1. Pitch Deck
Development Solutions Organization
Scaling pro-bono consulting services in the international
development market
Washington, DC
January 2011
Client Logo

2. Development Solutions Organization (DSO) provides consulting
services to international development clients through a student
apprenticeship program
 DSO links students (undergraduate and graduate) and corporate professionals to form
consulting teams that tackle client problems within the international development sector
 DSO provides student participants with exposure to the consulting industry, insight into
corporate partners, and opportunities for post-graduate employment
 DSO provides professional participants with an opportunity to impact the development realm,
a wealth of networking possibilities, and management/recruiting experience
 DSO provides corporate partners with a pool of potential new hires, who have been tested
and vetted during the course of DSO-sponsored client engagements
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3. Table of Contents
 Engagement Model (1 slide)
– Explains basic student/professional/client relationship
 Stakeholder Incentives (6 slides)
– Explains why stakeholders are motivated to participate in DSO
– This section is key to understanding why DSO will succeed and scale
 Plan, Status, Needs (3 slides)
– Fall 2010 goals, roster of participants
– Immediate needs: how you can help
 Appendix (15 slides)
– More detailed analysis of DSO’s model and impact
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4. Engagement Stakeholder Plan, Status,
Model Incentives Needs
In our model, professionals gain additional leverage by managing
students who actually do most of the work
Set Expectations and Manage Work
Professionals Clients
Students
Contributor Accountability Scalability
Professionals High: directly responsible for deliverables Medium: provides career incentives (see following slides)
Students High: connects high performers with prestigious jobs V. High: provides career incentives (see following slides)
We combine the reliability of professionals with the scalability of students to maximize impact
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5. Engagement Stakeholder Plan, Status,
Model Incentives Needs
DSO will source engagements from non-profits and social
entrepreneurs working in the international development market
Students Clients  Receive high-quality services for free
or very low cost
̶ Professional management
̶ Scalable labor from students
Incentives
 Forge bridges to the private,
academic, and civil sector
̶ Learn about and apply cross-
Professionals realm best practices
̶ Expose partnership opportunities
DSO Cost:
 Time spent talking with professionals
Costs and Risks
Risk:
Corporations  Failed engagement
̶ We have placed much thought into
mitigating and preventing this risk
̶ High bar for professionals and
students: quality over quantity
̶ Professionals act as “buck-stops-
here” quality control and manager
Universities Professors
Before: Students are plentiful and free but quality and consistency are a concern
After: DSO finds the best and brightest; professionals provide institutional consistency and continuity
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6. Engagement Stakeholder Plan, Status,
Model Incentives Needs
Students compete for apprenticeships under professionals with
desirable corporate affiliation, experience, and connections
Students Clients  Create impact in development realm
 Form a tight and lasting network
 Convert development passion into a
Incentives
career
̶ Work experience including
portfolio-building deliverables
̶ References and referrals from
Professionals clients and professionals
̶ Corporate partnerships provide
explicit interview possibilities
DSO Cost:
 Large amount of time as an individual
Costs and Risks
contributor during an engagement
Corporations ̶ Projects are semester-long; may
receive course credit
̶ Apprenticeship length determined
by the professional and student
Risk:
 Failure to deliver high-quality work
may result in loss of benefits
Universities Professors
Before: Many opportunities to volunteer but few directly contribute to job search
After: DSO provides a direct path from passion (volunteer work) to prestigious post-graduation job
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7. Engagement Stakeholder Plan, Status,
Model Incentives Needs
Professionals act as engagement leads and “hubs” that recruit
students and other professionals
Students Clients  Create increased impact
 Gain leadership, management,
recruiting, work experience
 Potentially use DSO contacts to
Incentives
advance personal career
 Network with like-minded
professionals and professors, up-and-
Professionals coming students
DSO Costs:
 Small amount of time as an
Costs and Risks
engagement lead to create the
Corporations statement of work
 Small amount of time as an
engagement lead during an
engagement
