The independent agent for academic consultants

Passionate about academic consultancy

From small to large and simple to complex we’ve organised thousands of contracts and generated tens of millions of pounds in fees for our academic clients.

With over 20 years’ experience in organising contracts for academics engaging in personal consultancy work we’re passionate about what we do.

If you’re an academic at a UK higher education institution and already undertake consultancy projects, or are approached to do so, then we can help.

We are the independent agent for academic consultants.

Who we are

Riber Consultants is led by Simon Freeman who, over 22 years, moulded and developed academic consultancy at the University of Birmingham from a standing start into an acknowledged powerhouse. Working across all scientific disciplines at the University, Simon helped its academics generate over £30 million in consultancy fees.

Responding to the challenges faced by academics who wish to undertake consultancy separately from their institutions, Riber Consultants provides the structure and support which is missing when academics work independently.

Read what academics at Birmingham have to say about Simon here.

Benefit from our experience

We’ve organised contracts for academics in every scientific discipline you can imagine with an enormous array of clients, from start-ups to global players. We know how the commercial world works and what the key drivers are for academic consultancy.

Get the best deal

We live and breathe academic consultancy; we know the pressures you’re under and appreciate your needs and those of your clients. We are on your side to get you the best financial deal and to legally protect you. We know that academic consultancy can be financially rewarding, informs your research, may lead to publication and can deliver impact. We are here to support and protect you.

Keep the financial reward

We operate on the simple principle that you’ve done the work and you should keep the bulk of the financial reward. Working through us means that you don’t need to pay an excessive fee for the services we provide and you won’t be forced to give money to your department or lose much of it through payroll deductions. It’s your money, you’ve earned it, keep it.

We’re here for you

With us you are not just one of many, you are our client and we are here to work for you.

We work quickly and efficiently to get the best deal for you and to complete contract negotiations in a timely manner, ensuring that you are not only legally protected but can start work as soon as possible.

We are not here to delay or create roadblocks, if your institution is slow to respond and arrange contracts then reach out to us, we understand the time pressures with contracts and react quickly and efficiently.

We are innovative

If you are approached by a client to undertake a project and it ‘doesn’t seem to fit’ or it’s unusual and you are used to getting the response from your institution of: ‘we don’t know how to do it’, then talk to us.

Having organised a vast array of previous projects we’ve pretty much seen it all and for those we haven’t we relish the challenge of finding a flexible solution that works.

As an example, at the University of Birmingham various academics wanted to run service businesses but didn’t need to spin-out as independent companies. We created ‘Operating Divisions’, enabling academics to run service businesses with their own brands as part of the University’s academic consultancy offering.

If you need an innovative solution to manage a project or deal with an opportunity, we can help.

It can be simple

Academic consultancy doesn’t need to be complicated, but it does need to be organised in the correct way so that you are legally protected. We are here to take away the legal and administrative burdens so that you can concentrate on the work.

In essence we’ll do the boring bits so that you can do the clever stuff.