International engineering contribution to slum upgrading projects in the developing world

Ongoing PhD research at the Centre for Sustainable Development,

Cambridge University Engineering Department.

By Victoria Hickman

Engineering for International Development

The foreign engineer may have a significant role to play in poverty alleviation and development. Engineering1 could address the huge lack of infrastructure2 and basic services that exacerbate global poverty and hold back sustainable development. Globally, many nations lack the basic requirements to survive and develop; safe drinking water, basic sanitation, shelter and infrastructure, aggravated by an increasing population putting even more strain on the earth‟s resources. Engineering has the potential to deliver solutions to these problems. A major historical engineering contribution to development was Joseph Bazalgette‟s design and implementation of an efficient sewerage system in 19 th century London. „Bazalgette‟s defining issue [sic] was dealing with the problem of urban sewage and its disposal into local water courses and the resultant occurrence of water related diseases such as cholera and their impact on public health‟ (Jowitt 2006). Bazalgette‟s sewer solution resulted in not only an improved appearance of London‟s streets but most significantly a huge increase in standards of health (BBC n.d.), the sewer network is said to have added an average of twenty years to life expectancy (Engineers Without Frontiers 2004).

Engineering could provide the vital infrastructure needed for societies to develop. However due to an under-investment in aspects of basic infrastructure and concerns of the detrimental affects engineering activity can have on the environment, some have been wary of engineering offering a solution to aid development in developing countries (Engineers Without Frontiers 2004). Over the past two decades, engineering has not made a significant contribution to international development practice. This is partly because of some past failed attempts of infrastructure projects in developing countries which ignored critical social, environmental and economic factors (Juma 2006). High profile projects „such as dams, power stations and prestigious commercial centres and highways are not seen to have helped reduce levels of poverty or improved access to

1 Engineering means the application of scientific and technical knowledge to solve specific questions. 2 Infrastructure is used within this report to describe the facilities, structures, associated equipment,

services, and institutional arrangements that facilitate the flow of goods and services between individuals,

firms and governments (Juma, 2006).

services, and the growth of slums outstrips any attempts to service them‟ (Engineers Without Frontiers 2004). Some of these large projects were associated with ecological damage, corruption and macro-economic distortions, consequentially leading to policy proposals that neglected the important role of infrastructure in sustainable development (Juma 2006). Because of these failed projects, much investment in engineering schemes over recent years has often been directed to solving the expensive problems of deficiencies in infrastructure. Such inadequacies include;

Lack of planning for ongoing operation and maintenance of the facilities

Limited attention to the development of a sense of ownership by the local community

Political interference and intervention

Allocation of funds to countries without a poverty strategy of their own

Corruption, leading to ineffectiveness of infrastructure (Singleton 2003)

This was prominent at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, where there was a call for alleviation strategies involving „no more hardware‟, noting that major investments in water infrastructure schemes over the last 20-30 years had failed to bring any benefits. The Summit emphasized that smaller-scale solutions suited to local capabilities, understanding and skills would be more appropriate. International contribution to development engineering poses a number of challenges due to cultural, perceptual, technical, economical, social, environmental, political etc. reasons. The typical „western‟ culture may assume that development is positive and risks imposing this view on other cultures. For example, many international contributions to development (although with good intentions) may not actually be satisfying a need, may be a one-off demonstration project, may not be affordable, reproducible, maintainable or culturally sensitive, and could result in doing more harm than good to the recipient community.

„The organizational imperatives of the [development] industry have generally worked against our ability to act on what we do understand about real development, rendering us not only ineffective but often harmful as well‟ (Dichter 2003).

Today, the international community acknowledges that engineers do in fact have a key role to play in the delivery of the MDGs, and engineering professionals are learning from the lessons of the past and beginning to understand how their role should adapt to deliver sustainable solutions for the future. The role of infrastructure and associated engineering fields are now accepted as vital for the implementation of sustainable development strategies and reaching the goals, as is the need for the delivery of engineering within an appropriate integrated strategy;

„The field‟s contribution can reduce poverty by contributing to sustainable development (for example, by creating job opportunities and raising agricultural productivity); and alleviate hunger by providing the physical infrastructure needed to advance agriculture. These technological measures themselves, however, do not solve the challenges of poverty and hunger; they must be to be part of an integrated strategy aimed at improving overall human welfare‟ (Juma 2006).

