1. CONSULTANCY SERVICES BY UNIVERSITY STAFF
PROFESSOR JEREMIAH U. IDIALU, PhD, FCA.
DIRECTOR OF CONSULTANCY SERVICES
SAMUEL ADEGBOYEGA UNIVERSITY, OGWA.
MAY 2, 2018.

2. DEFINITION
Consultancy and Consulting are interchangeably used in Nigeria.
Consultancy - British origin
Consulting - American origin
Consultancy is mainly Service oriented.
Consultancy services are:
- Intellectual in nature
- Advisory in nature
Provided using professional skills to:
- Study
- design
- organize
specific projects, advise clients, conduct training, and transfer knowledge. (World Bank, 2002).

3. DEFINITION Contd. It is also any form of help on: - content
- process of a task or series of tasks.
- structure
consultant is not actually responsible for doing the task itself but is helping those who are (Steele, 1975)
Again it can be help to:
change; or
a situation
improve
but do not have direct control over the implementation.

4. Comparison of scholarly research, Consultancy and research consultancy
Consultancy/ Consultancy research
Consultancy
work
Curiosity-driven,
Aiming to acquire new knowledge.
May not be relevant to practitioner.
Recommendations must meet the standards of peer review which include rigour, technical, accuracy and substantiation of the conclusion.
Client –driven
Generally involving application of existing knowledge and expertise.
Produces specific deliverables for a funding clients.
Actionable recommendations.

5. Comparison of scholarly research, Consultancy and research consultancy Contd.
Consultancy/ Consultancy research
Pricing
Direct cost plus overhead
Financial rewards independent of findings
Consultancy rate
Financial rewards are dependent on findings
Intellectual Property (IP) (findings, methods, approaches & theories
Beneficiaries are
University
academic literature
Beneficiary:
Usually the Client
Publication
Free to publish
Projects are completely:
Open
Public
can be scrutinized
Replicable
Usually limited or none.
Confidential projects
Not replicable

6. Examples of Consultancy Activity
Expert Witness
Problem Solving
Technical Due Diligence
Quality Assurance
Literature Reviews
Program Evaluation
Survey
Training

7. Examples of Consultancy Activity Contd.
Testing
Technical Advisory Roles
Project supervision
Drafting of sector policies
Institutional reforms
Management services
Financial advisory services
Engineering and architectural design services

8. Examples of Consultancy Activity Contd.
Social and environmental studies
Consultancy services may vary from routine tasks to highly specialized and complex assignments.

9. World Bank grouping of Consultancy services

10. ROLE OF CONSULTANTS A consultant:
- Provides an expert professional service to his/her clients.
- follow a problem-solving approach towards clients problems.
- help the clients to:
Identify and investigate problems concerned with strategy, policy, markets, organizations, procedures and methods.

11. ROLE OF CONSULTANTS Contd.
- Formulate recommendations for appropriate action by factual investigation and analysis with due regard for broader management and business implications. - Discuss and agree with the client the most appropriate future course of action - Provide assistance where required by the client to implement recommendations.

12. ROLE OF CONSULTANTS Contd.
In carrying out his/her role the consultant should:
exercise independence of thought and action;
deal with the clients’ problems in the right perspective;
give well-balanced advice and continuously strive to improve his/her professional skills;
maintain high quality service

13. Factors Usually looked out for by clients Hiring Consultants
High quality of service
Economy and efficiency
Competition among qualified consultants
Transparency
It is, however, to be noted that these factors compete with each other. For instance, increasing quality of service beyond certain limits may affect economy.

14. Factors Usually looked out for by clients Hiring Consultants Contd.
Competency
Track records
Transparency
Fairness
Detailed
Time-consuming procedures that may affect short-term efficiency.

15. Property
Contracts for consulting services usually state that all documents prepared by the consultant:
- shall become and remain the property of the Client
- The consultant may retain a copy of such documents and software.
- Any restrictions on the future use of these documents and software by either the Client or the consultant are specified in the conditions of the contract.

16. Transfer of Knowledge in Consultancy Contract
Consultant’s assignment may include a component under which the consultant is expected to
transfer knowledge
train client’s staff
to master the services and to eventually replicate or to perform them independently.

17. Transfer of Knowledge in Consultancy Contract Contd.
When transfer of knowledge is important, the terms of reference should clearly
Identify
set out the nature the transfer of knowledge and training
extent expected under the assignment
goals of
the cost of the knowledge transfer will be included in the contract.
Methods frequently used to transfer knowledge include:
- On-the-job training of the client’s staff
- Standing alone training
- Twinning agreement.

