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Box 7.3 Terms of reference – checklist

1.Description of the problem(s) to be solved

2.Objectives and expected results of the assignment (what is to be achieved, final product)

3.Background and supporting information (on client organization, other related projects and consultancies, past efforts to solve problems, etc.)

4.Budget estimate or resource limit

5.Timetable (starting and completion dates, key stages and control dates)

6.Interim and final reporting (dates, form, to whom, etc.)

7.Inputs to be provided by the client (further information and documentation, staff time, secretarial support, transport, etc.)

8.Exclusions from the assignment (what will not be its object)

9.Constraints and other factors likely to affect the project

10.Profile and competencies of eligible consultants (education, experience, working language, etc.)

11.Requested consultant inputs into the project (number of consultants, training inputs, other services)

12.Contact persons and addresses

(2)If terms of reference are not used:

– the client (usually in the private sector) prefers to select a consultant, do the preliminary problem diagnosis, and define the scope of the assignment jointly with him or her. The client then confirms the choice on the basis of a proposal received from the consultant, without using the intermediate stage of drafting terms of reference.

Most management consultants are able to adapt their approach to these

various contexts and client preferences. When presented with terms of reference drafted by the client or another consultant, the consultant must be cautious in deciding whether to accept these terms at face value. The terms may describe an assignment that is not feasible.

7.4Assignment strategy and plan

During the initial contacts with the client and the subsequent preliminary problem diagnosis, the consultant should have collected and evaluated enough information to be able to plan the assignment. This is what the client expects at this stage: he or she will want to receive not only the consultant’s findings on the problem to be tackled, but also a proposal describing what the consultant suggests doing and under what terms help is offered.

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Right from the first contact with the client the consultant should have been thinking of the approach to take, but the final decision should be made only after he or she has become better acquainted with the situation. For example, the level of cooperation of the client’s staff during preliminary problem diagnosis may show what consulting mode will be most appropriate (see Chapter 3), and the quality of the data found during this activity suggests how much time will be needed for detailed fact-finding and analysis.

A fundamental aspect of designing and planning a consulting assignment is the choice of assignment strategy. By this we mean the respective roles to be played by the consultant and the client, the consulting mode, the pace of operations, the way (and the time sequence) in which the interventions will be applied and harmonized, and the resources allocated to the assignment.

The assignment plan, including the strategy that will be followed, is formally presented to the client as a proposal, as described in section 7.5. Assignment planning and drafting of a proposal are not normally finalized on the client’s premises. Unless it has been otherwise agreed, the consultant returns to his or her office with the data collected during preliminary problem diagnosis and works on the proposal, often in collaboration with other senior members of the consulting firm. The consultant should never take more time than the client expects. Momentum can be lost and relations can cool down if the client feels that the matter is not receiving enough attention.

The main elements of assignment planning are given below.

Summary of problem

The conclusions from preliminary problem diagnosis are summarized and the consultant presents a description of the problem. This may include a comparison with the original problem definition made by the client: the consultant may suggest widening or narrowing this definition, or refer to other problems discovered and to possible developments (e.g. the effects of recession, or tensions in labour relations) that may take place during the assignment. As appropriate, the problem will be set in the wider context of the client’s objectives, trends and resources.

Objectives to achieve and action to take

The assignment plan then outlines the objectives and the results to be achieved and the kind of technical activities that the assignment will consist of. Whenever possible, the objectives should be presented as performance measures in quantified terms, describing benefits that will accrue to the client if the assignment is successfully completed. Global financial benefits are commented on to ensure that the client understands the implications. For example, savings from a reduced inventory of finished goods would only be achieved when stocks had been run down, and this might require production to be cut back for some time. Benefits in other terms are stated as appropriate, e.g. output would increase (in this case the client would be warned of the need for new orders to keep the factory occupied).

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Social and qualitative benefits may be difficult to express in figures, but they should be described as precisely and clearly as possible and carefully explained. Vague notions that lend themselves to many different interpretations should be avoided.

In structuring their outline of assignment strategy and plan, many consultants are guided by the definitions of key concepts and terms that prevail in international technical cooperation and are in use worldwide (box 7.4).