„The role of engineers in delivering infrastructure schemes needs to change significantly‟ (Singleton 2003). Paul Jowitt stressed this point when discussing the role of the engineer in the delivery of the MDGs in the 6th Brunel International Lecture delivered at the Institute of Civil Engineers in 2006.

„In the past, engineers have driven highways and railroads across continents, dammed mighty rivers, tunnelled under the sea and put men on the moon. As engineers we are a key profession in the implementation of society‟s desires and needs. Yet, our profession needs to change in response to new social and environmental challenges – where we claimed to “direct the powers of nature for the use and convenience of mankind” we now need to focus on “working with the powers of nature for the use and benefit of society” „ (Jowitt 2006).

The capability of a nation to initiate and sustain economic growth depends on its ability to provide clean water, good health care, adequate infrastructure, and safe food, which undoubtedly rely on engineering capability. Domestic competence needs to be built at the local level. Engineering capabilities such as information and communication technologies (ICT), healthcare dependant on infrastructure, improved technological knowledge and innovation, are vital for sustainable development.

„When the preconditions of basic infrastructure (roads, power and ports) and human capital (health and education) are in place, markets are powerful engines of development. Without those pre-conditions, markets cruelly by-pass large parts of the world, leaving them impoverished and suffering without respite‟ (Sachs 2005).

The importance of investment in infrastructure and associated human capital development was emphasised by Calestous Juma in the 2006 Hinton Lecture. He highlighted that more attention needs to be paid to investing in people and promoting technological innovation rather than simply short term palliatives that relief activities often deliver. He highlights that a new focus on competence building is replacing a traditional focus on emergency relief activities. „This shift will involve building capabilities in key areas related to production, project execution, and technical innovation…Much of the work to build local competence entails training in engineering and related management fields‟ (Juma 2006).

Obviously, engineering has a positive role to play in alleviating the global problems of poverty and delivering sustainable development, but the inter-linking conditions that impact such issues must be carefully considered. The Institute of Civil Engineer‟s commission Engineers Without Frontiers states;

„If engineering is truly to deliver the best possible outcomes to society, engineers must understand their role in this wider field, and shape their work and their contribution accordingly. This is the new challenge that faces engineering, both at home and in the global arena. Engineers must remain experts in their field but must also understand the interaction between their work and the environment, culture and society, and the economy. It is no longer an apolitical activity – indeed if it ever was. Engineering constructions are not monuments, but just parts of complex, changing systems – both human and environmental‟ (Engineers Without Frontiers 2004).

The Forth Brunel International Lecture, 2003 presented by David Singleton stresses that the wider issues of sustainability must be addressed when developing strategies to alleviate poverty. Singleton states that engineering solutions are integral to mitigating poverty, but these must be balanced with attention to social, economic and political influences in order to deliver appropriate engineering.

Box 1 – Conditions necessary for sustainable engineering

The conditions necessary for sustainable engineering projects;

The local community must be empowered by the decision-making process

The local community must be involved in the ongoing operation and maintenance

National and regional governments must also be involved in the project

Project selection must favour those projects that lead to economic growth

Strength of the market economy is a prerequisite to economic growth

Close involvement of the local community will improve the chances of project success, it needs to be „owned‟.

Life-cycle engineering – takes into account the operational and maintenance cost of the engineering solutions proposed. Empowered engineering – takes into account the capabilities of the local communities. Appropriate engineering – will consider various options that meet the engineering needs of the project. For example, these may adopt techniques of labour-based construction, (differing from labour intensive construction) which facilitates knowledge transfer, creates jobs, encourages private enterprise, creates ownership and may reduce costs.

(Singleton 2003)

Privatisation in Development

Various engineering organisations have dedicated teams to contribute to the alleviation of poverty in the developing world, sustainable development, humanitarian relief and the delivery of the MDGs. Large international engineering consultancies, small to medium sized specialist engineering organisations, independent consultants, engineering institutions, NGOs and charities each have an important contribution to make. Multi-disciplinary international engineering and management consultancies can contribute to sustainable development in poor communities by delivering their technical expertise to infrastructure and shelter for the development of the built environment on a large-scale. These private firms may have the funds, skills and expertise to address the infrastructure and shelter problems that urban slums are experiencing. If the involvement of private engineering consultancies is appropriately implemented in partnership with local organisations, a sustainable solution could be achieved.

