When Consultation is Internal and Informal: A Case Study of Intervention on a University Campus

The scholarly literature in consultation emphasises scenarios where the role of the consultant is external and formalised. However, many consultations exhibit neither of these characteristics. The dynamics of an informal, four‐year long, internal consulting project conducted by two faculty members on a university campus are examined. Analysis suggests that this type of consultation involves challenges which, although not unique to informal/internal consulting, are sufficiently distinctive to warrant increased attention from researchers. Of particular importance in this regard is the pervasive influence which ambiguity can have on the handling of various stages of the intervention process in informal/internal projects.