You are consultants. You have a client who has a problem to be solved. For lack of a particular expertise, a shortage of personnel, or daily distractions, they look to you to solve the problem.
Mutual benefit is the name of the game.
Your client is giving you access to data, to their organizational issues, and their time - all these are valuable commodities. By doing this, they assist in your education. They look to you to answer one or more questions involving data and analysis on which you and they have agreed. You and we alike want to deliver the client something of value, which will be contained in your final report to the client. Defining a meaningful and feasible project.