

Examples of ITDGPractical Action's work responding to new technologies

Our distinctive approach

ITDGPractical Action works with poor people to demonstrate practical answers to poverty. We see technology as a vital contributor to people's livelihoods. Our definition of 'technology' includes physical infrastructure, machinery and equipment, the associated knowledge and skills, and the capacity to organise and use all of these.

To this end we will:

Work in local and international partnerships

ITDGPractical Action enables poor communities to manage technical change by working directly with them at all stages of a project, giving special emphasis to including women.

We can make a real difference to local communities. However, by increasingly working in partnerships with like-minded groups, we can achieve greater impact from limited resources.

Demonstrate practical answers to poverty

ITDGPractical Action researches, tests and demonstrates how the appropriate development and use of technology can have a widespread impact on people living in poverty without degrading the environment.

All our project work is geared to have an impact beyond the communities that benefit directly. We also use the information, lessons and knowledge derived from our project experience to influence the policy and practice of others.

Increase the impact of our work by scaling up success

ITDGPractical Action will maximise the impact of our projects on lives and livelihoods, through:

Sharing knowledge
ITDGPractical Action will lead the field in creating and disseminating knowledge on the use of technology to reduce poverty and contribute to sustainable development, by:

• Publishing books, journals, newsletters and web pages
• Offering a technical enquiry service for small enterprises in the developing world and for development workers
• Communicating effectively with the print and broadcast media
• Influencing the content of young people's education and providing resources for learning
• Helping to build and lead local, national and international networks to disseminate useful knowledge on technology and poverty reduction

Consultancy
Provide worldwide consultancy services which spread ITDGPractical Action's experience to other countries and partners and which influence donors, companies and multilateral development institutions.

Increasing operational scale
Build on successful pilots and proven technologies to implement programmes with greater impact and encourage governments or multi-lateral agencies to adopt them.

Raise awareness and push for change

ITDGPractical Action will transform perceptions of how technology can support sustainable development and fight poverty, using our credibility and experience to influence the policy and practice of others, by:

• Linking local partners to the relevant policy frameworks and changing policies in favour of poor people
• Leading and contributing to advocacy
• Enabling project partners themselves to lobby

ITDGPractical Action people

ITDGPractical Action's mission can only be delivered through its people. The ITDGPractical Action culture is characterised by:

Commitment

ITDGPractical Action staff strongly believe in the values that underpin our mission. They demonstrate personal enthusiasm and encourage and motivate others. They persevere until they get things done.

Creativity

ITDGPractical Action works with poor people to share ideas and information that help people create their own solutions to poverty. We are innovative in our approach to achieving results.

Communication

ITDGPractical Action aims to punch above its weight. ITDGPractical Action staff are good listeners and learners. They add value by combining local knowledge with their own professional expertise. They are committed to excellent communication with individuals, partners, policy makers and institutions.

Collaboration

ITDGPractical Action staff are good team players - they value and respect the contribution of others. They work in partnerships of mutual respect with poor people. They form alliances and networks to achieve common goals, and enjoy working together.

ITDGPractical Action aims to help eradicate poverty in developing countries by using technology and demonstrating results, sharing knowledge and influencing others.

ITDGPractical Action's strategy

This Group Strategy 2003-2007 sets out an exciting vision of how ITDGPractical Action will increase its impact and influence in an increasingly divided and fragile world. The global scourge of poverty and inequality is more prevalent than ever at the beginning of the 21st century - our fifth decade of activities. And while the world is being transformed by rapid developments in new technologies, large swathes of humanity are being deprived of even the simplest technologies.

We know that improved technologies - appropriate to women and men living in poverty - can increase productivity and incomes, improve goods and services, and benefit lives. Yet scientific and technological development is focused on meeting the wants of consumers in the developed world rather than the needs of producers and consumers in developing countries.

ITDGPractical Action knows that things need to change. The strategy on this page outlines how we will deliver real and practical answers to poverty. By supporting poor communities to harness technologies that meet their needs, we will:

ITDGPractical Action must continue to offer "practical answers". But we must also increase our impact on poverty and sustainable development by sharing knowledge and influencing policy and practice. The strategy maps out a bold and ambitious new direction for ITDGPractical Action. The ways in which we work internally will also change. It requires us to:

• Work together internationally to ensure that the whole is more than the sum of the parts.
• Share knowledge to enrich the quality of our projects and programmes, and influence policy and practice.
• Rebuild our support in the UK by growing and diversifying our supporter base.
• Significantly grow our unrestricted income.
• Invest in developing our staff and meeting standards of excellence in all our international offices.
• Develop new skills to enable us to use new technology to reduce poverty.
• Build an international movement to push for "pro-poor" policy changes around technology.

These are big steps. But they must be taken if we are to bridge the gap between rich and poor. There has never been a time when ITDGPractical Action's voice and experience has been needed more. This ambitious new Group Strategy sets the course for ITDGPractical Action to have increased impact and influence in today's world.