PURCHASING PROCEDURES - University of Central Lancashire

1. Foreword
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to those members of staff involved in
the difficult task of hiring external consultants to undertake work on behalf of the University.
The following check lists, procedures and principles will provide complete assurance in the
safety of the placement of a consultancy contract (legal contract “Standard Contract for the
Purchase of Consultancy” available from
www.uclan.ac.uk/information/services/finance/purchasing/terms_and_conditions.php. Do
please note that travel expenses listed under Appendix 1 are intended as a guideline only and
should be checked for any revisions.
Please remember the Purchasing Office are always available to assist and contact should be
made with the Head of Purchasing on ext. 2220 in the first instance if any member of staff
wishes to take advantage of their expertise in this matter.
The aim of this document is to improve the quality of consultants‟ reports as a management
tool by laying out the University‟s expectations, highlighting best practice and documenting
the risks associated with consultant reports and presentations.
In general terms, as part of a broader management framework, consultant reports, like all
other elements of such a framework, must be subject to and demonstrate value for money,
risk awareness, audit ability and a connectedness to corporate planning and strategic
priorities.
In specific terms the outputs of such consultant contributions should demonstrate objectivity,
rigour, validity, reliability, coherence and focus.
These general and specific considerations are directly related. A consultant‟s report which
lacks validity will lack value for money. Similarly a review which lacks objectivity is
unlikely to contribute satisfactorily to risk assessment or mitigation processes.
The cost of ineffective or flawed consultancy is potentially not just the fee paid for the
consultancy work but the business cost of poor decisions made on the basis of such
consultancy.
All consultants‟ reports are different and the commissioning conditions and briefs can vary
significantly. There is no single correct way to carry out effective consultancy. However, the
University is committed to maximising the quality of decision making generally and is
focused therefore on establishing best practice in relation to those reports it commissions.
The following set of principles indicates a set of expectations to which all consultants and
commissioning mangers should adhere. Promotion of these principles and raising awareness
of the issues they address, both internally and to potential consultants, is designed to raise
standards of consultancy reports and improve decision making.
Purchasing Procedures December 2011