The Office for Business & Community Economic Development (BCED) offers this unique program that provides development services and technical assistance to woman-, minority-, and disabled-owned for-profit businesses. With the support of the Carlson School of Management, the Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs, the Law School and all other University graduate schools, graduate and professional students work under the direction of the Office for Business & Community Economic Development to provide consulting services that help businesses in building capacity and improving profitability. These individualized services positively impact the small-business sector, thereby strengthening the community at large.

In theory, graduate and professional students are used as consultants, to provide varied technical services and assistance to these firms. Business (field) projects are selected via application, students are identified and assigned to a consulting team; individual consulting teams and then matched with the appropriate business (field) project.

Services that are provided by our team consultants range from Market research and analysis, feasibility studies, HR management, marketing and business plan development, to finance and accounting, operations management, IT development and strategic planning.