Nonprofit consultant-selection guide
Guide 5: Interview teams and check references
Compare how the proposed people discover, communicate, manage change, and transfer ownership.
Interview the people who will do the work
Ask who will lead discovery, configure or build, manage the project, train staff, and support the system. Confirm what would be delegated or subcontracted and how staffing changes are handled. Use the same core scenario and questions for every finalist.
Ask candidates what they would learn first, which assumptions worry them, what could make them recommend a smaller path, and how they would handle a requirement that changes after discovery.
Look for transparent operating behavior
Probe access, test environments, migration rehearsal, issue decisions, status reporting, escalation, acceptance, documentation, and support. Strong answers make ownership and uncertainty visible rather than promising a frictionless transformation.
A demonstration can show communication and product knowledge. It does not prove the proposed configuration, data quality, adoption, security, accessibility, or result in your environment.
Ask references about observable work
Confirm the reference's role, project scope, period, team, and product context. Ask what changed, how problems were surfaced, what the client had to contribute, what ownership looked like after launch, and what they would structure differently.
Verify important credentials and partnerships at their issuing source. This site does not verify or endorse consultants and does not treat public claims as completed diligence.