Social Venture Consulting Practicum
BUSI 718 – 3 Credits
SOCIAL VALUE CREATION | CONSULTING

Course Description

The Social Venture Consulting Practicum consists of semester-long consulting engagements with 501(c)3 non-profit organizations, social enterprises, or government agencies that have contracted with the Smith School’s Center for Social Value Creation to receive business management consulting services. All of our projects have a social impact component.
The consulting engagements are designed to help social impact organizations increase their organizational capacity by providing them with direct access to business consulting services in areas including but not limited to finance/accounting, information systems/technology, marketing, operations, and strategic planning.

This program provides students with the opportunity to:

• Build new skills in project management and domain expertise
• Develop leadership acumen
• Apply classroom principles to real business problems
• Enhance your resume with tangible experience and see the outcomes of your work in practice
• Apply managerial skills while making a social impact on the community
  Working in cross-functional teams, students will accomplish the following:
• Define the project goals, deliverables, timelines, and processes with input from the client and advisor
• Conduct appropriate investigation and analysis using a "systemic" perspective to add value and maximize client satisfaction while maintaining the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct as representatives of the Smith School and the University of Maryland
• Apply new concepts, tools and frameworks that are being taught in the MBA curriculum while bringing knowledge and skills from past work experience and prior education
• Develop team building and leadership skills
• Deliver oral and written reports to the client