The Role of Scientific and Engineering Societies in Development: Present Perspectives and Future Prospects

There can be no doubt that engineers and scientists have a vital role to play in the developmental processes by which the na tions of the Third World will bring greater health, safety, pro sperity and self-reliance to their peoples, but the role that the professionalengineering and scientific societies must play re mains undefined. In this paper the roles these societies perform for themselves and their members are defined, how they have been and are becoming effective in the international sphere at large is examined, and how they are and can become effective in that most difficult area of international relations, the mutual support of the developed and the developing nations is described. Only the particular set of professional societies whose members practice engineering, the applications of natural science, and social science are discussed. These three groups are involved with the special needs of the developing countries only on a limited scale. They have a much larger role to play than they presently undertake, a heavier responsibility, in fact, than many of them understand is demanded of them.