Strategic Plan
2026–2035: where WFEO is going
Five objectives, eleven outcomes, and thirteen priorities for the first two years.
“This Strategic Plan 2026–2035 sets out WFEO’s long-term vision to help close these gaps.”
Why a plan now
Progress toward the SDGs remains uneven, the Plan says, particularly where engineering solutions are essential: infrastructure, resilience, and access to energy, water, sanitation, health and connectivity. It names WFEO’s strengths (global reach, flagship products, a network of experts, access to international institutions) and its weaknesses: low visibility beyond core circles, an overly broad vision, uneven committee performance, limited staff and funds, and dependence on a single major sponsor.
Vision
Global Engineering Leadership for a Sustainable Future.
The ten-year horizon is delivered through rolling two-year priority cycles, each with focused action plans, a results framework with key performance indicators, and an annual implementation report to the Executive Board.
Five strategic objectives
- SO1
Strengthen the role of engineering in sustainable development and global policy
Position the Federation as a trusted source of expertise, contributing to international, regional and national policy agendas and providing evidence-based recommendations and actionable guidance on engineering and technology for sustainable development.
- SO2
Advance engineering education, capacity-building and professional mobility
Contribute to STEM education, empower engineers and build their capacity to address sustainable development, while promoting continuous professional growth, lifelong learning, and the global recognition and mobility of engineering qualifications.
- SO3
Promote ethical, inclusive and responsible engineering practice
Establish and maintain a global code of ethics for engineers that upholds integrity and anti-corruption, and champion diversity, the integration of women engineers, gender equality in engineering leadership and social responsibility across the profession.
- SO4
Promote global awareness and public engagement on engineering for sustainable development
Strengthen advocacy and communication to promote engineering’s role in addressing sustainable development challenges, and enhance the global visibility of engineers’ achievements, including through the celebration of World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development.
- SO5
Enhance the impact, effectiveness, resilience and sustainability of WFEO and its members
Strengthen the governance bodies of the Federation to ensure financial and operational resilience, organisational excellence, and transparent, accountable management, while supporting an efficient Secretariat, raising required funds and fostering active member engagement.
Eleven outcomes by 2035
- 1Recognized global policy leadership
- 2Informed decision-making through engineering knowledge and policy support
- 3Strengthened engineering education and capacity for sustainable development
- 4Enhanced professional mobility and lifelong development of engineers
- 5Global ethical standards and integrity frameworks strengthened
- 6Inclusive and equitable participation in engineering enhanced
- 7Global awareness of engineering for sustainable development increased
- 8Strengthened engagement of stakeholders and the public with engineering
- 9Governance bodies strengthened and accountable
- 10Secretariat efficiency and operational excellence enhanced
- 11Financial resilience and active member engagement improved
Thirteen priorities for 2026–2027, and the outcomes each one serves
As the Plan’s Appendix 1 states them. Read across a row to see which outcomes a priority contributes to; read down a column to see what is driving an outcome.
| Priority | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP1 WFEO Institute | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| SP2 World Academy of Engineering | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| SP3 World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| SP4 WFEO Hackathon | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| SP5 Engineering Capacity Building for Africa Programme (ECBAP) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| SP6 Third UNESCO Global Engineering Report | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| SP7 WFEO Global Engineering Award | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| SP8 WFEO Industry Leaders Council | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| SP9 Strategic alignment of Committees and Working Groups | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SP10 Electronic voting | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SP11 Revamping the WFEO website and internal communication tools | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| SP12 Fundraising (supports all outcomes; in particular) | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| SP13 Cost reduction (supports all outcomes; in particular) | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
SP9 aligns every committee and working group with all eleven outcomes; SP12 and SP13 support all outcomes and name the ones marked.
Where the website fits: SP11
The Plan asks for a redesigned public website that improves usability, multilingual access, branding and the visibility of flagship initiatives, strengthens WFEO’s role as a global knowledge hub for engineering and the SDGs, and gives visibility to members, associates and partners and their activities. This concept is organised around exactly those words: the members map, the SDG hub and the editions.
An annual progress page
Each year’s implementation report could publish here as one page per outcome: the priorities serving it, what was delivered, and the indicators the results framework sets. No results are shown because none are published yet.
