Technical information

We are committed to serving a wide and diverse audience, including people with limited internet access and people using devices such as tablets and mobile phones. This page has information about how you can access our website and related materials.

Farmers learning to use computers at a regional information centre in Cochabamba, Bolivia (Photo: AGRECOL Andes, Creative Commons, via Flickr)

Farmers learning to use computers at a regional information centre in Cochabamba, Bolivia (Photo: AGRECOL Andes, Creative Commons, via Flickr)

Devices and browsers

Our site has been designed to be 'responsive': this means that pages will display clearly on a range of screen sizes, from desktop computers to mobile phones.

We have made every effort to ensure that our site functions well across a range of devices and internet browsers. However there are many different browsers and configurations available, and there may be instances when we have been unable to provide full accessibility for every option.

We urge users to update their browsers regularly, both for optimum viewing of websites and for security.

Languages

While content on this site is predominantly available in English, many of our publications are available in other languages.

You can have the text on any page instantly translated into another language, by using the Google Translate facility. We recognise that this doesn't provide the same quality of information as bespoke translations, but it is a useful tool for people whose first language is not English.

Document formats – PDFs

Our website presents information using a variety of formats. Where we link to to non-HTML files, we provide information about the file's format.

We publish many publications in the Portable Document Format (PDF). Many devices and browsers have PDF support built in.

If you find that you do need to install a program in order to download and print PDF documents, there are many options. The most common program for working with PDFs is Adobe Reader, however it is a large file (102MB) to download. If you would prefer to download a smaller program, the website pdfreaders.org has information about small open-source PDF readers.

Audio, video and animation files

We may present information in the form of audio tracks, videos and animations. Some of these media formats may require additional software or extra helper programs (plug-ins) to work.

The video content on our website is hosted on YouTube, an external website. YouTube publishes videos using the open source HTML5 format. This means that on most modern browsers you can view IIED videos on YouTube without needing to download additional plug-ins.

We also publish videos on the Vimeo website, as Vimeo sometimes offers an alternative platform in regions where YouTube is blocked by the authorities.

This site shown on various screens

Images – copyright

Except where otherwise noted, all images credited to IIED are available under Creative Commons licence. Creative Commons licences are a standardised way to give permission to share and use creative work, including images, video and audio files. Different types of licences specify different usage rights.

IIED images are generally available under the licence CC BY-NC 2.0. Where we have used images from other sources, these are usually licensed under Creative Commons and we credit them as specified.

Social media

IIED is committed to using all available platforms to communicate its research. We are keen to engage and interact with our global audience wherever possible to share experiences, learn lessons and receive feedback on our activities. Social media provides a useful way for us to do this.  

Our materials are available across a range of social media platforms.

Accessing IIED publications

We are committed to making IIED's work available to researchers, communities, organisations and governments across the world.

Many of our publications can be downloaded free of charge in PDF format. Our publications website also provides abstracts of all our published work. You can search all our publications, both formal published works and informal literature, from the main page of our publications site.

We offer libraries and resource centres operating in the global South the opportunity to receive our publications free of charge. To find out more about our free publications scheme, please contact us.