The Humanitarian and International Development (HID) Panel was established in 2017 under the leadership of founding Chair Tom Newby at the invitation of the then Institution President, Ian Firth. It meets quarterly and has a series of working sub-groups that progress ongoing activities between meetings.
The Panel’s main aims are to support the Institution’s membership and the wider community of structural engineering practitioners through:
- Sector knowledge and guidance:
- HID Competencies framework
- Developing guidance, frameworks, career profiles and case studies
- Directing members to useful content made available by other organisations
- Outreach and networks:
- Representation on UKBEAG
- Connecting groups and individuals (hosting and publicising events, talks, mentoring, sharing the work of, and liaising with, related organisations)
- Advocacy: including for climate justice through raising awareness and sharing resources
The Panel is currently made up of 23 members across all professional grades of IStructE membership and has included individuals based in 14 countries across five continents. The panellists come from a wide range of professional backgrounds including career humanitarian/ international development workers, consultants for local and international practices, agencies and charities, practitioners in low- and middle-income countries, post-disaster search and rescue specialists as well as academics.
Recognising the vast range of contexts that individuals may be working in across this sector and the abundance of useful technical information already available, the Panel has focused on providing guidance for structural engineers on approach, roles, and locating resources rather than developing detailed technical guidance. The HID resource map outlines useful materials produced by the Institution and other organisations and corresponds to the sections of the HID Competencies framework. This was an early piece of work by the Panel to identify the additional competencies and skills demanded of those working in development contexts, beyond those in the IStructE’s IPD requirements.
The HID Panel has close links with other IStructE panels and groups, such as the IStructE’s Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT). EEFIT carry out detailed post-earthquake technical evaluations of the seismic performance of structures, foundations, civil engineering works, soils and disaster management procedures, and share this knowledge openly. When earthquakes occur in low- and middle-income countries, EEFIT and HID can work together to co-ordinate share knowledge and lessons learnt.
You can follow the Panel’s LinkedIn page.
Alastair Norris and Julia Ratcliffe (co-Chairs 2022-present)