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CAPACITY BUILDING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

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Title: CAPACITY BUILDING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT


1
CAPACITY BUILDING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES FOR
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
  • Russel C. Jones, Ph.D., P.E.
  • President
  • WFEO Committee on Capacity Building

2
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.

3
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
4
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

5
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.

6
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

7
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

8
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

9
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

10
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

11
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

12
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

13
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

14
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

15
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

16
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

17
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

18
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.

19
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

20
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.

21
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.

22
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

23
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

24
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

25
Contact information
  • Russel C. Jones
  • President, WFEO Standing Committee on Capacity
    Building
  • RCJonesPE_at_aol.com
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