Practical Action

Practical Action works alongside communities to find practical solutions to the poverty they face. We see technology as a vital contributor to people’s livelihoods. Our definition of technology includes physical infrastructure, machinery and equipment, knowledge and skills and the capacity to organise and use all of these.

We actively seek to work with communities and adopt a collaborative approach, sharing knowledge and experience. We increase our impact by scaling up success and pushing for policy change that directly benefits poor communities.

Practical Answers

Practical Answers is the Technical Information Service of Practical Action and provides information on appropriate, small-scale technologies that improve the lives of people living in poverty. It enables access for all to the wealth of technical knowledge within Practical Action, as well as that of Practical Action's partners and other people working to reduce poverty.

At the core  of Practical Answers is a technical enquiry service where anyone working in poverty reduction, or on small-scale technology projects, can ask a question and receive a response from our local experts free of charge. To ensure the knowledge is locally relevant the service is very decentralised, with most of the work managed from offices around the world. 

Find out more about what we do.

Practical Action Consulting

Sharing over 40 years of international expertise, Practical Action Consulting (PAC) provides independent and professional consulting in the use of technology for poverty reduction to governments, NGOs, aid agencies and the private sector.

Find out about PAC projects.

Find out about PAC Training and Toolkits.

Practical Action Publishing

Since 1974, Europe’s leading independent development publisher, Practical Action Publishing, has been distributing and publishing books and journals on international relief and development policy and practice, including humanitarian emergencies, technology, water and sanitation, agriculture, enterprise development, built environment, industry and manufacturing, environment, climate change and energy.

Practical Action Publishing’s online ebook and journal Knowledge Database, Development Bookshelf, is a specialist peer-reviewed and evidence-based collection for International Development policy, practice and research professionals. This Knowledge Database reflects the learning of multiple agencies and development professionals across a variety of specialist subject areas.