The Changing Role of the Development Consultant in the Era of Living With
the Coronavirus
Thursday, January 21, 2021
Yachiyo Engineering Co., Ltd.
Specialized Section Director, Water Resources Department,Overseas Business Division, Business Administration Headquarters
Hajime WATANABE

What is a Development Consultant?
We are a partner that implements various surveys andspecific projects to attain aid plans from a neutral
standpoint, with a background of advanced expertiseand experience for developing country assistance andinternational cooperation as conducted by the JICA
(Japan International Cooperation Agency), the World
Bank, and the Asian Development Bank, and others.
We cover the work of consultants and all areas ofhuman life, so that agriculture, water resource
development, transport and transportation, disasterprevention, the mining industry, energy, health andmedical care, education, the economy, government,
society in general, and developing country assistanceare involved in all areas of human life and production.

1

Source: Engineering and Consulting Firms
Association, Japan

What Kind of Company is Yachiyo Engineering?
• A consulting company focused on planning, designing and maintaining various social infrastructures• Many customers are from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and local
Damgovernments
Environment

Erosioncontrol

EnergyEconomypeople's
lives
community
CityRiverRoad

Industry

RailwayBridge
Port
CoastOcean

2Geology
SoilChanges Caused by the Spread of the Novel Coronavirus

Social issues that have become more evident than before
because of the coronavirus
Development issues that originally existed, such as economic disparities, poverty, gender,
and access to health and financial services, have become clearly visualized.

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In the Field of International Cooperation:
It is substantially impossible for Japanese specialists to travel

Remote project implementation using web conferencing and localpartners• Some progress can be made on projects where relationships are already wellestablished and local resources are abundant.
• The building of new relationships and the composition of cases are difficult toimplement remotely, and are somewhat stagnant. (In the case of JICA projects,surveys to understand the current situation are at the heart of the work.)

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Business Environment Changes
Difficulty traveling abroad = No rise in sales

Accelerated communication and search for solutions• Recognition of the importance of local partners and internal foreign
human resources• Utilization of overseas approaches and survey methods for domesticbusinesses• Approach to challenges faced by private companies at overseas sites(production bases, and the like)5

[Example] Promotion of SDGs in Domestic Municipalities• SDGs promotion involves civil society in a series of streams that provide a variety of services, andtransforms it in entirety.
• Compared to the environment and economy, existing initiatives have a weak approach to society.
• Understanding the social situation and incorporating that into planning, and the like are often practiced bydevelopment consultants through international cooperation projects.
Framework of the SDGs Promotion inIshigaki City

Solve Social Issues with SDGs
SDGs will be used as a tool to solve issues including unevenly
distributed industrial structures, an increase in the number of people
living in poverty, natural disasters, and an increase in the impact on theenvironmental associated with an increase in tourism.

Extraction ofSocial Issues

Presentation ofSolution
Information
Sharing
Citizens andBusinesses
Organizations,Government, andOthers
6Packaging Problems and Solutions
SDGs problem solving model on remoteislands (the Ishigaki model)

Collection ofInformation

Ishigaki SDGs Platform

Popularization andExpansion

Optimization through redistribution of management resources
within the island

Collaboration

PeopleThingsMoney

Knowledge

Time

Information

Collaboration

Company/University
Other Municipalities andInternational Organizations
And Others

[Example] Inclusive Overseas Deployment Support to Enhance
Corporate Sustainability• In overseas deployment of private companies, it is difficult to enrich feasibility studies of non-financial aspects(especially social and governance) compared to international cooperation projects implemented byinternational organizations.
• Conversely, local society and businesses are sustainable together and must mutually enhance each other.
• The know-how to build an environment in which better corporate activities can be practiced is often
accumulated in the field of international cooperation.

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Consulting to date for the client

Future consulting methods of with theclient

Propose solutions that companies canimplement within the framework of the current
situation of the local society and local
government policies and measures andothers.

Understand the challenges in the background of
the current situation of the local society and thepolicies of the local government, and clarify thedirection that should be taken to achieve a better
local society with various related parties. Also
propose implementable and feasible solutions toinclude civil society, as a company.