Top International Development Engineering Firms: A Primer

Recent decades have seen a growing involvement of major engineeringfirms in international developmentprojects. The world’s developing communities have become clients under a corporate portfolio that includes both mega-infrastructure undertakings and small projects that provide basic services to impoverished villages. Some firms undertake service missions under their corporate social responsibility programs. Others have full-fledged international development divisions. Some partner with non-governmental organizations to pursue development projects, while others serve as engineering contractors for bilateral and multilateral grant or loan agencies. “It’s always a challenge with the big firms, but they’re taking on a more corporate social responsibility approach in their firms, giving employees a chance to volunteer,” said civil engineer Joshua Sperling, a sustainability planner and engineer with Arup, a firm that has worked with NGOs on development projects. “There are many such engineering consultancy companies which have moved into international development for good reasons,” said Garry Whitby, a consulting engineer based in South Africa. “Their engineering solutions require a strong understanding of development issues: the effects of their solutions on communities, the environment, the economy, and education and health.” This trend has given rise to an engineering niche in development work, opening up a whole new avenue for both young and experienced engineers to lend their skills to a mission that changes lives. Whitby said large firms have begun to see the need for more than just technically capable engineers in responding to challenges such as poor water sanitation, hunger and poverty. “This is where some of the bigger companies have managed to understand that it’s more than engineering,” Whitby said. “So, they’d have to get skills more than engineering for them to win projects and manage those projects as a holistic program.” While engineering work has become more inclusive in recent years, firms can do a lot more, said Amit Arora, an Indian engineer who works with international volunteer organization Engineers Without Borders. “The engineering community has played a significant role in the growth of the economy in developing countries,” Arora said. “They built dams and bridges and roads, and banking software and manufacturing software, and factories, and motor cars, and what not. And that has helped the developing world.” He added: “But has it helped the developing world evenly? I don’t know the answer to that question … Engineering community’s focus on solving problems has been very narrow. It has always been about solving problems for some men, but not for the mankind, and that is a very narrow definition of engineering.” Development work in engineering may eventually become part of the mainstream, with increasing corporate involvement in such efforts. “There need not be a sharp boundary line between a humanitarian engineer and the one who works for a commercial enterprise,” Arora said. “For all you know, the commercial enterprise may have a humanitarian mission and purpose.” Here are some of the top development firms involved in engineering work: Advanced Engineering Associates International, Inc AECOM International Development Bernard Brunhes International BRL Ingénierie Camp Dresser & McKee Cardno’s Emerging Markets Division Coffey International Egis Bceom International Eptisa Internacional Innovation Energie Development IPA Energy + Water Economics Louis Berger Group MWH, Inc. Niras A/S PA Consulting Group Sinclair Knight Merz SNC-Lavalin Tetra Tech Incorporated URS Australia Wilbur Smith Associates WSP International Management Consulting Did we miss anything? Please leave a comment below the article! Read more engineering stories: - Engineering Jobs in International Development: What You Need You Know - Engineering CVs: Keep it Recent and Relevant - The Ideal Development Engineer: A Character Sketch - International Engineering Jobs: Opportunities and Challenges - Salaries for Development Engineers: A Primer - Development Engineering: Volunteer Toward Employment - Top Engineering Schools: A Primer - Engineers Without Borders: From US to India and Beyond - For Engineers, Working Across Cultures is Key Read more career advice articles.