During August and September, BCG did a project for SOS Children’s Villages in Denmark. We have talked to Mathias and Emma who took part in the project to get a glimpse into what it was like working with an NGO as a management consultant.
What did BCG help SOS with?
Emma: “We helped SOS improve their funding strategy among key donor segments and recommended a range of concrete initiatives for each segment.”
How did you use your academic background in your work with SOS?
Emma: “With a background in psychology, I am trained in relational skills and understanding other people’s ideas and aspirations. This was something I could both benefit from and develop further in our work where we interacted with many employees across the SOS organization.”
Mathias: “My economics background was particularly helpful in two ways. First, it enabled me to address the problems in a very structured way which was helpful since some of our analyses had never been done before and hence needed structured frameworks. Secondly, quantitative skills were very useful when analyzing SOS’s data on their donors.”
What has been the biggest learning for you on the project for SOS?
Mathias: “I have realized how many similarities there actually are between corporates and NGOs. No matter the type of organization, they are often facing conceptually similar dilemmas – for example, which parts of the market should we focus on, what should our go-to-market strategy be, etc. It was super fun to experience how core business skills can be used to drive impact for an NGO.”
Emma: “At the surface, you might think that NGO fundraising is simple, but once you take a deep-dive, you quickly realize how impressive such work is. NGOs are dealing with lots of complexity and regulations, and have to run their organization in a lean way to ensure the maximum contribution to the people in need. It was very interesting for me to get an inside view into the problems NGOs are facing and how you may solve them.”
Will you be doing more social impact work in the future?
Emma: “My main motivation behind becoming a psychologist was to create a positive difference for other people. Being a Visiting Associate on this project helped me realize that consulting is the best way for me to actually create this difference as my contribution will have a positive impact on a larger group of people compared to a “regular” psychology career path. SOS definitely won’t be my last social impact project.”
Mathias: “Absolutely. Driving social impact is meaningful, and something I have been doing for many years, e.g. through volunteering. I’m happy to be a part of BCG where it’s possible to continue such efforts, either through full-time projects or via smaller contributions next to other project work. Also, we will for sure stay in touch with SOS and follow their great work.”
