ICA:UK has a long history of working internationally, providing training, facilitation and consultancy to international non-government organisations and working in partnership with aligned organisations in Europe and Africa.

International Non-Government Organisations

The approach and methods of the Technology of Participation are valued by organisations working internationally both a means to involve meaningfully community members in development programmes and as a way of applying the same participatory principles within their organisations.

In addition to INGO staff members attending our public courses, we also offer in-house training for organisations, bringing both our knowledge of facilitation and our experience of international development.

Recent clients include:

AFFORD
CBM
Challenge
GIZ Beyond Programme Hope for Children
Initiatives of Change Switzerland
International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)
Light for the World
Malaria Consortium
Medecins san Frontieres
NICO (Kazakhstan)
Tearfund
Tropical Forest Alliance
Wikimedia Foundation

Case Studies

African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) ICA techniques and ideas have had, I would say, a big impact on AFFORD. From my own perspective it has shaped the way I approach meetings and seek to build consensus for actions.

International Cultural Youth Exchange (ICYE) A training on facilitation where the participants are the facilitators- and it works!

Peace Direct Participation and facilitation are key elements to peacebuilding as they allow a harmonisation of views and reaching agreement where they seem impossible at the beginning. Every individual/member of organization has points of view that need to be heard /expressed. Disagreement is normal but good facilitation helps to reach consensus and establish a basic common ground for dialogue, conflict resolution and building solid organizations and societies

Sightsavers I think it was a signal success that you and your team managed the fieldwork so well and that the end result is clearly accepted as being very important for the organisation. Partnership has been well and truly raised up on everyone’s agenda.

Read also case studies from Lead Trainer Martin Gilbraith, from his use of ToP methods with Eurochild, Oxfam, Girls not Brides, the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists and Initiatives of Change Switzerland

Our Work with Partners

In Europe

There are ICA International members in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Ukraine and France who ICA:UK communicates and works with on an ongoing basis.

In Africa

Due to the many UK volunteers who worked with ICAs in Africa during the 1980s, ICA:UK has a long connection with organisations in Africa who share similar values and principles. Our offer focuses on developing the capacity of these organisations to better serve the communities they reach, and to ensure that people remain at the heart of any initiative. All too often undervalued, these organisations and individuals are vital links between external support and local communities, supporting them to take charge of their own development.

Mostly small and community based, these organisations are in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Village Volunteers Sponsorship Scheme

To help finance the development of our partners we run a sponsorship scheme, linking individuals in the UK with local organisations in Africa. The funds focus on organisational strengthening, providing finance for development work that is often overlooked by more programme-orientated donors. Learn more here.