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Categories of External Resource have been identified below, with areas of consultancy spend highlighted.TABLE
| External Resource Categories | |
|---|---|
| Construction and Infrastructure Consultancy | Construction, infrastructure and transport feasibility and scoping exercises |
| Construction, infrastructure and transport post-occupancy and benefits review | |
| IT Consultancy | Organisational IT strategy design and advice (e.g. cross-business re-engineering) |
| Functional IT strategy design and advice (function-specific IT solution (e.g. eHR systems, eTendering) | |
| Financial Consultancy | Audit/forensic accounting advice and services |
| Accountancy advice and services | |
| Financial and economic advice services | |
| General Business Management Consultancy | Functional development |
Programme management | |
| Marketing consultancy | |
| Business strategy | |
| Organisational development (including training) | |
| Other Consultancy | Environmental consultancy |
| Research and evaluation | |
| Policy development (including feasibility and scoping exercises) | |
| Other external resource (not consultancy) | Permanent recruitment services and advice |
| Interim management & staff substitution | |
| Outsourcing | |
| Technical or specialist service (including construction, infrastructure and transport, IT etc) |
Notes to Table 1
- Please use Table 1 in conjunction with the three part test below.
- Feasibility studies and Impact Assessments are purchased widely by the Scottish public sector across all areas of external resource.
- Table 1 does not provide an exhaustive list of what may be considered ‘external resource’ or ‘consultancy’. The need for careful consideration of purchases in all areas, (listed or otherwise) is undiminished.
- CGCoPE or NCoPE already have, or plan, framework contracts in many of the areas listed above. Where no Scottish solution is in place, there may be an accessibleUKframework.
The Three Part Test
Consultancy is project-based with responsibility for the final outcome resting with the client.
A three part test for consultancy requires that the following three conditions should be met to be true consultancy:
1. Throughout the engagement, there must be ongoing two-way exchange of intellectual or professional information between the purchasing authority and a professional supplier, concerning the planning and/or delivery of project or organisational goals.
2. The engagement and the need for the engagement end at the completion of an agreed output rather than the end of a pre-determined length of time (subject to desired project timescales).
3. Day-to-day task management remains with the supplier.
For example:
- A land surveyor is not a consultant because in performing their task, information flow is not two-way and not ongoing (i.e. following the surveyor’s appointment, the survey is performed and a report produced without the need for further discourse). This might be defined as a Technical or Expert Service.
- A middle-level manager employed on a temporary contract would not be a consultant, as the engagement is likely to be underwritten by a time-defined contract of employment rather than an agreed output. This is an example of Interim Management or Temping.
- A Facilities Manager, employed by a Facilities Management supplier, would not be a consultant, as there will still be a requirement for the role to be filled (the relationship) after the current contract has expired. This is an example of Outsourcing.
- However, an external resource or advisor brought in to undertake a feasibility and scoping exercise to help evaluate proposed policy would meet all three conditions. This is an example of Consultancy.
To ensure value for money, business areas must be prudent in their use of consultants and only engage external consultants where other options have been exhausted. Information on the options for optimising use of resources is available below.
Policy
It is Scottish Government policy that consultants are only employed when:
- management is determined to take action to bring about change and demonstrate commitment to act upon the substance of the outputs;
- the work cannot be handled internally, i.e. we are sure that the required knowledge and
- expertise is not available in-house or from some other source;
- they can bring relevant new knowledge and experience which adds value to the
- Scottish Government’s business;
- the number of assignments does not exceed in-house capacity to manage them effectively;
- there is demonstrable and achievable VFM as a result of their employment; and
- all of the necessary authorities have been given.
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