SPARKNET organisation profile

Practical Action

Co-ordinator

Dr EF Schumacher, author of Small is Beautiful, founded ITDG in 1966. Now called "Practical Action", ITDG is now an international group of development organizations with charitable status. Its head office is in the UK at the Schumacher Centre for Technology and Development, Bourton Hall, Warwickshire, with regional and country offices in the three continents of Africa, Asia and South America. The group"s annual turnover is over Euro 17 million, and it employs almost 300 staff around the world.

ITDG"s mission is: "To build the technical skills of poor people in developing countries, enabling them to improve the quality of their lives and that of future generations." Most of the world"s poorest people earn their living from small-scale enterprises, which they conduct from their homes, fields and workshops. They rely on small-scale, often traditional technology to succeed.

ITDG operates at this community level, helping people to build on their existing knowledge and skills, and to improve their technical capacity in ways that are appropriate, affordable and sustainable. This careful management of technical change in people"s lives can help them to survive rapid economic change, while protecting their environment.

ITDG is engaged in a range of activities which includes technology development, the pilot testing and commercialization of technologies, technical assistance to other NGOs and community organizations, training, policy research and advocacy. ITDG also maintains a programme of work in policy research and analysis, including gender and technology, and is developing new areas in the fields of information and communications technology, the environment and small scale producers, and urbanisation.

ITDG also has two business subsidiaries IT Publishing, a leading publisher and distributor of development and appropriate technology books and journals, and IT Consultants providing consultancy services on a commercial basis, particularly in the field of renewable energy, and micro and small enterprise development.

ITDG disseminates information through many channels, including a technical enquiry service, international workshops, newsletters, journals and publications. ITDG also engages in advocacy to influence the policy environment at local, national and international levels.

Organisation contacts

	name	surname	city	country
Dr.	Teodoro	Sanchez	Bourton On Dunsmore, Warwickshire	United Kingdom	view