CAPACITY BUILDING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

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CAPACITY BUILDING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES FOR
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• Russel C. Jones, Ph.D., P.E.
• President
• WFEO Committee on Capacity Building

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Capacity Building for Economic Development

• Give a man a fish you have fed him for today.
  Teach a man to fish you have fed him for a
  lifetime.

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The need . . .
Let me challenge all of you to help mobilize
global science and technology to tackle the
interlocking crises of hunger, disease,
environmental degradation and conflict that are
holding back the developing world. Kofi Annan,
2002
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The need . . .

• We need to encourage international commitments
  to promote the kind of engineering and technology
  that contributes to lasting development around
  the world.
• Koichiro Matsuura, 2000

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Capacity Building Definition

• Capacity building is a dedication to the
  strengthening of economies, governments,
  institutions and individuals through education,
  training, mentoring, and the infusion of
  resources. Capacity building aims at developing
  secure, stable, and sustainable structures,
  systems and organizations, with a particular
  emphasis on using motivation and inspiration for
  people to improve their lives.

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Results of Aid to Date

• The Elusive Quest for Growth, by William
  Easterly (MIT Press, 2002)
• Previous efforts have tried to use foreign aid,
  investment in machines, fostering education at
  the primary and secondary levels, controlling
  population growth, and giving loans and debt
  relief conditional on reforms to stimulate the
  economic growth that would allow these countries
  to move toward self sufficiency
• all of these efforts over the past few decades
  have failed to lead to the desired economic
  growth
• these massive and expensive efforts have failed
  because they did not hit the fundamental human
  behavioral chord that people respond to
  incentives

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What Would Work?

• Easterly argues that there are two areas that can
  likely lead to the desired economic growth in
  developing countries, that can lead them toward
  economic self sufficiency
• utilization of advanced technologies, and
• education that leads to high skills in
  technological areas

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What outcomes are desired?

• A solid base of technologically prepared people
  in developing countries
• to attract investments by multinational companies
• to assist in making the most of foreign aid funds
• to provide a basis for business development by
  local entrepreneurs

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Two complementary approaches

• UNESCO Engineering for a Better World proposal,
  to enhance engineering programs within that
  organization
• WFEO Committee on Capacity Building, to provide
  an action oriented program for forward motion

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UNESCO Plans for Capacity Building 2003

• Stimulated by US rejoining of UNESCO after 18
  year absence Engineering for a Better World
  program proposed
• Vision is to promote human and institutional
  capacity building in developing countries, for
  poverty reduction and sustainable economic and
  social development

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Focus of Engineering for a Better World

• Strengthen engineering education, training and
  continued professional development
• Standards, quality assurance and accreditation
• Development of curricula, learning and teaching
  materials and methods
• Distance and interactive learning (including
  virtual universities and libraries)
• more

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more areas of focus

• Development of engineering ethics and codes of
  practice
• Promotion and public understanding of engineering
  and technology
• Development of indicators, information and
  communication systems for engineering
• Addressing gender issues in engineering and
  technology
• Inter-university and institutional cooperation
• Development of policy and planning to support the
  above

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WFEO Standing Committee on Capacity Building

• Established in October 2003 at the World
  Federation of Engineering Organizations General
  Assembly in Tunis, based on a proposal from the
  United States
• Hosted by the American Association of
  Engineering Societies in Washington DC
• Chaired by Russel C. Jones
• To complement UNESCO Engineering for a Better
  World in-house effort

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What is different about this project?

• The CCB is run by engineers who understand
  engineering problems and solutions.
• The CCB approach is interdisciplinary,
  understanding that complex problems require
  complex solutions.
• The CCB supports the creation of a development
  continuum what works in one emerging economy may
  well provide a model for another
• The CCB encourages engineering projects that
  emphasize incentives for change in support of
  technical improvements and growth
• The CCB emphasizes entrepreneurship that has a
  social dimension

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Activities for WFEO Committee

• Make expertise of professional and technical
  societies in developed world available to
  engineers in the developing world publications,
  conferences, codes of practice, and ethics
• Deliver needed information to engineers and
  engineering educators in developing countries via
  distance learning technologies
• Strengthen engineering education in developing
  countries via sharing of best practices in
  curricular reform and in engineering practice
• more

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more WFEO activities

• Provide an information resource for the
  engineering education needs of developing
  countries teaching and learning materials, lab
  equipment, software, etc.
• Address pipeline and diversity issues in
  providing the needed quality and quantity of
  engineers
• Promote collaboration between institutions in
  developing and developed worlds
• Promulgate quality assurance standards
• Facilitate volunteer efforts by engineers

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Next steps for WFEO Committee

• Presidents of 80 WFEO member countries have been
  asked to nominate members of the Committee on
  Capacity Building (January 2004)
• Startup planning conference planned to develop
  detailed agenda and plan for committee (June 2004
  in Washington DC)
• Seeking external funding
• First regular committee meeting at WEC2004 in
  Shanghai in November 2004

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EBW and WFEO CCB

• Engineering for a Better World is a call to
  action from the United Nations.
• The WFEO Committee on Capacity Building is the
  response of the engineering profession throughout
  the world in the form of a strategic action
  agenda.

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Outcomes of an engineering approach

• Technical capability is needed for developing
  countries to engage effectively in the global
  economy.
• A base of qualified engineers and technologists
  will facilitate the infusion of foreign capital
  through attraction of multinational companies to
  invest in the developing country

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Outcomes of an engineering approach

• Indigenous science and technology capacity is
  needed to insure that international aid funds are
  utilized effectively and efficiently for
  initial project implementation, for long-term
  operation and maintenance, and for the
  development of capacity to do future projects.
• An engineering approach serves to reduce
  brain-drain, showing people that they can partner
  with donor nations in helping build their own
  homelands.

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Outcomes of an engineering approach

• In order to stimulate job formation, a technical
  workforce pool is needed, made up of people who
  are specifically educated and prepared to engage
  in entrepreneurial startup efforts that meet
  local needs
• An engineering approach, when coupled with
  entrepreneurship, results in societal as well as
  personal benefits.

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An early example of capacity building Engineer
of the Americas

• Initiated in Brazil, 2003
• Concept
• Generate a technical work force that stimulates
  the regional economy and that of each country in
  the Hemisphere (attract multinational companies,
  use aid funds effectively, stimulate
  entrepreneurship)
• Foster professional mobility of well qualified
  engineers within the Hemisphere

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More on Engineer of the Americas

• Next steps
• Present at UPADI 2004 in Mexico City in September
• Highlight at ICEE 2004 in Florida in October
• Continue grass roots effort (enhance engineering
  education, establish accreditation systems, )
• Pursue a top down approach similar to the
  Bologna Declaration approach taken in Europe
  (harmonization of higher education programs,
  quality assurance systems)
• Provide input for a meeting at the ministerial
  level to pursue these concepts

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Other close-in opportunities

• Virtual exhibit (capture ASEE annual meeting
  exhibit)
• Conference on teaching entrepreneurship to
  engineering students
• Electronic conferences for professional
  development of faculty members who cannot get to
  meetings
• many more to result from this planning
  conference

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Contact information

• Russel C. Jones
• President, WFEO Standing Committee on Capacity
  Building
• RCJonesPE_at_aol.com