 Small amount of time as a trusted
mentor at all times
Universities Professors
Before: Many opportunities to volunteer but low ROI in terms of impact and day career
After: Increased impact (leverage students), higher ROI on career (management experience, networking)
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8. Engagement Stakeholder Plan, Status,
Model Incentives Needs
DSO acts as a boutique recruiting firm to corporations, offering
access to screened, trained, passionate students
Students Clients  Better entry-level recruiting
̶ “Pre-release” access to portfolio of
highly-qualified new graduates
Incentives
tailored to team/company needs
̶ More data points (referrals,
recommendations, deliverables) to
accurately judge a candidate
Professionals  Expose employees to management
training and recruiting functions
 Low-cost, high-benefit CSR
DSO Costs:
 Potential sponsorship or recruitment
Costs and Risks
fee to participate
Corporations  Potentially allow key employees to
volunteer on company time
Universities Professors
Before: Traditional recruiting has high rate of false positives and false negatives
After: DSO decreases rate of error by providing multi-faceted insight into candidate abilities
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9. Engagement Stakeholder Plan, Status,
Model Incentives Needs
Many universities realize apprenticeships are effective career
instruments and will pay for a turn-key solution
Students Clients  Provide students with relevant work
experience opportunities
 Provide students with learning
Incentives
opportunities inside and outside the
classroom
 Increase effectiveness of career
center
Professionals
DSO Costs:
 Potential sponsorship fee to
Costs and Risks
participate
Corporations  Resources to assist DSO in
communicating the apprenticeship
opportunity to students & professors
Universities Professors
Before: Traditional career center caters mainly to “jumps-through-hoops” students
After: DSO reaches “under radar” segment who also excel in their area of passion
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10. Engagement Stakeholder Plan, Status,
Model Incentives Needs
Professors convert their knowledge and research into concrete
impact by acting as executive advisors and influencers
Students Clients  Help top students and advisees with
career
 Network with private and non-profit
Incentives
sector
 Advance development agenda
 Gain access to case practices in
international development
Professionals
DSO Costs:
 Small amount of time as a mentor
Costs and Risks
 Small amount of time as an
Corporations engagement key advisor (as needed)
Universities Professors
Before: Research does not reach field practitioners who could best utilize it
After: DSO builds bridges between professors and NGO/student/corporate/entrepreneurial practitioners
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11. Engagement Stakeholder Plan, Status,
Model Incentives Needs
DSO is currently finishing its pilot semester, encompassing
3 clients, 13 students, 7 professionals, and 13 directors
 Clients were sourced through , a leading network of social entrepreneurs
– Engagements (1 paid) are expected to conclude at the end of the Spring semester
– Functional areas are strategy/marketing, prototype creation (web app), usability analysis
 Students were recruited during a weekend-long kick-off event at
– 140 applicants were evaluated for cultural fit, entrepreneurial spirit, and clarity of thought
– Selected students possess a broad range of skills (MBAs, HCI, engineers, policy)
– Collective work experience includes
 Professionals span a gamut of industries, skills, and years of work experience
– Collective work experience includes
 Recruiters from several corporations were engaged to gauge interest
– In addition to accepted students, companies have also expressed interest in applicant pool
– Recruiters from have committed funds or are in approval process
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12. Engagement Stakeholder Plan, Status,
Model Incentives Needs
Immediate Needs (in order of priority)
 Core Contributors (Vice President)1 [~10-20 hrs/week] 2
– Manages at least one major part of DSO in addition to acting as a hub.
– Example: Manage Carnegie Mellon relationships, kick-off event, student recruiting
– Example: Manage all corporate relationships including professional recruiting and
partnership strategy
 Hubs (Principal) [~10-15 hrs/week]
– Completely understands DSO and evangelizes to others
– Recruits and manages one or more engagement leads; optionally, recruits students
– May or may not act as engagement lead depending on number of ELs recruited
 Engagement Leads (Associate) [~10 hrs/week]
– Manages at least one client relationship and 1-3 students
– If possible, recruits other engagement leads and (optionally) students
 Strategic Advisors and Board of Directors
– Includes professors, experienced non-profit leaders, accountants, lawyers, etc.
