Engineers Against Poverty

Welcome to the Engineers Against Poverty (EAP) website.

Engineers Against Poverty (EAP) works with industry, government and civil society to fight poverty and promote sustainable development. We influence corporate and public policy and help develop practical solutions aimed at creating jobs, promoting enterprise development and improving education and training.

What's new

Would you like to raise money for charity while having the experience of a lifetime?

Then sign up for our 2010 Vietnam-Cambodia Cycle challenge.

The challenge will take you from Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon) city, through the rice-paddies and waterways of the beautiful Mekong Delta into Cambodia. You will peddle through this friendly country towards one of the wonders of Southeast Asia, the Royal Temples of Angkor Wat.

This at times challenging cycle trek will leave you with a real sense of achievement. Fascinating insights into the region’s timeless cultures and traditions, breathtaking scenery, and the warmth of the local people are a real highlight of this challenge.

By participating in this challenge you will support our efforts to influence corporate and public policy and help develop practical solutions aimed at creating jobs, promoting enterprise development and improving education and training in some of the world’s poorest countries.

Join us on this adventure…

Contact Tendai Nyoka on 020 3206 0488 or at t.nyoka@engineersagainstpoverty.org to register or find out more about the challenge.

Alternatively you can register online

kili

EAP Trekkers Reach the Roof of Africa
On 9th December all seventeen EAP trekkers reached the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania – an amazing achievement! The trekkers have raised around £20k to support EAP’s programme activities particularly in the area of occupational health and safety in construction.

Please see the next edition of the Spark due out soon for photos and more information about the trek.

You can still give to one of our climbers here.

EAP and the Institution of Civil Engineers publish new briefing note on increasing local content in infrastructure procurement

Much of the funding invested in infrastructure construction in low income countries does not benefit contractors, suppliers and workers from those countries. Increasing the input of local labour, goods and services (local content) could make a major contribution to economic growth and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. This briefing note has two aims: (1) to show policy-makers that expanding the local content of infrastructure projects is an achievable objective with real long-term benefits and (2) to provide practical guidance on how to do this in practice.

The briefing note is divided into two parts. In part 1 the authors show that the procurement process can serve as a powerful tool to promote local content in infrastructure construction. However a number of challenges are identified, notably the preference of clients donors, engineers and the business community for expensive, high tech and large scale projects which are not within the capability of the local industry, as well as the failure of international agencies to balance objectives. In part II, some suggestions are put forward for overcoming the challenges and promoting local content through minor changes to procurement at each stage of the project cycle.

For more information please contact Jill Wells at: j.wells@engineersagainstpoverty.org

Local content briefing note

MDGs at the midpoint - Accelerating Business-led Growth and Collective Action

Published by Business Action for Africa, this report examines the critical role of business in accelerating progress towards the Millenium Development Goals in Africa. It includes a contribution by EAP Executive Director Petter Matthews on infrastructure development. Click here to download this Publication

Briefing Note on Social Risk & Opportunity Management for Projects

The importance of managing social risk and opportunity is increasingly recognised by the proponents and financiers of infrastructure and extractive industry projects. EAP has produced a guidance note for project managers that outlines a systematic approach to managing these risks.

Download the briefing note

More information

Office move

Engineers Against Poverty has moved to new offices at

2nd floor, Weston House,
246 High Holborn,
London WC1V 7EX

The global engineer: Incorporating global skills within UK higher education of engineers (March 2008)

The publication is primarily aimed at the engineering sector within higher education and outlines why and how universities can embed the global dimension and development education principles within the courses they run for engineering students. Copies available upon request. Click here to download this Publication

Engineers Against Poverty provides practical guidance to oil, gas and mining companies on local enterprise development

EAP has produced an eight-page briefing note to guide oil, gas and mining (OGM) companies on how they can maximise the contribution of local enterprises to the supply chain of their projects in low income countries. The document was produced with the support and assistance of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) PENSA Program in Indonesia. Click here for further information