„the market for engineering services is shifting towards developing countries and the companies involved have to contend with a range of new and unfamiliar challenges…the companies most likely to prosper in this changing environment are those that are able to adapt their business models to these new circumstances and align their commercial drivers with the development priorities of the countries where they work‟ (Matthews 2008).

The contribution of international engineering consultancy could be effectively delivered as humanitarian relief to post-disaster/post-conflict situations which offer a „window of opportunity‟ for development (da Silva 2008). The private sector can also generate economic growth to alleviate poverty within developing communities;

Despite the focus on the role of aid in development, it is actually the private sector that primarily drives the economic growth needed in developing countries. It is the private sector that creates jobs and wealth. And it is the private sector that is responsible for the investment, innovation and technological progress than underpin both growth and development (Overseas Development Institute 2008).

However, the informal economy of developing countries is huge and the significance of this should not be ignored. Profits can be made by working with economies in developing communities, „the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid‟ is vast (Prahalad 2004), some have said it is „the biggest market opportunity of the next 50 years‟ (Mahajan and Banga 2005), that it is possible to deliver profitable solutions that also reduce poverty (Hart 2007) and „that policies to help the world‟s poor and global environment are in fact some of the best economic

bargains on the planet‟ (Al Gore commenting on Jeffrey Sach‟s book, Commonwealth) (Sachs 2008). In an increasingly globalized world, international engineering consultancies can also integrate their corporate social responsibility (CSR) within their core business practice.

„Industry has the potential to make an enormous contribution to development goals - not least because of the financial resources at its disposal. But in addition to its monetary investments, industry can be a force for good in other ways, for example by insisting upon and contributing to good governance practices. Moreover, by aligning its business activities with countries' or regions' development goals, industry can not only meet its corporate and social responsibilities but also protect and enhance its long-term business interests‟ (Matthews 2008).

The Business Call to Action is a UK government campaign to mobilise the expertise and efforts of large UK businesses to support growth in developing countries and to contribute to the delivery of the MDGs;

„Business is crucial to tackling poverty. Business is an engine of growth and development and has the potential to impact developing countries enormously. Increased investment, creation of jobs and the development of goods, new technologies and innovations can all result from business activity and considerably improve quality of life and reduce poverty in developing countries‟ (DfID 2008).

The Call to Action is encouraging companies to explore new business opportunities that use their core business expertise in order to both achieve the MDGs and to improve commercial success. For example, large engineering consultancies such as Arup have now formalised their International Development department, recognising that making a profit and „doing the right thing‟ are not mutually exclusive (Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2008). UK based engineering consultancies who have expressed their commitment to the campaign by attending a UK government and UNDP Business Call to Action event in May 2008 included;

Rod Macdonald, Chairman, Buro Happold Terry Hill, Chairman, Arup Keith Clarke, CEO, Atkins Peter Gammie, Group Chief Executive, Halcrow

2008 has been a significant year for bi-lateral and multi-lateral campaigning to speed up the delivery of the MDGs through the involvement of the private sector. The United Nations ECOSOC held a special event in February 2008 with hundreds of companies involved to explore „how corporate philanthropy can contribute to advancing the MDGs, particularly for sustainable development‟. This meeting in fact discussed how private sector organisations can direct the

expertise of their core business practices into sustainable international development (despite using the vocabulary of philanthropy).

Figure 1 – The Corporate Contribution to Development

(Prescott and Nelson 2003)

Challenges and benefits of private sector involvement in development

As the UK private sector is becoming increasingly aware of its role in the delivery of the MDGs, there could be a new industry emerging – an introduction into the market place of a new privatised humanitarian assistance. There are many benefits that this could bring. The private sector has huge capacity and can bring the knowledge, experience, skills and technology to offer a sustainable solution to development. Private sector organisations have a commercial niche and logistics already in place to attract funding as well as contingency planning – skills that NGOs and CBOs may be lacking. For the private firm there are numerous advantages to getting involved in development; these include good publicity for the firm, increased staff morale and significant profits in a new emerging market. However, private organisations will also be motivated by profits, seeking to avoid reputational risk, and will be motivated by the interests of their shareholders. These factors will undoubtedly influence the nature of the firm‟s involvement in development, their choice of client and recipient location. Developed nations‟ governmental involvement has historically been influenced by strategic political advantage; these factors could also be translated into the private sector‟s contributions to development. The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy highlights that both the donor and recipient can gain from the situation;

„Social investment, when conceived and executed thoughtfully, creates a win-win scenario for both business and the public. From boosting employee job skills, opening new markets, and heightening brand recognition to strengthening communities and building non-profit organisational capacity – business and society both stand to benefit greatly if companies demonstrate programmatic effectiveness, fiscal accountability, and good stewardship in their philanthropic contributions‟ (Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy 2007).

