For 25 years, Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA) has built a track record of strong engineering and strong partnerships with communities in the U.S. and internationally. As we look to the future, EWB-USA is excited to roll out its updated 2027-2030 Strategic Plan. This plan builds on that foundation, with a clear focus for what’s next: lasting, systems-level change.
This strategy update positions EWB-USA and its network of partners and volunteers as catalysts of sustainable, widespread impact as we close out this decade and prepare for the future.
Excellent engineering, real partnership with communities, and volunteers who lead the work will remain central to EWB-USA’s operations. What’s new is how EWB-USA projects will connect to a broader picture of change, driven by intentionally focused regional and national planning. EWB-USA has learned from its track record that ten projects concentrated in one region, with a shared goal of tackling related challenges, can solve a bigger problem than ten projects spread thinly across ten countries. EWB-USA’s updated strategy reflects this: by working toward a shared plan in each country, volunteers and local partners can turn individual projects into lasting change across a region.
Volunteers are at the heart of EWB-USA, and their role will be important as we move into EWB-USA’s 2027–2030 Strategic Plan. The plan introduces a new approach to bringing chapters, partners, and projects together through coordinated, country-level strategies to create more lasting impact.
What this looks like in practice:
- Greater coordination and intentionality: Alongside EWB-USA’s Purposeful Partners, EWB-USA is deepening its work through coordinated, country-level strategies, targeting systemic challenges specific to the places it works.
- Concentrated effort for maximized results: EWB-USA can’t do this well everywhere at once, so EWB-USA is focusing its efforts where its partnerships and track record indicate its strongest chances of long-term success.
- An increased focus: EWB-USA is ramping up efforts in Uganda, Ecuador, and the U.S., where it’s ready to pursue programmatic-level work now. EWB-USA is also investing in Peru, Kenya, and Guatemala, strengthening partners and building toward programmatic work in the next strategic cycle.
- Remaining steady: Project intake and delivery in countries like Bolivia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ghana, Malawi, Nepal, Panama, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Zambia will continue as usual. In these places, EWB-USA will continue exploring partnerships and working with communities to understand their needs and the systemic issues they face, so that EWB-USA is prepared to create coordinated country-level strategies with them in the future.
- Scaling back: In all other locations where EWB-USA currently operates, it will work to carefully complete and close out ongoing projects, and ensure they responsibly fulfill existing commitments to our partner communities. Going forward, EWB-USA will not take on new work in these places, to ensure its resources are focused in the places where they can leverage them to help the most people.
- Powering the work: EWB-USA volunteer chapters will remain at the center of how this gets done. Projects taken on by chapters will contribute to the delivery of country- and regional-level strategies. The work itself will look like the projects you may know today, but will be connected to a bigger, shared effort across the region.
- Success by 2030: Not how many projects EWB-USA finishes, but whether communities are still thriving, EWB-USA’s partners are stronger, and EWB-USA has earned the trust to do more.
Read EWB-USA’s latest blog post to learn where it’s headed, what’s changing, and what it means for you and the chapter.
And join EWB-USA for a virtual town hall on November 19 at 4:00 p.m. CT to hear more about the strategy and ask questions. Register for the Town Hall here >>