– Board membership depends on expected level of effort
1) Position titles and responsibilities will change after Fall 2010 pilot based on performance and future needs.
2) All commitment estimates are estimates and may vary drastically based on skills, involvement, and network.
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13. Engagement Stakeholder Plan, Status,
Model Incentives Needs
If you like this initiative you can support it or contribute by:
 Volunteering as a core contributor, hub, engagement lead, strategic advisor, or director
– If you are passionate about this idea, I am sure we can use you
– See previous slide for role descriptions
 Promoting DSO by telling potentially interested friends and acquaintances
– Feel free to circulate this deck
– We are looking to talk with professionals, students, and companies
 Feedback is always appreciated
Thank you!
I am always happy to talk. Please contact me at:
Edwin Shao <eshao@dsoglobal.org>
917.463.9978
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14. Appendix
 DSO’s Innovative Approach
 Key Benefits
 Common Concerns
 Miscellanea
– Positioning
– Funding Model
– Sample Engagement
– Engagement Timeline
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15. DSO’s Innovative Approach
DSO blends the best features of current volunteer brokering models
 The Professional-Driven Approach
High Reliability
 The Student-Driven Approach
High Scalability
 The DSO Approach
High Reliability, High Scalability
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16. The traditional pro-bono consulting model enables business
professional to donate their skills to help nonprofits
Work on Consulting Engagement
Professionals Clients
Taproot
Contributor Accountability Scalability
Professionals High: take personal responsibility for all deliverables Low: depends on sense of altruism, low professional ROI
The Taproot approach delivers reliable results, but suffers from low scalability.
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17. Another successful model is student-driven and utilizes
professionals as mentors
Professionals Clients
CC
This professional component
is optional: in some cases,
the entire organization is
student-driven.
Students
Contributor Accountability Scalability
Professionals Low: not responsible for deliverables Low: depends on sense of altruism, low professional ROI
Students Low: schoolwork and career tend to come first High: this model has appeared on dozens of campuses
The campusCATALYST (CC) approach is very popular but delivers unreliable results
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18. In our model, professionals gain additional leverage by managing
students who actually do most of the work
Set Expectations and Manage Work
Professionals Clients
DSO
Students
Contributor Accountability Scalability
Professionals High: directly responsible for deliverables Medium: provides career incentives (see following slides)
Students High: connects high performers with prestigious jobs V. High: previous model scalability + additional incentives
We combine the reliability of professionals with the scalability of students to maximize impact
17

19. Key Benefits
Benefits of this model are increasingly obvious when viewed from a stakeholder perspective
 Corporate Partnerships
 Academic Partnerships
 Stakeholder Analysis
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20. We will attract top students by incentivizing outstanding work with
recruiting opportunities at prestigious corporations
Professionals Clients
DSO Corporations
DSO-Corporate Partnerships
 Corporations gain cream-of-
crop students
Compete for  DSO gains recruiting channel
Apprenticeship to incentivize students
 DSO potentially gains
sponsorship grant or recruiting
fee
 DSO potentially gains access
Students to additional professionals
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21. We will work with professors and universities to reward course
credit and source quality candidates
DSO-University Partnerships Clients
 Universities increase effectiveness of career center
 DSO gains on-campus promotion channels
 DSO potentially gains sponsorship grant
Universities DSO Corporations
Compete for
Apprenticeship
Professors Students
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22. Stakeholder Analysis
Stakeholder Benefits Costs
Clients  Receive professional services – for free  Time spent talking with professionals
 Transfer private and academic best practices to  Risk of failed engagement
non-profit sector
Professionals  Create increased impact  Small amount of time as an engagement lead to
 Gain management, recruiting, work experience create the statement of work
 Potentially use DSO contacts to advance  Small amount of time as an engagement lead during
personal career an engagement
 Network with like-minded professionals,  Small amount of time as a trusted mentor at all times
professors, and up-and-coming students
Students  Create impact  Large amount of time as an individual contributor
 Gain work experience during an engagement
 Network with established professionals, like-  Failure to deliver high-quality work may result in loss
minded students, and professors of benefits
 Explicit path to convert development passion
into career; helps focus career goals
Corporations  Gain cream-of-crop, trained entry level hires  Potential sponsorship or recruitment fee to participate
 Employee participation in DSO is low-cost way
to fulfill CSR while training employees
Professors  Help top students and advisees with career  Small amount of time as a mentor
 Network with private and non-profit sector
 Advance development agenda
Universities  Increase effectiveness of career center  Potential sponsorship fee to participate
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23. Summary of Relationships
Professionals Clients
Universities DSO Corporations
Professors Students
DSO is an organization that specializes in networking
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24. Common Concerns
 Will enough professionals and students be interested?
