In June 2026, the demand for development consultants bounced back with a 13% increase in the number of published consultancy assignments for individuals compared to the previous month. In this article you will find out which regions and sectors have opportunities rising, providing critical intelligence to support your freelance career planning.
In June 2026, there were 2,218 calls for external individual consultants published in our tender database, which represents a 13% increase compared to our last analysis in May 2026. This growth in consultancy assignments is a shift in the downward trend that was in place since April this year, and it was reflected heterogeneously across geographies and sectors. In this article, we explore which regions bounced back and the sectors showing the most growth, among other relevant insights.
Table I: Five consultancy assignments for individuals published during June 2026.
How is the demand for development consultants evolving?
Since 2025, we have published eight monthly exclusive individual consultancy trend articles (including this one!), based on the expert contracts available at DevelopmentAid — the largest database in the international development sector.
Insight #1: Asia-based consultancy opportunities are on the rise again (14% increase)
After a few back-to-back months of slight reductions in the number of opportunities available for development experts in Asia, consultancies in this region are on the rise again: they increased 14% compared to last month, and now represent 50% of all calls for external consultants.
Similarly, Africa recovered from April’s drop in demand, with an impressive 25% spike in expert contracts, thus remaining the continent with the second-highest number of opportunities.
The number of consulting opportunities in Europe and Oceania, however, decreased during June 2026.
Table II: Number of individual consultant opportunities published in June 2026, per continent.
This table also displays the variation (in %) in the number of consultancies compared to our last analysis, in May 2026. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira from DevelopmentAid’s database. Note: consultancies can be based on multiple continents.
Insight #2: Individual consultant opportunities increased across all categories
As we saw earlier, in June 2026, the number of calls for consultants grew, and this augmented demand was reflected across all consultancy categories, from goods and works to services (see more details in Table III).
Table III: Number of individual consultant opportunities published in June 2026, per need category.
This table also displays the variation (in %) in the number of consultancies compared to our last analysis, in May 2026. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira from DevelopmentAid’s database. Note: consultancies can span over more than one category.
Insight #3: Environment, Education and Engineering represent 45% of the consultancy assignments
In June 2026, the three sectors with the highest demand for individual consultants remained the same:
- Environment
- Education & Training
- IT & Engineering.
Together, these sectors embodied 45% of all opportunities for development experts. And all of them experienced a boost in the number of consultancies compared to our last analysis, in May 2026.
But there are two other sectors with rising popularity that you should keep an eye on:
- Food: 208 consultancies published; a 40% growth compared to last month.
- Finance: 317 calls for consultants available; 27% more than in May 2026.
Table IV: Number of individual consultant opportunities published in June 2026, per sector.
Only the 3 sectors with the most published consultancies are displayed. This table also displays the variation (in %) in the number of consultancies compared to our last analysis, in May 2026. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira from DevelopmentAid’s database. Note: consultancies can be classified into more than one sector.
Insight #4: Project management was one of the least sought sectors
In June 2026, a new sector dropped to the bottom three least popular categories: only 44 Project Management consultancies were published during this period, which represents a 30% cut compared to the previous month.
The other two least popular sectors are “habitués” or regular fixtures of our monthly reviews: Nonprofit and Fundraising & Grants. Despite the impressive 77% growth in calls, Fundraising and Grants remained the least sought sector.
Table V: Number of individual consultant opportunities published in June 2026, per sector.
Only the 3 sectors with the least published consultancies are displayed. This table also displays the variation (in %) in the number of consultancies compared to our last analysis, in May 2026. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira from DevelopmentAid’s database. Note: consultancies can be classified into more than one sector.
Insight #5: The World Bank increases the number of funded expert contracts by 57%
The World Bank has ranked in many (if not all) of the top 5 funding agency rankings we have published since November 2025. But, in June 2026, they significantly increased the number of contracts for individual consultants. This extraordinary effort still only grants them 4th place among the top 5 funding agencies engaging consultants. Nonprofit organizations, the United Nations, and the Asian Development Bank each financially support more consultancy assignments than the World Bank.
Table VI: Top 5 funding agencies with the largest number of consultant opportunities published in June 2026.
This table also displays the variation (in %) in the number of consultancies compared to our last analysis, in May 2026. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira from DevelopmentAid’s database.
Final thoughts
As donor priorities continue to evolve, monitoring procurement trends is essential for staying ahead of the competition in the freelance market. Understanding which sectors are experiencing sustained demand can help you identify new opportunities, leverage transferable skills, and position yourself more strategically.
For example, the number of calls for external consultants has increased this month. But how long will this upward trend last?
We will continue tracking these trends each month, highlighting the sectors generating the greatest demand and the donors funding the most contracts. Check back next month for the latest insights into the development consulting market, or sign up for DevelopmentAid to get near real-time intelligence.
