Is there any role of engineers in NGOs who work for society?

For a developing nation like India, it is very important to aim to see the problems of the people and find out various solutions to curb these problems. This can be achieved by deploying the right people or organisations which are having proper resources and technologies on a large scale. There are many NGOs which are constantly working for identifying the problems of the downtrodden people and trying to curb those problems.

Data analytics is an important tool which will be useful for understanding and using models that will be useful for national growth.

Many NGOs are suffering from a lack of knowledge of all tools to analyse the huge data they have. Here comes the role of Data Scientists. The usage of data analytics for analysing the large data available to them will make the NGOs identify where the problem is lying and they can work on those areas so that the real suffering people can get benefitted by these NGOs.

There are NGOs in India which are already using this data analytics to find out the real sufferers and help them through their Organisations. An NGO called Akshyapatrs which is bases at Bangalore is using the data analytics and trying to help the students who are having a problem not having food. Another NGO called Operation Red Alert is working on human trafficking and it is based at Hyderabad. They have collaboration with Australian Analytics firm to get insights into human trafficking.
Like this, there are roles for engineers in various NGOs and mainly the role of Data Scientista is increasing day to day in NGOs also and we can expect a good number of jobs in this field also,

There are various types of NGOs in our country. Some of the main areas where they are operating are - Community Development, Women Empowerment, Elder Care, Education, Child Care etc. Some of these are carrying their operations at a larger scale and require a lot of data handling and analysis of work carried out by them. They have to show the progress and achievements to their sponsors or supporters who would give them money only when their work is of outstanding nature. Many NGOs are working in an excellent way to help the community and its people in various ways. As the NGOs have limited funds to operate and carry out their operations it is natural that they cannot pay huge salaries and provide facilities to their employees. So, they cannot hire the best brains available in the market. Still, due to the minimal requirement of data analysis they are forced to hire some qualified people from the respected education streams like science or engineering or humanities.

There is definitely a role of qualified person like an engineer in these NGOs. Today we are in an age of computers and IT so whatever we do that is to be properly projected and presented to the authorities concerned. From this angle it is natural that some NGOs would be keen to hire engineers for the said purpose of data mining and data presentation. Many NGOs are in the business of renewable energy sources and some of them even trade their products or affiliate products to raise revenue for their operations. Many customers prefer these NGOs for the particular product range in order to help them in their objective.

We have to understand that NGOs do not have many vacancies for engineers as they run their work with minimum persons possible mainly because of limited funds. So, it cannot absorb many engineers in its operations but yes, a few engineers for certain specific works can be hired by them especially in data management and data dissemination area.

Before we come to the point of the role of engineers in NGOs who work for society, let me put forward, what is an NGO and how do they function.

An NGO or non-government organisation as what it is known as is a group of organisations or formed by individual volunteers to render help to people and communities in need through analysis and expertise. The work done through an NGO is without any government affiliation an try to bring the problems of citizens in front of the governments or people or department in charge. As working in an NGO is voluntary, it is normally termed as charity work and may not get too much remuneration but is done for self-satisfaction and passion and love towards humanity.

Now coming to your query about the scope of data analysis in NGOs, It is not only for engineers but people of any profession and background can work for an NGO and provide their expertise for the welfare of people and society. There are many NGO's that collect data and use for helping people like NGO looking after the safety of women, can collect data of them and monitor them through special app or system by tracking their mobile phone and helping them when they are in need.

Many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) gathers data in large quantity through surveys, participatory methods or interview but are not able to capitalise the data due to ineffective analysis, sharing and management of these data. These data can be of vital importance if they are organised, handled and controlled and collaborated with concern department or government for proper action. Thus a data analyst engineer can use his expertise to analyze the collected data, compute the output and result, circulate the results of their data collection, etc which will be of mass importance to people, society and government thus fill in data gaps.

There are many NGOs that directly recruit graduates or engineers for their work and they are:
a) Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) - http://www.pradan.net
b)Self-Reliant Initiatives through Joint Action (SRIJAN) - http://srijanindia.org
c)Humanitarian Aid International(HAI) - https://hai-india.org

Engineering Graduates can have their placements in NGO's but prior to joining, they will have to ensure that they do have the inner passion to work for the betterment of the society. Earning decent emoluments and perks should not be their main consideration but serving the ailing humanity is their topmost priorities.
The questions raised by the author are explained sequence wise -
1) Scope of Enginners Working in NGO Sector -
There is definitely enough room for doing better in the area of NGO provided one is having the inner passion to go ahead for such jobs such as undertaking coaching to the unprivileged children through the umbrella of NGO's.
NGO's are having less staff strength but the workload and expectations are high and these are to be achieved through the existing work - force.
The Enginners joining the NGOs should be proactive. resourceful and self starters in initiating the jobs. They would find different areas where they would like to remain engaged such as helping the senior citizens for their nutritious foods and taking care of their detoriariting health as is being done in Help Age Foundation founded in 1960 in New Delhi.
Bharati Foundation located at Gurgaon is concentrating on coaching the unprivileged children so that these children are equipped with sound basics and vision. They pay much attention to the betterment of the girl child taking this mission as their top most priority.
2) Scope of Data Analysis in NGO's - NGO's make their efforts to create awareness about the deserted section of the societies. NGO's would try to strengthen the big data so as to spot the strength and weakness in achieving the desired result.
Akshay Patra is using Big Data Analytics effectively to serve the children and make productive use of the funds with the help of Data Analytics. They solve the logistics such as figuring out the optimum rout to deliver food.