 Will professionals have enough time?
 Will students have enough time?
 How is this different from an internship program?
 What is your revenue model?
 Why are you uniquely qualified to do this?
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25. Miscellanea
 Positioning
 Funding Model
 Sample Engagement
 Engagement Timeline
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26. Non-profit strategic consulting is a $1.5bn untapped opportunity
The value of corporate involvement lies as much in expertise as it does in monetary support. – Bill Gates
 High market demand but small and fragmented supply-side
– Demand: 200,000 non-profits $1.5bn consulting services market
– Supply: 3,000 providers $600m annual revenue
Public Serving Direct Service Foundations
Demand Segmentation
• 1,000,000 organizations • 500,000 organizations • 54,000 organizations
Large Business
Boutique Consulting Solo Practitioners Volunteer Brokers
Supply Segmentation
Consulting Firms
• Smallest segment, • Fragmentation • Largest segment • Fragmentation
highest profile • Local or regional • 2,000+ providers • Local or regional
• Only ~100 annual presence • $180m revenue presence
engagements per
 Large strategy firms possess tools and scale but  Consulting firms with non-profit experience lack
lack sensitivity to the non-profit sector scale and strategic experience
Statistics from Taproot Foundation, Pro Bono Strategic Consulting: The $1.5 Billion Opportunity (2008) and Harvard Business School, The Bridgespan Group (2000) 25

27. Funding Model
 In the beginning, costs will be extremely low due to volunteer-orientation
– Travel, lodging, and meals for one kick-off weekend
– All work will be done remotely with extensive use of tele/videoconferencing
– For the Fall 2010 pilot, the kick-off weekend may be self-funded: we are working with CMU
to fund or subsidize a portion of expenses
 As the program expands, multiple channels of funding will be tapped
– Foundational grants
– Student recruitment headhunter’s fee
– Annual corporate membership fee to formalize relationship and allow recruiting
– Flexible client fee structure; retrospective “pay-for-value” donation
– Corporate donations and sponsorship
– Corporate networking events, entrance fee
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28. Sample Engagement
 Please see attached document:
– Double click icon to open.
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29. Example Engagement Timeline (1 Semester)
Month .25 .5 1 2 3 4 Close
Scope Statement of Work (SOW) Engagement Progress Provide Feedback
Client
Provide critical feedback
Meet with leads to explain requirements Meet with leads to provide feedback on deliverables and meet with engagement lead to ensure project
and schedule follow-on
and negotiate SOW is on track
work if desired
Professional: Design SOW Project Management for Engagement Assess Project Success
Engagement
Produce project report
Lead Coordinate with client and workstream
Periodically meet with client to report on progress and ensure all workstreams are on right track based on feedback from
leads to ensure successful SOW
all stakeholders
Professional: Provide Feedback on SOW Deliverable Management for Engagement Assess Student Work
Workstream
Work with engagement lead Work with students to Provide feedback to
Lead to split work into discrete understand SOW and Manage workstream progress, reporting to engagement lead engagement lead on
workstreams needed deliverables workstream quality
Background Research Deliverable Creation for Engagement Close Out Work
Students
Work with workstream lead to determine Provide feedback to
appropriate background research and Accomplish deliverables with periodic checkins with workstream lead leads on difficulties
training to undertake encountered
= General Role = Specific Responsibilities
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