Page Text: | Environment | Urban | Community | Economy | Information |
ithin the broader objective of the need for incorporating market dynamics and financial resources in development activities, GDRC specifically deals with the themes of the informal sector (as a need to highlight consumption and production efficiency within poverty alleviation concerns), of technology management (as a need to understanding the management of technology knowledge and matching needs and offers), and of sustainable businesses (as a need to use sustainability as a profit-driven factor for businesses, particularly SMEs).
Themes under the Economy Sphere
So what kinds of policies best foster the informal sector to mainstream, without loosing its inherent advantages? What is its role in poverty alleviation?
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The informal sector includes all economic activities which are not officially regulated and which operates outside the incentive system offered by the state and its institutions. These pages look at the different dimensions of the sector, and policies and programmes that help in mainstreaming it.
informal sector, poor, low-income groups, SMEs, poverty, informal credit, informal finance, labour market, urban areas and cities
Currently, GDRC is focussing on the role of informal sector activities within an urban economy context. It is also researching the strategic policy environments in which the informal sector can function efficiently.
So what do we do with technologies? Where does it fit in the sustainability framework at the local level?
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Technology Management requires knowledge, management skills and technical and maintenance capabilities, besides the technology iteself. Integrating human skills, organisational development and information networks in the trasnfer process is essential - GDRC's programme looks at the multi-dimentional aspects of technology transfer.
technology management, technology transfer, technology assessment, appropriate technology, technology database, environmentally sound technologies, environmental technology
Currently, GDRC is focussing on capacities for the public and private sectors, to assess technologies within a sustainable development framework.