Sciencenter
Consultant Hiring Guidelines
by Alan Friedman & Charles Trautmann
INTRODUCTION
Consultants are frequent contributors to the progress of any institution. No museum can afford to have all the expertise it will ever require on staff, so consultants fill a major need by making their skills and experience available on an "as needed" basis.
For every story of a successful institution-consultant interaction, there is a corresponding story of an unpleasant experience, often with both sides feeling ill-used. The critical factors in the success of an institution-consultant relationship are: 1) selection of the best consultant for the work and 2) the clarity of expectations established at the beginning of the project. While complaints of exploitation, shoddy work, or unethical behavior exist, the basic difficulty almost always turns out to have been hiring the wrong consultant and/or mismatched expectations.
These guidelines discuss two key elements of hiring a consultant:
· Selecting the right consultant, and
· Writing an agreement that captures the expectations of both parties and minimizes the chances for disappointment after the consultant's work is complete.
SELECTING A CONSULTANT
If a consultant has worked for an organization in the past and has done a satisfactory job, you may decide simply to hire him/her again, without obtaining proposals from other consultants. This type of arrangement is often called a sole-source project, and in this case, the selection process can be quite simple.
As convenient as this may be, it is commonly advantageous to obtain additional outside proposals. Even if you decide to hire the same consultant again, you may learn additional things from other individuals through the proposal process, and you may find that others have more experience to offer at a lower price. At the very least, you indicate that the service and fee of your consultant matter to you.
The consultant-hiring process starts with developing the Scope of Work, which is a listing of all the things you want the consultant to accomplish. Next, you should create a Request for Proposal (RFP), which is a short statement of the work, conditions, and an offer to submit a proposal to do the work. Finally, you need a List of Consultants to whom you will send the RFP. You can develop this list from various sources, such as:
· Yellow pages
· You and your staff's knowledge of potential consultants
· Contacts with colleagues or professional associations who have done similar work or who can advise you on appropriate consultants.
Some important elements of an RFP include:
Introduction. Describe in a few sentences the purpose of the project, providing as much detail as possible. Include the goals (general outcomes) and objectives (specific, measurable, time-limited products).
Scope of work. Describe the starting point and what you expect the consultant to do. This is the most important part of the RFP, and detail is critical. It may be helpful to have several others read through the Scope of Work to ensure that you have included all relevant points.
Selection process. Tell the prospective consultant how you will select a consultant. Will you want a sample of their previous work? A sample of how they would do your project? A written statement of their approach? Will you meet with consultants beforehand to describe the project? Will you invite consultants to make a presentation to you or others? How should they propose their fee: hourly, lump sum, or some other arrangement?
Conditions. It may be helpful to consolidate the key conditions for the project into a simple statement or fact sheet. This information helps the prospective consultant to understand the issues you will later write into a contractual agreement (see below) that you both will sign before the work begins.
Once you have sent out the RFP, you may want to follow up with selected consultants to ensure that they received your information and understand the project enough to provide a competitive proposal. After receiving proposals and selecting the consultant with whom you wish to work, it is generally good practice to develop a written agreement to solidify the arrangement.
CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENTS
A contractual agreement is the key to establishing expectations. While each agreement must be custom-prepared by mutual agreement for each individual situation, here are some important typical features:
Scope of Work. This can be brief for routine services, or very detailed for unusual projects. Refer to an attached detailed scope of work, if necessary. The Scope of Work, agreed to by both the museum and its consultant, is one of the most important elements of the overall agreement and should be discussed in detail before drawing up a written agreement.
Period of Work. Include the overall starting and ending dates for the work, referring to an attached detailed schedule, if necessary.
Key Personnel. Name the key personnel from the consultant firm, and state that changes in personnel require written approval by the museum.
Authorized Representatives. Name the people from the museum and contractor who are authorized to make decisions regarding the work. There may be two individuals listed, one for business matters and another for technical matters.
Fees and Budget. State the total projected cost for the project. List the cost categories and amounts. Refer to an attached budget, if necessary.
Payment Schedule and Invoicing. Describe how much, and on what timetable money will be paid. Generally speaking, it is best to pay on the basis of work submitted at defined milestones, rather than simply by time spent working on the project. This section should also list the documentation required with the consultant's invoices, such as receipts, costs for various categories, and a listing of hours spent by each person.
Audits. For some projects, the Sciencenter and its subcontractors may be audited (e.g., projects funded by the National Science Foundation). Indicate in the agreement that the consultant's records must remain available for audit purposes for an appropriate amount of time.
Responsibilities of the Consultant. Every function to be provided by the consultant should be spelled out, along with schedules as needed. Who makes the contacts, sets up the equipment, takes minutes at meetings, writes reports, buys supplies? If the contractor is involved in public programming, indicate that appropriate dress and behavior in representing the Sciencenter are required.
Responsibilities of the Institution. Similarly, what must the institution provide for the consultant? Workspace, equipment, supplies, accounting for programs, planning documents, frequent communication with project team members?
Property Rights. Who owns the rights to drawings, writings, software, inventions, etc. that the consultant produces? "Work for hire" means that the institution is paying to own these rights.
Indemnification. The agreement should include indemnification of the museum by the contractor for any acts of negligence on the part of the contractor or his/her representatives.
Liability. Both sides need insurance, but the section should clarify whose insurance covers, for example, theft of the consultant's equipment from the museum floor or injury to a third party while the consultant is testing a prototype off-site.
Changes to the Agreement. This section should outline the conditions under which changes to the agreement can be made - generally in writing, as agreed to by representatives of both the museum and the contractor.
Termination. This section should outline the procedure for termination of the contract by either party, generally with 30 days written notice, for any reason. This section should also outline what happens with any unspent funds that might have been advanced up-front to the consultant in the event of termination.
EXAMPLES
Following are examples of:
· Request for Proposal (RFP)
· Contractual Agreement.
While these examples include many of the elements described above, it is important to note that every project is unique and requires an individually tailored RFP and/or Agreement.
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