Academic consultancy with external organisations

The University supports and promotes academic consultancy with external organisations in order to demonstrate the impact of research, enable us to develop relationships with external organisations, and provide an additional revenue stream.

Our teams can help negotiate the consultancy fee, make contractual arrangements and ensure that any intellectual property arising from the work is properly protected. By taking on consultancy work through university channels, you are also provided with the appropriate professional indemnity insurance.

The following documents are accessible to Essex staff only.

Consultancy policy

• Consultancy policy (.pdf)

Consultancy approval forms

Professional services consultancy approval form (.doc)  
Complete this form if you're a member of professional services or senior administration carrying out consultancy work on behalf of the University.

Private consultancy approval form (.doc)  
Complete this form if you intend to undertake private consultancy work.

Please return completed approval forms to reo-consultancy@essex.ac.uk

Benefits of consultancy

• Financial and career benefits for staff - consultancy helps to augment the salaries of individual staff, stimulates personal development, broadens careers, and acts as a useful incentive to recruit and retain staff.
• Benefits for students - consultancy can provide placement and graduate career opportunities for students.
• Extending the research and knowledge base of our University - consultancy often leads to other forms of partnership, including research projects, and increases both the commercial awareness of researchers and the users' awareness of the University's expertise.
• Benefits for teaching - consultancy can result in current, relevant case study material that enhances teaching.
• Benefits for our University - consultancy provides useful contacts and marketing opportunities, and enhances the reputation of individual staff, departments and the University.

For further information and to discuss consultancy opportunities, please contact the Knowledge Exchange Manager for your faculty, or the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships Manager.