Full guide to Consultancy Policy May 2006 Page 1 - University of ...

Delegated authority
How the HoS/DoPS’s conduct the review to deal with consent is a matter for them. It is recognised that a more complex
policy and higher levels of compliance are likely to call upon more and more of their time. However they must exercise
diligence in this responsibility and the following notes are provided as a suggestion on how this might be achieved.
Good management
In all large organisations there is pressure upon managers to take responsibility. Yet were they to make or supervise every
single decision they would become hopelessly overloaded. The ability to delegate without loss of control or responsibility is
therefore an important attribute. In the context of the deployment of this Consultancy Policy the following is offered as a
pragmatic suggestion on how the new policy may be implemented.
Proposal:
Each head of School (possibly working in conjunction with the school Enterprise Officer) devise a local and short/succinct
Consultancy guide whereby the likely occurrences of consulting can be viewed under three headings:
1. Consultancy which is unlikely to be supported or approved by the head of school. This is likely to cover areas of
known risk or areas of activity which might be deemed to be unsuitable. This would represent a “NO GO” area
2. Consultancy which is likely to be acceptable but due to conditions or parameters (e.g. scope, scale, value,
complexity) require the personal review and consent of the Head of School (e.g. any prospective assignment with
fee value >£5000.
3. Consultancy which is considered to be of a lower risk, scope and scale, and perhaps routine for the school, and
where the consent can be delegated to someone to act on behalf of the Head of School, (e.g. head of department,
school manager). This might cover 1 to 3 day short assignments or expert witness types of activity
In addition, it may be useful to set out a view on the parameters or conditions which might influence which consulting
channel might be appropriate (Private, School-based, Unit-based or via UoSC Ltd).
Communication and implementation
Once this is completed the guide could be communicated and shared within the school. Routine management meetings
held within the school could then provide an opportunity to observe the throughput of consulting proposals and monitor
compliance to policy in a time-efficient manner.
The Consultancy manger will be pleased to assist in the production of such guidelines. Contact
robin.axford@cei.soton.ac.uk.
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