“My consultancy work is leading to more collaboration, more publications and further grant opportunities, both nationally and internationally.”
—Professor Alison Holmes, Department of Medicine

Ask Imperial Consultants how they can help you

Consultancy is when you use your existing knowledge - or Imperial's facilities - to solve problems for external organisations such as SMEs, multinationals, governments, and even other universities. 

Unlike research, consulting is driven by the needs of an external organisation – the client – and they generally will want to own any output or intellectual property developed during the project. 

Clients turn to universities as they are looking for skills, or use of equipment, that they don't have in-house - so, consultancy can take many forms…

  • Advisory services: product design, research methods, new technology and patent evaluation, prototype development, policies...
  • Expert witness: expert opinion and analysis to support civil and criminal court cases, patent infringements, public enquiries, medical claims...
  • Expert insight: Scientific Advisory Boards, drug development programmes, thought leadership, speeches, report reviews...
  • Testing and Analysis: using Imperial’s world-class facilities when not employed for research and teaching... 
  • Bespoke training and workshops: to bridge knowledge gaps, assist new product development or change management...

Consultancy is charged at a commercial rate for your time and equipment used - and you work on the project outside of your Imperial role and working hours, on a self-employed basis.

Why consult? 

  • Test the social and economic impact of your research and expertise  
  • Learn about the challenges faced by industry, and how they approach them
  • Provide new ideas for your research, helping you stay at the leading edge of your field  
  • Use your ‘real world’ experiences as case studies when teaching, improving student satisfaction  
  • Build relationships with people in industry, and other academics, for more collaborations on research and publications, or consultancy work  
  • Earn extra income - which, if you work through Imperial Consultants - can either be taken personally, or transferred to your department's 'F account' to fund your research, PhDs, equipment, and more.  

Consulting directly Vs via Imperial Consultants

Whilst you can consult privately, you will need to...

  • Negotiate your own fees and scope of work with the client
  • Employ legal assistance for a contract to protect you and your IP - and take out your own indemnity insurance
  • Deal with purchasing, billing, admin, and credit control.
  • Carry the financial and reputational risk

What's more...

  • Imperial may have rights to any IP generated during the project and your client must sign  a waiver,  to avoid any implied liability to Imperial.
  • You can't use Imperial facilities, stationery or IP during the project, or the Imperial name on your reports or presentations.

Choose to consult through Imperial Consultants - Imperial's preferred route - and we take this burden on, saving you time and worry.

Plus the client is happy, as you can use your Imperial affiliation on your work to add extra credibility, and they will own any resulting output and IP.

Read on to see how we can support you.