International Development Consultancy Project
International Development MSc students at the LSE have the option to take part in a consultancy project for an external client as part of their programme.
The consultancy project provides students with an opportunity to apply the analytical tools and critical thinking skills that we teach to a ‘real world’ problem, and it provides clients with an opportunity to harness those skills to advance organisational objectives.
Working in teams of 3-5, students produce a report for a client that deals with a problem of theory or practice relevant to the client’s activities. Projects are defined by clients, who provide the terms of reference to their assigned team of student consultants. The specific nature of projects varies, depending on the client and their needs. The students will work with the clients and the LSE staff to ensure that the projects are viable in the time available.
The students involved are concurrently enrolled in courses that expose them to the most recent literature and debates concerning development policy and institutional reform. Our students come from countries across the globe, have strong academic credentials, and often have previous work experience.
This programme is now in its 32nd year. Students have produced projects for a diverse array of large and small organizations, including DfID, UNOCHA, the World Bank, UNDP, UNICEF, UNHCR, NATO, the UK Foreign Office, the Emerging Markets Group, CARE, Oxfam, MSF, The Fairtrade Foundation, Shell Oil, and Wedu, amongst many, many others.
1. What are the consultancy projects?
The consultancy projects are student-led research and analysis projects undertaken by postgraduate students in LSE International Development. Student teams work with an external client on a focused question of organisational, policy or operational relevance. The standard outputs are an analytical report and a final presentation to the client.
2. What kinds of projects are suitable?
Suitable projects have a clear question, a realistic scope and enough available evidence for a student team to produce a useful analytical report between October and March. Projects are strongest when they ask students to analyse, compare, map, review, synthesise or evaluate a defined issue.
• Good examples include policy analysis, literature or evidence reviews, stakeholder mapping, comparative case analysis, organisational learning, secondary data analysis, and analysis of programme or institutional practice.
• Projects are less suitable if they depend on extensive fieldwork, substantial travel, long-term primary data collection, sensitive access that cannot be arranged, or essential non-English language skills.
3. Are students funded to conduct fieldwork?
No. Students do not have dedicated funding for fieldwork or travel, and they normally have limited time because of their wider course commitments. Projects should therefore be feasible through desk-based research, remote interviews, document review, secondary analysis or London-based engagement where appropriate.
4. What outputs will the students produce?
The standard outputs are an approximately 8,000-word analytical report and a presentation to the client. The report is submitted to LSE for assessment and shared with the client. Presentations normally take place in late March or early April and may be held at LSE, at the client’s London office, or online.
5. How is the Terms of Reference developed?
Clients submit an initial proposal or draft Terms of Reference. LSE staff review proposals for suitability, feasibility and programme fit. Once a project is selected and a student team has been allocated, the team will meet the client to refine the question, scope, methodology, timetable and outputs.
It is important that the agreed Terms of Reference are not substantially changed later in the project unless this has been discussed with the students and their LSE academic coach. Major scope changes can make it difficult for students to produce a high-quality final report within the available timeframe.
6. How are projects selected and students allocated?
Projects are selected by LSE on the basis of feasibility, academic suitability, relevance to the degree programmes and student interest. Students express preferences, but LSE allocates teams to projects. Clients do not select individual students and may not exclude students on the basis of gender, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, disability or any other protected characteristic.
7. How much time input is required from clients?
Each project should have at least one named client focal point. The level of contact varies by project, but clients should expect more interaction at the start of the project while the question, scope, evidence and access are being agreed. Contact normally reduces once the workplan is established.
• At minimum, clients should be available for an initial scoping meeting, periodic check-ins, timely responses to key questions, and the final presentation.
• Where students depend on client-held documents, datasets, interview introductions or internal knowledge, those materials and introductions should be provided as early as possible.
8. To what extent are students reliant on clients for information?
This depends on the project. Some projects can be completed largely through public material and academic or policy literature. Others depend heavily on internal documents, staff interviews, partner introductions or access to non-public information. If the project depends on such access, clients should make this clear at the proposal stage and provide the material or introductions in a timely way.
