Advanced Workshop
with // Ahmed Gamal Eldin, AUW
1 Nov
0,5 ECTS

Outline
Within the current context of neo-liberal policy agenda and the declining international aid and the proliferation of national and international actors competing for funds and for a role/space in the governance of the global peripheries, consulting, outsourcing, subcontracting and short-termism have become key features of humanitarian aid and the development industry. Thus, seeking the expertise, advice and general assistance of independent external consultants or consultancy firms is becoming very common in private, public and voluntary sectors a like.
The workshop focuses on consulting within the humanitarian and development sector and aims to introduce students to the interesting, yet complex and challenging world of consulting. It explores and critically discusses questions pertinent to the nature and features of the consulting industry, the diversity of actors on both sides, the opportunities and challenges as well as the ethical issues involved. In particular, the workshop intends to critically address the following questions:

A. General Questions
• Why is consulting becoming important and the industry growing?
• Who needs consultants and external contractors, when and why?
• What are the different types of consultants and consultancy firms (e.g. firms vs. Individual actors; discussions of internal vs external positionalities; national vs. international; short-term vs. long term etc.)?
• Why do some people choose to work as independent consultants, and what are the pros and cons of doing so?
• What are the required knowledge and skills?
• Positioning consultants within/without organizational structure and routine procedures (i.e. positioning consultancies in routine work, plans, policies and strategies of organization).
• Integrating consultancy outcome/results into routine work.
• Handling the relationship between consultants and senior managers/regular staff.
• What are the general opportunities and challenges associated with working as or recruiting consultants?
• What are the contractual issues to consider?
• What are the ethical issues associated with consulting work?

B. Critical Discussions
• How influential are external/independent consultants and why?
• What happens to the work and knowledge produced by consultants?
• What is the real or potential role of consultants in knowledge transfer, the diffusion of policy ideas and the mediation of mode of exchange both within and between different humanitarian and development agencies and their partners/stakeholders?
• Whose interests do consultants (intentionally or unintentionally) serve?
The workshop draws on the (limited) available literature on the topic as well as on my own 10 years of experience as an external independent consultant with government bodies, national and international NGOs, international humanitarian and development and agencies such as the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), German International Development Cooperation (GIZ), UK DFID, the French CEDEJ, Population Council (US); and UN agencies such as UNDP, IOM, UNICEF, UNFPA and WHO.

Readings
tba