A more detailed discussion of these concepts and terms can be found on the web pages of international agencies, programmes and banks active in technical cooperation.

Box 7.4 Concepts and terms used in international technical cooperation projects

International agencies and banks active in technical cooperation are major users and financial sponsors of consulting services. A number of fairly standardized concepts and terms are used in design and management of projects for these agencies:

●Beneficiary, target group. Who will actually benefit from the project. The project beneficiary may be different from the client. There may be different sorts of beneficiaries. A distinction is usually made between direct (immediate) project benefiary or recipient, and intended (ultimate) beneficiaries.

●Purpose. What is to be accomplished by the project. It is recommended to clarify purposes and keep them constantly in mind in planning and structuring projects.

●Result. Generic term used to stress that projects must be results-oriented and aim at (tangible, measurable) results, not just outline what will be done (activities) and what resources will be applied (inputs).

●Development objective. Also called ultimate or longer-term objective. Defines a wider perspective, framework, overall direction and ultimate reason for the project. The project “contributes” to achieving it. There will be other contributions.

●Objective, or immediate objective. Defines what is to be achieved by the project at its completion. Shows the change that the project is expected to bring about; objectives cannot be described by listing activities (a frequent error in project design).

●Output. Tangible product delivered by the project (training package, technical documentation, number of persons trained to a set standard, reorganization proposal, report etc.).

●Indicator of achievement. Measurable and controllable indicator, the achievement of which proves that the project has produced a result and achieved an objective. An indicator cannot be an output of the project.

●Activity. A set of actions to produce a project output and meet an objective. As a rule, an activity will be related to one or more objectives. Exceptionally, if an objective cannot be set at the project design stage, an activity can be initiated that will permit an objective to be specified at a later stage.

●Input. Any resource (human, material, financial, know-how, software, licence, etc.) to be mobilized for the project by the consultant and the client to achieve project objectives. Expressed in qualitative and quantitative terms as necessary.

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Phases of the assignment and timetable

The activities and steps of the assignment have to be programmed in some detail. Basically, the consultant will follow the logic of the consulting process as briefly outlined in section 1.4 and described in detail in Chapters 7–11, but will adjust it to the nature of the assignment and to the client’s conditions and preferences. This is essential for work scheduling, but also for several other reasons.

The nature of the consultant’s and the client’s activities will be changing from phase to phase. Both parties must know exactly what the other party expects at each phase. In particular, the client will want to know whether the assignment is making headway towards its final objectives. To make control possible, the assignment plan will describe the outcome of each phase and define what reports will be submitted to the client at what points during the assignment. A major phase may require an end-of-phase report, but in long and complex assignments short interim reports may be required at the end of each subphase or periodically (monthly, quarterly), for monitoring progress and allowing regular payments to be made to the consultant.

The time dimension of the assignment plan is a key element of strategy. What pace of work should be adopted? The urgency of the client’s needs is the main determinant. But there are other considerations, such as:

●the client’s and the consultant’s technical, manpower and financial capacities;

●the feasible and optimum pace of change (as discussed in Chapters 4 and 5);

●the desirability of a phased approach to implementation (starting in a unit that is prepared for change and willing to cooperate, introducing the new scheme on an experimental basis first, etc.).

Role definition

This is another strategic dimension of assignment planning. The consultant will suggest the style or mode of consulting that he or she considers most appropriate, given the nature of the problem and the motivation and capabilities of the client’s staff. A general definition of the mode to be used is not enough; precise arrangements have to be proposed. They should specify:

–what activities will be carried out by the client or by the consultant;

–what data and documents will be prepared by whom;

–what meetings, working parties, project groups and other forms of group work will be used and who will be involved;

–what special training and information activities will be undertaken.

It may be both possible and desirable to foresee a shift in roles during the assignment. For example, intensive training of the client’s staff in the subject area covered and in problem-solving and change methodologies, carried out at the beginning, may enable the consultant to suggest reducing his presence and changing his role during subsequent phases.

Lack of precision in defining role expectations for each phase of the assignment can cause much misunderstanding. As already mentioned, this happens

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