FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 Customer FAQs

  • We usually work on a fixed-cost basis (once-off or monthly retainer), and focus on outcomes-delivered rather than on traditional time-spent consulting services. This enables us to make sure costs are reasonable and predictable for our customers, and tied to value we can deliver. Each project is unique in its objectives and needs, though in general we cost slightly more than a full-time employee, but much cheaper than traditional consultants.

  • Don’t worry. You don’t need to know everything about your project or expert needs. We’re here to help! Reach out to info@opf.degree and someone from our team will be in touch right away!

  • At OPF, we act as a self-sufficient fractional team, operating remotely, and managing projects proficiently to achieve project outcomes - treating your business as our own. We adopt an entrepreneur-in-residence approach to our work, prioritizing outcomes over overworked deliverables - making sure we are solving problems and delivering value in the most effective manner. We have built a technology-led virtual office, which allows us to effectively manage projects & progress with our customers (wherever they are around the world), whilst keeping overheads low, and passing cost savings onto our customers.

 Approach FAQs

  • OPF adopts a robust vetting process for all our experts that includes online application screening, résumé review, cultural-fit and case study interviews. We make sure that all experts are mission-aligned, coachable, and their experiences and skills are properly evaluated for project matching.

  • On average the onboarding process—from initial consultation to project start—is between one to four weeks. Factors that can lengthen onboarding time include project scoping, requirements, expert sourcing and onboarding, and pricing alignment. However in all instances, we work as quickly as possible to meet your project and expert needs.

  • Our aim is to act as experts-in-residence - as an extension of your existing team or department. In previous engagements, we have created joint Slack channels, Google Drives, Notion directories and have collaborated using Google Suite to work in real-time and to keep our customers updated. We have also used project management software tools such as Asana, Jira, and Trello to work seamlessly with our customers’ team and existing systems.

  • OPF has been building an algorithm that matches our experts’ attributes—for instance work experience, industry & functional expertise, and availability—with the bespoke project needs of our customers. We are gradually improving our algorithm as we receive more demand and supply from companies and experts respectively, and adjusting the team along the way to ensure you are matched with the right expert team for your needs.

  • An average client project is typically between one to three months long on a fixed monthly retainer, with a core execution team of at least three experts. We offer flexible contract extensions generally on a three-monthly basis. We help to co-create a clear scope of work, deliverables, and integrate our expert team with our customers’ relevant team or department - working self-sufficiently but also collaboratively with our customers.

  • In our experience, project success is dependent on a few key areas - from providing sufficient inputs to help with project scoping and expert needs; attending our regularly scheduled check-ins to allowing ready-access to key people and team members within your organization as needed to drive forward project progress. However, in any case, we will work closely alongside our customers and will help you make the most out of your time working with us.

 Impact FAQs

  • OPF works with a range of companies by type, size, and geography. Primarily we serve climate technology, climate finance, and small-to-medium organizations which reside in Europe, the U.S. or Asia Pacific. For example, we have worked with climate venture funds, and consumer product companies. For more specific examples, take a look at our offerings and case studies.

  • We have several ways that we measure impact, namely: GHG emissions that we help to measure, offset or reduce; Customer feedback, satisfaction scores and testimonials; Project outcomes, including any sustainability metrics; Number of experts matched on customer projects; Time experts spend on delivering climate work.

  • OPF has worked on a diverse range of projects, from building market entry strategy for climate technologies, providing environmental validations and modeling expertise, setting and implementing sustainability strategies, to conducting commercial due diligence on climate investments. You can see our case studies for more examples. In all cases, we focus on tangible project outcomes and will flexibly adapt to changes as needed to successfully deliver these outcomes.

 Expert FAQs

  • View our Expert Community page to learn more about our Expert Community and training!

  • We invite you to fill out an onboarding form to let us know your sustainability and industry expertise areas as well as your interests. We use this information to make sure you're matched with projects where your skills and interests align with project needs. We acknowledge that skills and interests are not static, so we will periodically resurvey experts to make sure our records are up to date.

  • Experts can range from those interested in climate action with minimal experience (e.g. studying environmental sciences, 0-2 years of experience) to those who have been working on the front-lines of climate action as seasoned professionals (e.g. climate tech investor, 10+ years of experience). Learn more about our Community here.