Consultancy Policy

 

Definition of Consultancy Services and Projects

         Consultancy services and projects include an assignment or job basically for providing expert advice, problem solving, targeted training, testing and laboratory based experimental work, market research and survey. The faculty member of the Institute or the department involved in consultancy are referred as consultants and the industry or private party or any other outside agency seeking consultancy is referred as the beneficiary.

General Principles of Consultancy

• A consultancy work may be undertaken by the faculty members in their area of expertise

• The consultancy services should be undertaken only with prior permission from the Institute

• It should not interfere with the discharge of prime duties of the faculty member or thedepartment

• Consultancy services should not be in conflict with the interest of the Institute

• In the context of consultancy services, the consultant should not directly or indirectly get associated with any other activities which may be unethical orinappropriate

• The two types of consultancy are Individual Consultancy and Institutional Consultancy. Individual Consultancy is offered by a faculty member in his/her individual capacity. Institutional Consultancy is offered by a team of faculty members from the same discipline or different discipline of theInstitute

• In the case of foreign consultancies, the Institute will permit to take up the consultancy based on the nature of the consultancy work. The consultant team has to execute a bond with theInstitute

• All payments for consultancy shall be routed through institute only. This means, that whenever payments are done, they should come in the name of the institute, electronically into the designated bank account and institute will then do the needful for complying with statutory laws and then give the share to the faculty/staff as the case may be. No individual faculty member shall receive any compensation either cash or in kind directly

• Breakup of the consultancy charges may not be shared with the client. Only a lump sum figure of total consultancy charges may be quoted. However, the working sheet should be maintained as a part of internal records and shall be subjected to Internal Audit as deemed necessary

• The consultancy agreement shall be in conformity with the laws of India as laid out in the Standardized Terms and Conditions. In exceptional circumstances after due approvals, compliance with both the Countries and/or International laws may be agreed upon

• The responsibility for completing the Project rests solely with the PI. The agreed deliverables are the responsibility of the PIs. Institute provides the PIs only the necessary support

• After completion of the project, a final Project Completion Report shall be provided to the funding agency and two copies shall be submitted to the office of Principal for records

• A Completion Certificate should be obtained from the funding agency for successful completion of the project based on which only the project account will be closed by the institute

• Testing & Evaluation services may be offered to meet the needs of governmental and related agencies, special clients and other outside educational institutions

• Standardization and Calibration services may be offered in areas in which facilities are available within institute or can be augmented. Such services should normally be backed by periodic Calibration/ Standardization of laboratory equipment used for such purposes

• In extraordinary cases, where the Institutional consultancy work taken up cannot be completed by the PI, institute reserves the right to reassign the consultancy work to another Investigator

Institutional Policy on Revenue sharing

         The consultancy fees for the consultant should be mentioned in the budget proposal submitted by the beneficiary and should be approved by the Principal

Nature of tasks considered forConsultancy

• Establishment of laboratory

• Project for setting up a pilot plant/getting a bankloan

• Efficacy testing of new products

• Offering consultancy work in their site/factory

• Private agencies requesting for training of their staff

• Annual consultancy on contract for food quality improvement/product development

• Field visit for diagnosis and problem solving

Exclusions

         This policy does not apply to those activities, which may be paid or unpaid, and which are in furtherance of scholarship or general dissemination of knowledge, such as but not limited to:

• Authorship of or royalties from publication of books

• Research, training and teaching

• Guest Lectures, serving on Scientific Advisory Boards, Research Councils and Professional Associations and Statutory Bodies

• Service on charitable committees

• External examiner duties

• Lecture tours and conference presentations or attendance

• Editorship of academic journals or publication of academic articles

• Professional arts performances

• Any other activity as defined by the job description of the Staff

Personal Consultancy will not be allowed typically in the following circumstances:

• When the Consultancy services are to support projects such as research projects, which are already being conducted at PSREC

• When such Consultancy would contractually preclude PSREC or its Staff from engaging in other research or other consultancy

• When there is any potential to bring PSREC into disrepute

• Whether the proposed personal consultancy will impact on the individual’s work with PSREC

• To protect the available Intellectual Property Rights of PSREC