• Development Engineering
  • The Books
    • Engineering for Sustainable Human Development
    • A Systems Approach to Modeling Community Development Projects
    • A Systems Approach to Modeling the Water-Energy-Land-Food Nexus
    • Navigating the complexity across the peace-sustainability-climate security nexus
  • The Author
Development Engineering Development Engineering
  • Development Engineering
  • The Books
    • Engineering for Sustainable Human Development
    • A Systems Approach to Modeling Community Development Projects
    • A Systems Approach to Modeling the Water-Energy-Land-Food Nexus
    • Navigating the complexity across the peace-sustainability-climate security nexus
  • The Author

The Books The Books "Bernard offers motivation, hope, and above all, tools and solutions to tackle these struggles in a manner that moves everyone forward together with dignity."

Engineering for Sustainable Human Development

A Guide to Successful Small-Scale Community Projects

Description

The challenge of improving the daily lives of people in developing communities calls for a new generation of global engineers who can operate in environments vastly different from those in the developed world. Engineers must become creative and innovative as they contend with uncertainty, complexity, and constraints in unfamiliar cultural settings. They must also deal with a multitude of technical and nontechnical issues beyond their accustomed practice.

In this book, Bernard Amadei addresses the role of engineering in poverty reduction and human development. He introduces a framework to help engineers conduct small-scale projects in communities vulnerable to the consequences of a wide range of adverse events. His framework combines concepts and tools traditionally used by development agencies with techniques from engineering project management and systems thinking. When blended, these tools and techniques from seemingly unrelated fields offer engineers better methods to manage the difficulties inherent in community development projects.

Engineering for Sustainable Human Development is about the delivery of projects that are done right from a performance (technical) point of view and are also the right projects from a social, environmental, and economic (context) point of view. This multidisciplinary approach to sustainable engineering will be valuable to practitioners and students, as well as people associated with development organizations and aid agencies.

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Chapter 1: Pages 16-18

The goal of this book is to present an integrative and participatory framework that can be used as a guide for engineers involved in small-scale development projects in communities described as being of high-medium risk and low capacity. The framework is intended to be systemic, adaptive, reflective, and contextual. Main emphasis is placed on civil and environmental infrastructure projects, i.e., projects that provide the utilities, facilities, and systems upon which society depends for its normal functions and for addressing basic human needs. In meeting the goal of the book, the framework is expected to have a broader impact by contributing to more meaningful, robust, structured, higher quality, effective, and therefore more successful community development projects in which engineering can play a more active role. Using a metaphor suggested by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI 2012) and Bill Wallace (personal communication, 2012) for sustainable infrastructure projects, another way at looking at the goal of this book is to demonstrate how engineers can deliver sustainable community development projects that are both done right from a performance (technical) point of view and are also the right projects from a social, environmental, and economic (nontechnical) point of view. Another way of looking at it is the delivery of projects that are both technically correct and correctly done from a nontechnical point of view.

There are five main objectives in developing the framework. The guidelines are designed to

  • Emphasize the role that engineering plays in small-scale community projects in developing countries and human development in general;
  • Help define the components of a new epistemology of engineering education and practice;
  • Encourage users to become more knowledgeable in the steps involved in planning and managing small-scale engineering projects in developing communities;
  • Serve as a common platform for collaboration on small-scale community projects; and
  • Be a dynamic living document (open source approach): a work in progress to be used, updated, and improved over time with users’ contributions

 

The following activities are carried out in this book to reach the aforementioned goal and objectives:

  • The guidelines are framed within the context of human development and sustainable development.
  • The role of engineering in sustainable community development is defined.
  • Existing development frameworks used by development agencies are reviewed, and their advantages, disadvantages, and ranges of application are assessed.
  • System dynamics tools and other tools not traditionally used in development projects are introduced. It is shown how they could help better understand the complex interactions and inherent uncertainty in communities and the interconnections of their basic units, i.e., households.
  • The integration of basic engineering project management tools with appropriate technology and solutions into community development practices is demonstrated.
  • A common road map for small-scale community projects in developing countries is outlined.
  • Case studies illustrating the range of applications (and limitations) of the framework in civil and environmental projects are presented.

Sometimes the world of development can feel hopeless with so much need and poverty surrounding you. Bernard offers motivation, hope, and above all, tools and solutions to tackle these struggles in a manner that moves everyone forward together with dignity.

Suzy Belmont
National Renewable Energy Laboratory

When I found out Bernard was coming to campus I was so excited.  It really was a treat to be able to attend his workshop series and hear  firsthand about both the challenges and successes  of development work with EWB.  During the training I learned just how valuable assessment and re-evaluation over time can be when setting goals and making adjustments.  The model allowed for the complexities of context and quite frankly was a good reminder that we can learn from those we seek to help. While many assumptions are made in development work it  is necessary to check these often and make improvements for an even greater outcome. The evaluation method covered in the workshop included steps had not seen earlier.

Sherry Levin
Associate Director of Graduate Programs and Research for the College of Engineering

Bernard’s new book is the new development bible. Written with passion, it provides a very realistic way to tackle engineering in developing communities. It gave me the practical tools I needed to take my own development programs to the next level in rural Costa Rica. I’m so excited to finally have a physical copy – it won’t look new for long!

Tammy Stone
Co-founder and Executive Director at Clara Vista
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Contact Info

  • Bernard Amadei
  • Common Ground Solutions LLC
  • 2536 columbine circle, Lafayette, CO 80026
  • 303-929-8167
  • bamadei@gmail.com
  • deveng.org

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