Adding value to development work: exploring impact assessment within a Philippines water supply project

Development work has varying degrees of scale and can be limited, as in many endeavours, by constraints such as time, budget, and personnel. The challenge any project team faces is to produce results in spite of these constraints in the interest of project stakeholders. This paper will explore the contributions that impact assessment discussion, planning and implementation can make in advancing desired outcomes for project beneficiaries and in promoting the education and development of the project team. Where possible, impact assessment discussion will be related to a Philippines water supply project being conducted by the Engineers Without Borders-Philadelphia Professional Chapter. In exploring the decision-making involved in reaching a project specific impact assessment, the hope is to make the process scalable for any project with different constraints in time, budget and personnel.