9. Can students conduct interviews or surveys?
Yes, where appropriate and feasible. Interviews are usually conducted remotely or in London. Surveys may be possible, but they need careful design, a realistic sampling strategy and appropriate ethical safeguards. Clients should not assume that students can reach overseas staff, partners, beneficiaries or affected communities without introductions and sufficient lead time.
10. What ethical, confidentiality or data protection issues should clients consider?
Clients should identify any confidentiality, safeguarding, political, security or data protection issues at the outset. Students may produce notes from interviews, but these notes can only be shared with the client if this has been agreed in advance and if interviewees have consented to that use before the interview. Students should not be asked to share personal data, confidential interview material or sensitive information outside the agreed process.
11. Are clients involved in grading?
The projects are assessed by LSE academic staff. Clients are normally invited to attend the final presentation and may provide feedback on the usefulness, professionalism and quality of the students’ work. That feedback can inform the academic assessment, but the final mark is determined by LSE.
12. How much support do LSE academic coaches provide?
Each student team is supported by an LSE academic coach. The coach helps students think through project design, feasibility, methods, ethics, client management, team working and emerging problems. Because this is an experiential learning exercise, coaches do not provide the answers or manage the project on behalf of the students.
13. Do clients have a mentoring role?
Clients are not expected to act as academic supervisors. The most helpful role is usually that of a supportive but professional client: clear about expectations, responsive on access and scope, constructive in feedback, and realistic about what can be achieved within the project timeframe.
14. Can clients use or share the final report?
Clients may use the report internally, subject to any confidentiality or data protection limits agreed with the student team and LSE. If a client wishes to publish, circulate externally or use the report in a public-facing way, this should be discussed with the students and LSE in advance, including how the students, the client and LSE will be represented.
15. Where can I find more information?
Further information and examples of past projects are available on the LSE International Development consultancy projects webpage: http://www.lse.ac.uk/international-development/study/consultancy-projects
- Mid July - call out for proposals to clients
- End of Sept - deadline for proposals
- Mid October - successful projects allocated to students
- End of October - Students contact client and begin working on TOR
- Mid March - reports to be finalised
- End of March - project presentations
A more detailed timeline will be provided in the July call to clients.
"Thank you very much for following up on our work with LSE students as part of this programme.
"We have been so impressed with the group of students we worked with on a study into disability inclusion in DRR and wanted to share our feedback with you.
"The group was such a pleasure to work with – they were proactive, enthusiastic, and well organised. They took initiative in arranging meetings with us and also reaching out to key informants to interview for the study; they were extremely professional and prepared in all of our meetings, and we were also really impressed with how well they worked together as a group, particularly in the challenging context of virtual collaboration. They were able to balance input across the group and be collaborative while having clear lines of communication, which was really helpful for us.
"We were also so happy with the quality of their work – their method was very thoughtful, the paper itself was genuinely insightful, well structured, informative, and useful, as well as being really well presented and easy and enjoyable to read. They did a brilliant job of balancing academic robustness with practical application of the learning, and we are really looking forward to taking up their findings as an organisation. They also responded really well to our feedback and we felt this part of the process was genuinely collaborative and constructive.
"Finally, we really valued their attitude to learning throughout this process: they have all demonstrated a real thoughtfulness and sincerity about the inclusion of people with disabilities in DRR, a sensitivity to their own non-disabled perspectives, and actively sought out the knowledge and experience of individuals with disabilities which has definitely enriched the paper as well as our organisational learning.
"Working with this group of students has been such a highlight, we would not hesitate to recommend all of them very highly, or to propose further projects with LSE on the basis of this experience. We hope it’s been positive for them as well!"
- Alison and Mirianna, Practical Action
Population Services International (PSI)
Assessing the Generalizability of Client Experience Measurement Tools in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Narrative Review
UNDESA
Re-using Administrative Data for Statistics: Case Studies from Five Countries
Practical Action
Disability Transformative Early Warning Systems
UNICEF
Menstrual Hygiene Managment - Evidence from the 6th round of MICS
Environmental Emergencies Centre
Protection and the Environment
Adam Smith International
The Gender Funding Gap in Venture Capital
UNDESA
Re-using Administrative Data for Statistics: Case Studies from Five Countries