Paper short abstract:

This paper explores how ‘development’ is conceptualised by private consultants and contractors in their work across the UK’s aid sector, examining how consultants frame and legitimise the specific forms of technical expertise they offer.

Paper long abstract:

In this contribution we draw on our research among private sector development consultants and contractors, working across different organisations from large multi-sector professional service firms to smaller dedicated development consultancies. We explore the different ways in which professionals in these firms understand, frame and speak about the process and practice of ‘development’, in relation to both thematic areas of global intervention (health, education, agriculture, economic growth, etc) and to cross-cutting sectors for consultancy work (diverse forms of public sector tendering, private sector markets in ‘emerging economies’, etc). In parallel, we explore how different organisational cultures and ecologies influence ideas about the aims of development and its effective practice, and how firms draw on their unique histories and market positions to legitimise claims to specific forms of technical expertise.