Box 2 – Challenges of private sector involvement

Prerequisites for development

In order for a state to develop and for international development assistance to succeed, there are a number of prerequisites needed. These include; reasonable governance structures, a functioning civil society, freedom from persecution, conflict, and corruption.

„The main responsibility for the achievement of the MDGs lies with governments. In particular, there is a need for good governance, rule of law, human rights, ongoing efforts to tackle conflict and corruption, and implementation of international norms and standards. There is a need for more generous and effective assistance from donor governments, debt relief and fairer access to global markets for exports from developing countries. It is within such a framework of government leadership that the private sector can most effectively play a constructive role‟ (Prescott and Nelson 2003).

Local and central governments need to build both capacity and capability in order to support the development of their state. UK based engineering consultancies can share their skills and expertise to support such governments in their development. For example, for slum upgrading in particular, a shift is needed in national and international poverty-reduction strategies. At present, many donors and NGOs have no urban policy, local authorities and development agencies neglect cities assuming poverty is a rural issue. Governance is key to improving the situation and government capacity needs to be increased to: recognise the legal rights of squatters; formalise rights through land tenure, ownership, city-zoning regulations etc; urban planning needs to involve the urban poor in active participation of slum upgrading projects; Enable pro-poor financing.

Must conform to humanitarian law and basic principles of humanitarian aid - Red Cross Code of Conduct

Need to retain level of impartiality

Commercial interests could overtake principles of humanitarian aid

Profiting from others‟ misfortune

Private sector gain partnering with public sector money – will be scrutinised, all must be accounted for, needs transparency

Flow of private sector aid may be unpredictable

Recipients may become dependant and form expectations. Raises the question of when to pull out

Permits governments to diminish responsibility

May struggle to build upon community relations that NGO sector has

Must consider coordination, long-term partnerships

Danger of replacing the humanitarian community – should learn from and contribute Adapted from (Tickell 2007)

Partnerships

In order to build such capabilities, the UK based engineering consultancies (private sector) can form international partnerships with governments, NGOs, CBOs, Bi-lateral, Multi-lateral agencies, civil society and academia, to work together in our globalized world, sharing local knowledge with technical expertise to facilitate sustainable development;

„Addressing global challenges requires a concerted effort, involving all actors. Through partnerships and alliances, and by pooling comparative advantages, we increase our chances of success‟ (UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon).

Such partnerships will be required to overcome organisational cultural differences. For example Bi-lateral donors (e.g. DfID, USAID) do not have the flexibility that companies have of choosing their recipient countries. Donor agencies and other public service organisations prefer predictable arrangements, avoid risk and are involved in work that is not always necessary to measure or quantify. Where as private sector business is about generating profits, taking risks and engaging in work for which successes are easy to measure. If the interface between these differing organisations can be managed effectively, a significant advantage could be possible by merging different skills and expertise. The great potential of partnerships lies in the different assets that each sector could bring. The challenge of cross-sectoral partnerships, including cultural differences, could be overcome through a shared commitment to success, clearly defined goals and ownership, and accountability from both partners. The challenge for effective partnerships for development lies in harmonizing the approaches of public and private giving e.g. ensuring that the diverse flows of financing (traditional development assistance and the new forms of giving are aligned for greater development impact) and ensuring the actions of private donors are made consistent with long-term country development strategies. (UN ECOSOC 2008). Figure 2 shows possible transfers and relationships between stakeholders involved with (and partnering for) slum upgrading projects. Nabeel Hamdi illustrates in his book Small Change that „we need to reverse the order of work and, in so doing, create more synergy and strengthen the linkage between practical ground-level work and the more strategic business of policy development and structure planning…we must increasingly move our territory of operation outside of these [NGOs, CBOs, Local authorities, Governments, Private entrepreneurs] individual realms and place our practice firmly in between‟ (Hamdi 2004). Hamdi shows the differences between the „top-down‟ and „bottom-up‟ conventions and the alternative „action planning‟ (see Figure 3) which „offers a different process and, at the same time, consolidates the role of the outsider as a catalyst, mediator, facilitator or enabler‟;

Figure 3 – Planning processes

(Hamdi 2004)

International Engineering Consultancy e.g.

