Benefits of Consulting

Create impact

Academic consulting projects can create impact in different ways. It can influence a diverse range of businesses, governments, and civil society actors, which can be traced through operational change and policy implementation. Projects can also result in broader social outcomes through improvements in public service and government capacity and by encouraging policy debate.

With academic consulting, you could change attitudes and understanding through evidence, positively influence policies, practices, and organisational structures, and reach new audiences beyond academia with your findings.

Develop professional experience

Academic consulting provides an opportunity to solve practical problems through evidence-based solutions. Through this work, you can develop your existing ideas and research in a variety of real-world settings and access data that may otherwise be unavailable to you. You can also gain valuable experience in markets directly related to your field of study and specific research interests.

Build and expand collaborative networks

Consulting offers a way to build and expand your professional network, both internally to LSE and externally. It allows you to connect with key funders and stakeholders and create opportunities to develop new projects in the future.

Gain additional income

As consulting is a paid service, your are able to boost your personal income and/or research funds.

Through your additional consulting income, you can:

• Cover your LSE salary costs if required
• Recruit research assistance
• Offer a financial contribution to your LSE Department or Centre
• Invest in your OutSide Fund (OSF) account

Access the LSE brand

Working with LSE Consulting allows a client to use the LSE brand in consulting projects, for example, use of the logo and reference to LSE in the report and/or promotion. We also provide access to necessary insurances, including professional, public, and employers’ liability insurance.

Submit REF case studies

All projects run through LSE Consulting are eligible under the School’s Research Excellence Framework. Consulting projects can be submitted as stand-alone REF case studies or as supplementary activities to wider REF case studies.

Access data

Consulting projects may provide a route to access a client’s data which would otherwise not be available. This can be beneficial to your research activities and to potential journal publications.