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Research and knowledge exchange

Consultancy

What activities are considered as personal consultancy under University policy?

Is your project personal consultancy? Find out here.

Opportunities to provide expert services to businesses and other non-academic organisations arise continually. It is important to check that the external opportunity for income generation is not better suited to one of the other KE categories before pursing it as personal consultancy, to ensure that you get the right level of support for your project.

Key points governing personal consultancy arrangements

1. Permission is required in advance from senior management in your School and from the Research and Innovation Division for all consultancy projects, both University Services, Personal Consultancy and Private Consultancy.

2. Standard arrangement for personal consultancy fees:

  • 85% to the Project Leader (either in Salary (subject to NI and Tax) and or to Research Support Account RSA). Note: if the fee (or part of fee) is allocated to a RSA it is formally relinquished to the School / University
  • 10% to the School / Division.
  • 5% to the University to contribute to central administrative costs and insurances

3. When conducting personal consultancy you are doing so as a representative of the University. Therefore only the official signatories for the University in the Research & Innovation Division can sign contracts - not individual consultants or Heads of School.

4. The fee for consultancy should be at or above Full Economic Cost to comply with the University’s obligations concerning activities that are undertaken for private benefit. Please use the costing table provided in the self-service guidance below for the relevant fee levels.

5. Where work is to be undertaken on a client’s terms, contracts must first be reviewed by the University Research Contracts team to ensure that the University can comply with the terms, and that individuals are appropriately protected. Please allow a minimum of 10-15 days for these mandatory checks to take place.

Next steps for personal consultancy projects

To help speed up the process for personal consultancy projects please use this self-service system that will enable you to initiate a project. Research and Innovation staff will then be able to advise you appropriate and secure relevant approvals before the project begins.