On Consulting and Culture

Two years ago, as an Indian Hindu woman professional, I was requested to support the Government of Pakistan to raise resources for an integrated procurement and supply management system for Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV health products. I was both honoured and mortified. Several questions confronted me, as I displayed a stoic facade while booking my tickets and planning my travel. Will they accept my assistance? How much resistance will I get from other stakeholders? A key element for high impact short term technical assistance is the ability of the client and the consultant to work as a team. Will they team with an Indian? Will they respect my views and inputs as a young professional. I was in my thirties, almost half the age of most of the officers in the government department. Will they accept assistance from a Hindu with a bias?

 I packed my bags,read their magazines, popular culture and brushed up on a bit of cricket for informal conversation. Meanwhile, I also read voraciously about the country’s health systems,  evolution of the government, and most importantly, their political economy. As I landed in Islamabad, I was careful to quickly wrap a headscarf, even though many foreign women did not. I was told later that that simple act had reassured the clients  about me.

You might say that I put my own value system aside to “fit in.” I rationalise this rather differently. When you have so much going against you culturally that could jeopardise the outcome of the technical assistance—one that would bring millions of dollars of aid and save thousands of lives with essential drugs—one act of covering my head far outweighed the negative consequences that could follow. In the end, the client, senior programme directors, mostly men from the Government of Pakistan and my team, a multi-cultural (Dutch and Indian) worked closely with camaraderie and commitment, leading to a successful application, which provided the country with much needed drugs.

 Cultural competence creates an opening to provide high quality professional technical assistance. As important as it is to provide quality assured, timely, responsible, and sustaining technical assistance. Consulting devoid of cultural understanding and adaptation not only makes the process more difficult but also less acceptable to the client. Development consulting can be a game changer and successful technical assistance can save lives.