APT's Approach

There are 3 key aspects which define APT’s approach, and our key areas of expertise.  These are...

1. Our Beneficiaries

We help poor and vulnerable people who are particularly marginalised, including through their disability, gender, age, HIV/AIDS status, conflict, or environmental context. We help them move up from welfare (from their communities or from outside) or from nothing at all, to self reliance, independence and a better future for themselves and their families.

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2. Our area of activity and expertise

We help these beneficiaries to generate their own livelihood, at the same time tackling the reasons for their vulnerability and exclusion – practical help which also addresses the root causes of poverty.

The practical help we provide centres around helping people to have a livelihood that lasts, generating the income needed for their daily living. This is at APT’s core.

It includes providing help in:

Markets

• Helping individuals deliver according to market demand 
• Assessing new markets and addressing weaknesses in market systems

Many small scale producers provide only for themselves to eat or for their immediate neighbours. They face numerous barriers that prevent them obtaining the benefits of other markets; helping small scale producers overcome them may involve improvements in transportation and trading links, meeting quality and quantity requirements, negotiation for better terms and conditions, IT communication and micro-credit.

With APT's knowledge and skills in relating to the marketplace, and concern to reach the poorest and most vulnerable, APT is uniquely positioned to increase the opportunities for some of the most disadvantaged people in viable small enterprises, and to promote effective links with wider mainstream markets.
Addressing weaknesses in market systems includes considering structures, dynamics and processes that keep poor producers marginalised, including how markets, suppliers and needed services are linked to poor producers in ‘value chains’. Its analysis may involve diverse but specific solutions from strengthening trade associations  to changing government policies.

Producer Associations

• Poor producers working together for greater gain

We support the organisation of very small enterprises, as producer groups or associations. This helps them to:

• link with others for bulk purchases or sales,
• negotiate and secure a fairer deal for themselves. 
• influence policies, whether lobbying for export policy changes or for better services from their local district council - such as rubbish or sewage collection from market places.

Skills, Technologies, Information
Building the capacity of people to thrive in micro and small enterprises includes access to technical and business management skills, technologies, marketing linkages, other services, and to information on all of these in a form that's appropriate. APT develops mechanisms to deliver these cost effectively, through training of trainers, grassroots community organisations or working alongside other organisations – such as credit institutions.

Empowerment for Change
Helping people who have been excluded to contribute to their local economies also gives them respect and dignity.  This is a starting point to tackling the root causes of poverty and stimulating widespread change.

Addressing the stigma faced by people with disabilities, by working in a business, can convince others of their potential. Credit providers in Uganda now include  people with disabilities having seen their success demonstrated, and the opportunity will be available to many others.

A fundamental cause of poverty is inequality and discrimination. Addressing the stigma faced by people such as those with disabilities, or affected by HIV/AIDS, can help to address widespread discrimination.

For our work to catalyse widespread change and to be sustainable, we need to tackle the inequality of opportunity.

One key way is to build the capacity of those providing services to people trying to set up and run micro and small businesses. We help them to be fairer - more inclusive of marginalised groups, and to be affordable and more accessible to all small scale producers. Such service providers would include small firms, credit providers, local authorities and other government bodies. This is helped by combining with strong publicity of successful role models with their own businesses, and working with key opinion leaders in communities, or at national policy levels.  Experience sharing workshops, exchange visits and how-to guides also help to raise awareness, understanding and achieve widespread change.

We also tackle social exclusion from communities and negative attitudes amongst families, towards marginalised people such as vulnerable women or disabled people.  This can limit their chance to be educated, productive and valued.  By developing positive examples and promoting them in different forms of media we can begin to catalyse widespread change.

It also means building the capacity in other areas of people's lives, such as in health, education and their environment. There is a myriad of challenges to persistent and increasing poverty. Working with, and building the capacity of, government bodies or community organisations aiming to improve health, education or access to other services, is an important component of linking with the work of others and widening our impact.

These two aspects combine to reduce beneficiaries’ immediate and future vulnerability.

Tackling access to markets and livelihoods enables people to meet their basic needs – enough food all year round is often the key priority for people who are marginalised in many different ways.  Yet even when attention is given to making markets more accessible to poor people in general, wealth differentials occur and the most vulnerable in society are the ones excluded. The reasons for their exclusion are complex and inextricably linked with many aspects of their lives, and require tackling in depth to ensure their basic rights are met and their long term vulnerability is reduced.
As a result we:

• target particular groups of people and tailor our approach to their needs and vulnerability context.
• address people’s rights to have equal access to services and to address their social exclusion, with rights-based approaches being relevant and a part of their empowerment.
• work at the interface of people centred, sustainable livelihoods and rights based approaches, and economic and market development approaches.
• Include work in those areas where chronic economic weakness and market dysfunction due to factors such as geographic isolation, lack of natural resources, pervasive social exclusion or conflict at the very least inhibit a market development approach.

Our approach to the above is to:

• find entry points for enabling particularly vulnerable groups to participate in mainstream markets
• tailor projects to the operating environment and the targeted individuals – including market orientated and more social perspectives such as attitude and stigma
• adapt and innovate tools from different approaches
• develop tools and approaches to maximise the benefits for particularly poor and vulnerable people, combining the impact on most marginalised with high levels of outreach.
• work collaboratively with mainstream organisations that offer services
• ultimately contribute to a more coherent approach to benefit the poorest and most vulnerable with livelihoods as a cross cutting constraint

3. Working in partnerships with local organisations

Rather than maintaining offices and employing our own staff overseas, we support the efforts and plans of local organisations, with which we establish partnerships.
The strength of our partnerships with local organisations is of great importance. Our partners drive the work in response to needs of the beneficiaries. We use our experience and links with other partners and organisations to strengthen their ability to do this, providing technical advice and help with monitoring and evaluation.

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Building the capacity of our overseas partners to become more effective in poverty alleviation in their countries is a key component of the sustainability of our work.

Our local partners assume day-to-day responsibility for implementing the projects, with APT providing technical support and problem solving during design, planning and implementation. We work to help our partners become less dependant on APT through, for example, staff development, exchange visits, improving monitoring systems, accounting procedures, reporting and access to funding.

We provide detailed help with monitoring and evaluating the work (as well as the independent, external evaluators who are used for end of project evaluations), Our partners include a range of organisations and structures, including representative movements of, and organisations for, different marginalised groups.

Our approach includes:

• working with partners who are locally established, to develop project ideas which are generated locally and relevant to the local context
• working with partners who have different areas of expertise to our own, and with respect for these
• jointly analysing the viability and development of the project, with APT in an advisory capacity
• supporting the growth and development of partners’ organisations, as a priority
• accessing expertise from other sources and APT partners
• avoiding the potential exacerbation of northern domination through country offices
• building long term relationships to address long term problems

To learn more about who our partners are, please see our partners page.