FSG (consulting firm)
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| FSG (consulting firm) | |
|---|---|
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| Name | FSG |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Consulting |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Key people | Mark Kramer, Carl Sussman |
| Services | Strategy, Evaluation, Social Impact, Philanthropy |
FSG (consulting firm) is a global consulting firm specializing in social impact strategy, evaluation, and philanthropy advising with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm works at the intersection of nonprofit organizations, corporate foundations, government agencies, and multilateral institutions to design strategies and assessments aimed at systemic change. FSG's work spans sectors including public health, education, climate, and economic development with clients ranging from foundations to multinational corporations.
History
FSG was founded by Mark Kramer and Michael Porter-era colleagues influenced by Michael Porter and Clinton Global Initiative conversations, drawing early engagements with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Early projects connected FSG to United Nations Development Programme and World Bank initiatives alongside partnerships with Boston Consulting Group alumni and McKinsey & Company contemporaries. Over time, FSG expanded through collaborations with Harvard Kennedy School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Pennsylvania researchers. The firm has advised during major global events such as the response to the 2008 financial crisis, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, and policy shifts associated with the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals agenda championed by the United Nations.
Services and Expertise
FSG offers strategic advising, impact evaluation, shared value consulting, collective impact design, and philanthropic advisory services for clients including foundations, corporations, and NGOs like Oxfam, CARE International, World Wildlife Fund, and Save the Children. Their evaluation practice employs methods informed by scholars from London School of Economics, Columbia University, Yale University, and University of Chicago to measure outcomes for programs funded by Gates Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and Children's Investment Fund Foundation. FSG provides pro bono support and capacity building in collaboration with networks such as Skoll Foundation, Ashoka, Echoing Green, and corporate partners like Microsoft, Google, Pfizer, Coca-Cola Company, Unilever, and PepsiCo. The firm integrates tools from Randomized controlled trial literature, quasi-experimental designs used by J-PAL, impact investing frameworks associated with Rockefeller Foundation, and systems-change approaches discussed at World Economic Forum summits.
Notable Projects and Clients
FSG has partnered with philanthropic and corporate clients on initiatives including large-scale programs with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on global health, advising McKinsey Global Institute-adjacent projects, and supporting collective impact efforts in cities partnering with Mayor of New York City offices and City of Boston leadership. The firm advised governments and multilateral agencies such as USAID, UK Department for International Development (DFID), European Commission, and foundations like Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on public health and social determinants work. Corporate engagements include shared value strategies with Nestlé, General Electric, Citi and sustainability projects aligned with CDP (organisation), while nonprofit collaborations include strategic plans for Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, National Audubon Society, and Teach For America. FSG contributed to evaluation designs for large randomized trials associated with Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab and program scaling strategies linked to Scaling Up Nutrition.
Organizational Structure and Leadership
FSG is led by senior partners and managing directors with backgrounds from Harvard Business School, Yale School of Management, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and policy experience from offices such as U.S. Department of State and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Governance includes advisory boards with members from Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Harvard Kennedy School, Brookings Institution, and corporate board directors from Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson. The firm operates regional teams in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia-Pacific, collaborating with networks such as Ashoka Innovators for the Public, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, and think tanks including Council on Foreign Relations and Chatham House. Leadership development programs draw on curricula from Kellogg School of Management and INSEAD.
Impact and Recognition
FSG's methodologies and publications have been cited in policy reports from World Bank Group, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization while being referenced in academic journals associated with Harvard Business Review and Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. The firm has been recognized by philanthropic rankings such as lists from Chronicle of Philanthropy and awards tied to innovation from Skoll Foundation affiliates and social entrepreneurship prizes connected to Ashoka. FSG consultants have spoken at forums including Clinton Global Initiative, World Economic Forum, TED, and conferences hosted by National Academy of Sciences and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Criticisms and Controversies
Critiques of FSG's approach have appeared in commentaries from scholars at London School of Economics, University of Oxford, and Goldman School of Public Policy questioning the transferability of corporate strategy frameworks to social-sector contexts in debates alongside critics of shared value theory. NGOs including Oxfam and analysts from Human Rights Watch have debated methodological choices in evaluation and partnerships with multinational corporations such as PepsiCo and Nestlé. Transparency advocates at organizations like Open Society Foundations and researchers affiliated with International Consortium of Investigative Journalists have pushed for clearer conflict-of-interest disclosures in philanthropy advising, echoing broader discussions involving Ford Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Category:Consulting firms