All three projects (I-CONSENT, FOCUS, dRural) address underserved or marginalized groups — patients, refugees, and rural communities respectively.
AND CONSULTING GROUP
Brussels consultancy specializing in social inclusion research and digital service design for vulnerable and underserved populations across Europe.
Their core work
AND Consulting Group is a Brussels-based SME that specializes in social research, policy consulting, and digital service design — particularly around inclusion and equity for underserved populations. Their project portfolio shows hands-on work in informed consent processes, forced displacement and refugee integration, and digital platforms for rural communities. They appear to bridge the gap between social policy research and practical IT-enabled solutions, bringing a user-centered perspective to projects that serve vulnerable groups across Europe.
What they specialise in
I-CONSENT focused on improving informed consent guidelines for vulnerable populations with a gender perspective, their largest funded project (EUR 267,812).
FOCUS addressed refugee-host community solidarity and integration challenges.
dRural involved building a digital service marketplace with AI and interoperability features for European rural communities.
How they've shifted over time
AND Consulting Group began with a clear social-policy orientation, working on health ethics and informed consent for vulnerable populations (I-CONSENT, 2017). By 2019 they expanded into migration and integration policy (FOCUS). Their most recent project (dRural, 2021) marks a notable pivot toward digital platforms and AI-enabled services, though still anchored in social inclusion — this time for rural communities. The trajectory shows a consistent social mission but growing technical ambition.
Moving from pure social research toward digitally-enabled inclusion tools, suggesting future projects will likely combine social policy expertise with platform development and AI.
How they like to work
AND Consulting Group operates exclusively as a consortium participant, never as coordinator, which is typical for a small consultancy contributing specialized expertise to larger teams. With 59 unique partners across 14 countries from just 3 projects, they work in large consortia and bring a wide but non-repeated network. This suggests they are adaptable partners comfortable embedding in diverse teams rather than building long-term bilateral relationships.
Despite only three projects, they have collaborated with 59 distinct partners across 14 countries — a remarkably broad network for their size, reflecting participation in large multi-country consortia. Their Brussels base likely facilitates connections to EU policy networks.
What sets them apart
Their distinctive value lies in combining social research on vulnerable populations with emerging digital service design — a rare crossover for a small consultancy. Based in Brussels, they are well-positioned to contribute policy-aware perspectives to technically oriented consortia. For coordinators building projects at the intersection of social inclusion and digital transformation, they offer a practical bridge between these two worlds.
Highlights from their portfolio
- I-CONSENTTheir largest project (EUR 267,812), addressing the niche but important topic of informed consent guidelines with a gender and age perspective.
- dRuralRepresents their pivot into digital platforms and AI, applying their social inclusion expertise to rural digital service marketplaces.