Technology Development Approach

A detailed description of EWB Australia’s Technology Development Approach and an associated student guide is available to universities and students participating in the EWB Technology or Research Challenges.

On this page you’ll find a brief introduction to EWB Australia’s Technology Development Approach (TDA), a new approach for structuring and practicing engineering project work, education and capacity building at Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB). It aims to present a common language for discussing solutions development, and a new, tailored, version of Human-Centred Design to specifically fit the work that EWB undertakes.

EWB Australia’s Technology Development Approach contains the following elements, which are demonstrated in the diagram.

1. Knowledge Sets – learn about the key knowledge sets required develop a solid foundation for effective project work
2. Guiding Principles – our approach is underpinned by this set of guiding principles
3. Design Process – we use a design process to frame technology development projects
4. Collaboration Styles – we use a participatory approach to the design of technology through a range of different collaboration styles with communities
5. Tools & Techniques – we use a range of different tools and techniques to enable and support our technology development projects

For further information about how we apply these approaches in our work at EWB with communities (especially through participatory design workshops), check out our blog on Using human-centred design tools in community.