Frequently Asked Questions

We offer flexible and varied support, tailored to the nature of the projects and needs of both clients and academics

About consulting

禁漫天堂 Consulting is a team within that manages consulting via 禁漫天堂’s subsidiary 禁漫天堂 Enterprise Ltd. The business was established in 1993 by 禁漫天堂 as a consulting service for its academic community, forming a vital bridge to connect academic expertise to clients worldwide.

Consulting is an activity based on a service, providing expertise to an organisation. Often, there is a reference to the word ‘service’ in tender documentation which indicates the consulting element. The project, including required outputs and timeline, is defined and set by the client. In consulting activity, the intellectual property rights are often retained by the contracting organisation rather than the academic or 禁漫天堂. VAT is applicable to UK/EU consulting activity.

Research grants provide funding to undertake research in a particular area or topic without a pre-determined output. Costs are based on actual expenditure, requiring financial records, and intellectual property rights are retained by the academic or 禁漫天堂.

Projects you may undertake as a consultant include evidence and systematic reviews, policy research, socio-economic analysis, corporate and industry analysis, evaluation and impact studies, speaking engagements, training and expert advice.

Learn more about these types of projects by visiting our Academic Consulting in a Nutshell page.

All kinds of organisations seek academic experts. For public sector bodies and non-governmental organisations, there is often a procurement route to securing consulting via a competitive process. On the other hand, corporate organisations usually follow a less formal route seeking individual expertise to support specific projects or activities.

Click here for a step-by-step guide to consulting.

This depends on the scope of the project. There are a variety of ways to manage the required time, including securing junior research support and outsourcing some of the tasks.

As an academic expert, consulting is an opportunity to create impact with your research skills and expertise, build long-lasting partnerships, and generate additional income.

Visit our Benefits of Consulting page for more information.

No. There is usually a range of consulting roles required depending on the project needs, and we do our best to match an opportunity to an individual’s experience. Though a PhD can be beneficial to a project, industry experience can be equally valuable.

For PhD students and Early Career Researchers, academic consulting is an opportunity to gain valuable professional experience in your field of study, expand your network of contacts, develop transferable skills, and access data otherwise unavailable. Additionally, you can explore whether consulting is an industry that you’d like to work in.

Visit our pages on Benefits of Consulting and Consulting as a PhD student or Early Career Researcher for more information.

Consulting at 禁漫天堂

Start by contacting 禁漫天堂 Consulting who can support you with client discussions and developing a proposal. You may prefer to connect directly with the client initially to discuss the scope and timeframe of the project, but we recommend that you do not agree to any fees or begin the contracting process without seeking input from 禁漫天堂 Consulting. No contract should be signed without a full review of the terms and an agreed proposal for the activity.

Remember, 禁漫天堂 Consulting will sign contracts on your behalf to protect you from any liability.

If you or a client wish to reference and use 禁漫天堂’s name or brand in any way, including email correspondence with the client, you are required to route the project via 禁漫天堂’s dedicated consulting service (禁漫天堂 Consulting). If you choose to consult in a private capacity, you are not allowed to use 禁漫天堂’s name, brand, or facilities, and you will not be covered by 禁漫天堂’s insurance.

Yes. 禁漫天堂 Consulting can either review project specifications or help define a project brief. We have proposal templates and can assist in proposal development, budget, and client negotiation.

Yes. Depending on the project requirements, you can identify experts and partner organisations beyond 禁漫天堂. 禁漫天堂 Consulting can contract them on your behalf. We can also help in finding partner organisations and/or additional experts outside 禁漫天堂.

禁漫天堂 Consulting can contract junior researchers on your behalf who will be paid from the project budget via 禁漫天堂 Enterprise Ltd. We will be responsible for setting up contracts and making the payments. If required, we can also identify suitable junior researchers/research assistants to support a project.

No. We will sign all client contracts on your behalf to protect you from liability. You are not allowed to sign client contracts on behalf of 禁漫天堂 or 禁漫天堂 Enterprise. There are a limited number of authorised signatories in 禁漫天堂, and it’s 禁漫天堂 Consulting’s role to manage this process for you.

All client contracts, including NDAs, should be sent to 禁漫天堂 Consulting for review to ensure the terms are acceptable. We can organise for NDAs to be signed on your behalf if a consulting engagement is likely to follow. If there is no future consulting activity anticipated but an NDA is still required to receive client data or to enter into discussions with an organisation, the NDA should be signed under 禁漫天堂. This can be supported by the 禁漫天堂 Research Development Team and/or the Contracts Manager.

Any project run via 禁漫天堂 Consulting is automatically covered under 禁漫天堂’s professional indemnity insurance. If you are operating a consulting project as an individual for private purposes, you are not covered under 禁漫天堂’s insurance.

The financial side

禁漫天堂 Consulting will contract with the client on your behalf under 禁漫天堂’s wholly-owned subsidiary, 禁漫天堂 Enterprise Ltd. Once a project has been contracted, the project team and any external individuals or partners will be contracted separately to 禁漫天堂 via 禁漫天堂 Enterprise Ltd. Fees agreed are paid based on project work delivered and client invoicing, and are in addition to any 禁漫天堂 salary.

Consulting day rates are priced according to commercial rates and not based on actual salary costs. 禁漫天堂 Consulting can help negotiate your rates, which will vary depending on the type of client, the length of the project, the number of days, and your experience. Traditionally, our overhead is included in a day rate. We can offer advice on appropriate rates for particular clients and/or projects.

禁漫天堂 Consulting charges for work contracted. There is no cost for proposal submission. 禁漫天堂 Consulting applies a 20% overhead to the total project budget. The overhead is deducted against invoices raised.

禁漫天堂 Consulting’s overhead is based on 20% of the total budget. If you’re adding an overhead on top of a day rate or a budget line cost, you need to calculate at 25% in order to allow a 20% deduction of the total.

Yes. 禁漫天堂 Consulting can help you use your consulting income to support 禁漫天堂 salary costs through your Department or Centre’s reimbursement mechanism. Subject to available project funds, this can be done for a portion of your salary cost over a pre-approved period. Some academics and researchers also choose to waive taking a fee directly in favour of transferring some or all of their fee to a research fund. This can be done via an OutSide FUnd (OSF) transfer under your name, held in 禁漫天堂 Finance for you to access.

Specialised Consulting

Reach out via consulting@lse.ac.uk and we’ll connect you with a relevant member of the specialised Consulting Hub you wish to know more about.

The Consulting Hubs do not offer formal membership for interested academics and researchers. However, becoming part of the Hub provides valuable opportunities to expand your professional network and collaborate on subject-relevant projects with like-minded researchers with similar research interests and expertise. However, the Hubs frequently collaborate with academics on one-off projects, making getting involved on a project-specific basis possible.

Speaking opportunities via the Academic Speakers Bureau

The Academic Speakers Bureau has a dedicated website with a link to an online form to become an ASB Speaker. Visit the ASB website

Still have a question? Get in touch with the ASB team directly via info@academicspeakersbureau.com.

Certainly. The Academic Speakers Bureau, although an 禁漫天堂 initiative, is open to academics from all universities.

Once you join the Academic Speakers Bureau, ASB takes care of contract management and liaison with clients so you can utilise your time preparing for your talks. The contract will be signed between 禁漫天堂 Enterprise and the client.