18. On-the-job training of the client’s staff
The Consultant’s contract will specify:
The Terms of Reference (TOR)
Scope of work
Be commensurate with the level of experience of the required
The training goals to be achieved.
The scope of work should cover the trainees’:
Involvement,
their part-time or full-time availability,
organizational arrangements, and
expected results.

19. On-the-job training of the client’s staff Contd.
When adopting a training program, the Client should bear in mind:
the importance of allocating sufficient time
financial resources to the exercise.
To the extent possible, trainees should be fully integrated into the consultant’s team
given specific duties and responsibilities.
The consultant’s team members and Client counterpart staff should be of the same or similar professions to enable effective communication and transfer of knowledge.
Commitment to the training should be fostered by the evaluation of progress through tests.
The Client and/or the consultant should prepare evaluation reports.

20. Stand-Alone Training
This is a specific training component provided to alleviate identified weaknesses in the capabilities of Client’s staff.
Example is the training of Client personnel in the operation and management of infrastructures and utilities.

21. Stand-Alone Training Contd.
Stand-alone training can take a number of forms:
Secondment
Study tours
Formal short-term courses and long-term academic courses
- This is the assignment of the Client’s staff to the consultant’s home office.
- These assignments should set out the specific responsibilities of such staff within the scope of the consultant’s assignment.
Study tours:
- Tours can be a very useful way of learning.
- To reduce the possibility of training programs becoming “paid holidays” for trainees, mechanisms should be provided to limit unjustified absences or other abuses.

22. Stand-Alone Training Contd.
Formal short-term courses and long-term academic courses.
Administered by educational organizations such as universities and business schools.
The consultants’ involving is usually limited to:
identification of the institution
planning of the study curricula
administrative support to the training program.

23. Twinning of Organizations
Twinning arrangements are usually between an entity in a recipient Country and an entity involved in the same activities in a supplier country.
Transfer of knowledge and improvement of capacity can be achieved through twinning arrangements.
Recipients learn through pragmatic application of principles and procedures.

24. Twinning of Organizations Contd.
The supplier uses operational experience and resources available in-house to problems.
The level of credibility required from the supplier is very high.
Twinning is greater than conventional technical assistance in terms of scope.
Twinning is a relationship of trust between client and supplier.

25. Twinning of Organizations Contd.
Transfer of skills is flexible under twinning arrangements.
By twinning arrangement experts or specialists from the supplier country are permitted to work in the recipient organizations.
The recipient management/staff can visit the supplier’s organization.
Training offered can take various forms such as formal training or on-the-job training, etc.

26. Terms of Reference (TOR)
In submitting proposal for a consultancy services job, the terms of reference developed by the client should be a guide.
The terms of reference may include the following outlines:
Background of the project
The background summarizes the main features of the project and general purpose.

27. Terms of Reference (TOR) Contd.
The objectives of the consultancy assignment.
Scope of work
Transfer of knowledge
Reports and schedule of deliveries.
Data, local services, personnel and facilities to be provided by the consultant.
Institutional arrangement
Here, indicate the role and responsibilities of everybody involved, and specify the type, timing and relevance of everyone’s participation including the client’s.

28. Estimating cost and budget
The cost estimate of an assignment is prepared by adding the remuneration of experts that will be involved in the project and the direct expenses to be incurred by the consultant during the execution of the project.
The figures are based on the experts’ time (unit, hour, month) required to carry out the services and an estimate of each of the related cost components.

29. Estimating cost and budget Contd.
A cost estimate may include expenses of:
Experts’ remuneration
Travel and transport
Mobilization and demobilization
Staff allowances
Communications
Office rent, supplies, equipment, shipping, and insurance
Surveys and training programs

30. Estimating cost and budget Contd.
Report translation and printing
Taxes and duties
Contingencies –should cover physical and price items.
The cost estimate is based on an estimate of the personnel (expert per month) required for carrying out the services, taking into account the time required by each expert needed, and then making estimates for each of the related cost components. It is important to define these inputs as accurately as possible.

31. RULES FOR WINNING CONSULTANCY JOBS
Write and submit a proposal to a client; the proposal might be accepted; if you do not write, you are most unlikely to win a consultancy job.
RULE 2:
If you fail the first time, keep trying. The more you try, the more, you are likely to succeed in winning a consultancy job.

32. I thank you all for listening.