- Develop new business - Experience for future projects - Satisfy CSR

- Communication skills - Cultural sensitivity

Local partner (NGO, CBO)

Government e.g.

- Capacity - Capability - Ethical values

Slum

Local society

e.g.

- Job creation - Engineering training

Utilities/Service Providers/ (Construction team)

Global Society

e.g.

- Climate change mitigation - MDGs achieved increased global security

International Finance

Transfers = Technical skills

= Social skills

= Finance

Figure 2 - Dependency and relationships between Stakeholder Groups

Research Opportunity

There is an opportunity for international engineering consultancy to effectively contribute to alleviating the situation of poverty in urban slums. Engineers can apply a systems thinking and problem-solving approach to deliver solutions such as improved shelter, water & sanitation and infrastructure for the sustainable development of urban slums. This development of the built environment, will impact on quality of live for the inhabitants of the slum and directly contribute to satisfying the MDGs relating to slum dwellers and access to water. In addition, these contributions will in turn (through improved living conditions and related impacts on health, education, gender) enable local communities to build human capital to develop self-sustained while equalising inequality. International consultants from the private sector may have desirable skills, knowledge and the capability to attract supportive funding to direct to slum upgrading projects that may not be accessible locally. Private sector engineering consultancies also have the option to integrate their corporate social responsibility (CSR) within their core business practice enabling them to satisfy the social responsibility of their business, as well as initiate further business in the developing context, possibly to profit from the international development. As well as „development‟, humanitarian relief and post-disaster/post-conflict situations offers a window of opportunity for development where international engineering consultancies could play a part. A new industry may emerge, an introduction into the market place of a new privatised humanitarian assistance where consultancies could work alongside NGOs and CBOs (Community Based Organisations) pooling their skills. The international contribution and partnership could work to build capacity and governance in the developing country through effective policy dialogue and advocacy. However despite the expected advantage that international consultancy could bring to development, there are also a number of important considerations and possibly negative impacts that inappropriate international assistance could result in. For international assistance to be successful, it must be sustainable. Environmental, Economical and Social impacts must all be carefully considered.

Research objective and need

This research is currently at the early stages of development. A literature review has been conducted on the past and current practices of international development assistance and slum upgrading which indicates that as the world is changing rapidly, so too must the nature of these practices. These practices must adapt and keep up with a changing climate, population and rapid urbanization in order to continue to make an effective contribution.

In today‟s world situation, (an increasingly globalized world and promotion of international partnerships), there is an opportunity for international engineering consultancies to make a useful contribution to the delivery of the MDGs. However, engineers will need to redefine their role in development as a process when the traditional model of top down and foreign intervention are gradually phased out through international consensus. The objective of this research is to investigate how engineers‟ contribution could best be delivered to serve all stakeholders and to result in the most „sustainable development‟. Although the opportunity for this contribution has been identified, there needs to be more knowledge of the nature of this contribution.

It is hoped that the analysis will develop an understanding of sustainable building design engineering for developing countries; develop an understanding of the process of engaging with overseas stakeholders for improved long term sustainability of projects where construction consultancy companies could have an involvement; identify how engineering consultancies can enable vulnerable communities and governments to build local capacity and capability; assess the influence of project design processes and implementation on appropriate aid and development; development of a conceptual model for the process of implementation.

The overall purpose of the research is to develop knowledge towards increasing quality of life, alleviation of poverty and achievement of the MDGs.

Research question

To aspire to a sustainable development, sustainability must be considered in not only what contribution is delivered, but also the way in which it is delivered. This research seeks to question how the intervention of international development engineering consultancy affects the sustainable development of urban human settlements through slum upgrading projects. This research will consider the effectiveness of different delivery methods, identify considerations and may result in the proposal of an alternative model for improved international development assistance through engineering contribution. Please contact Victoria Hickman for further information: Victoria.Hickman@cantab.net

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