Committed to Social Impact

On the global level, we work with selected partners in long-term relationships.

Our global efforts focus on the challenges of the developing world and seek to support progress toward the UN Millennium Development Goals. Because these are long-term challenges, we believe they require long-term relationships with critical players.

We have chosen to partner with the World Food Programme, Save the Children, Teach For All, the WWF and several organizations working to improve global health and development.

Our local social-impact work aims to have a direct, measurable effect on the communities in which our offices are located and in which we live. Depending on local needs, each office determines the topics it wants to focus on and the organizations it partners with.

In India, BCG undertakes social impact work through two broad types of initiatives.

Client case work: Through formal engagement with client organizations, we address specific strategic questions that are on the agenda of the organization's senior management. The broad development topics we cover that are related to social impact are education, acquiring skills, food security, public health, youth development, economic development, and financial inclusion. Our work is not limited to these topics, however, and decisions on what topics to pursue and which clients to partner with are made on a case-by-case basis.

Our client list in India includes, but is not limited to, the Planning Commission of India; UIDAI; the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; the United Nations World Food Program; state governments such as those of Odisha, Haryana, and Jharkhand; Save the Children; the Institute for Reproductive Health; and the social-responsibility arms of various corporations.

Volunteer work: Under the umbrella of the Making a Difference (MAD) team, groups of individuals at BCG support a variety of development bodies and nongovernmental organizations in their personal capacities. Coordinating within themselves, teams develop either an annual or a six-month plan to work with an organization on a given topic. Quite often, individuals spend evening hours, weekend time, or both with other BCG staff in order to pursue this volunteer work. BCG offices in Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai work regularly with organizations such as Pratham, UnLtd, Salaam Baalak Trust, Youthreach, National School for the Blind, and Don Bosco Ashalayam.

The benefits of undertaking such efforts as a team rather than as individuals include the ability to assume broader agendas and to fill in for each other when professional and personal schedules do not permit a particular person to commit. Plus, it is simply more fun as a group. BCG staff often involve their families in these endeavors.

Individuals can also work in the development arena through a number of global structured programs, such as social impact secondments, the Social Impact Immersion Program, and social impact leaves of absence.

In addition to our project work, our contributions include volunteering in our local communities, charitable giving, and providing talent, contacts, and resources.

Our ultimate aim is to improve the living conditions of those in need. We often do so by helping our partner organizations become more effective or by directly advancing a topic. We evaluate our impact by looking at what we achieved within the organization, as well as the ultimate effect on beneficiaries.

For example, in recent work with one of our global partners, we supported preparations for the successful launch of a novel meningitis vaccine developed specifically for sub-Saharan Africa. Working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP), BCG conducted a critical-path analysis to assess key risks that might jeopardize the anticipated vaccine launch.

Together with its partners, MVP addressed these risk factors, and in December 2010, 14 million doses of the vaccine were introduced successfully in Burkina Faso, enabling 80 percent of the population to be vaccinated in just four months.

The introduction of this vaccine across sub-Saharan Africa has the potential to avert 140,000 deaths, 300,000 disabilities, and $120 million in treatment costs over the next ten years.

Participating in one of our social-impact programs is a unique opportunity to make a difference and gain personal experience. BCG offers several ways employees can engage in social impact work:

Project work: Become staffed on a global or local project, just as you would be staffed on our corporate client work.

Social Impact Immersion Programme: Spend 9 to 12 months of your career focused on global and local social-impact work, developing expertise in the sector.

Social impact secondments: Participate in a social impact secondment, and spend 6 to 12 months working with one of our global partners as part of its team.

Social impact leave of absence: Spend up to 12 months on social impact work of your choice. BCG can help you find the right organization and position.

Volunteering: Participate in volunteer projects through your BCG office—for example, consulting to local social entrepreneurs, mentoring high-school classes, or spending a day with your colleagues helping in a homeless shelter.