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We have taken
the unusual decision to be open about our costs and
our charging policy. We know that some of our competitors
charge much, much more than we do; we have heard of
day rates up to £1500. We know our work is as high
quality as theirs, as we have won tenders in competition
with big consultancy firms – and then had very good
feedback about the work we did. We also know that
we have lost tenders because the people commissioning
the work decided that if we cost so little, our work
must be poor quality. This doesn’t represent Best
Value as we understand it.
The money we
earn comes from the public purse, or from funds raised
by the voluntary and community sector. In a sense,
it’s our money to start with, and we want to know
that it is spent wisely. We think that costs incurred
using public and fund-raised money should be transparent,
within private companies earning their income from
these sources as much as anywhere else.
Our basic day
rates for 2007 are as follows:
- Work funded by statutory sector, partnerships, national and regional voluntary sector: £425 + expenses and VAT (East or West Midlands), £475 plus expenses and VAT (elsewhere in UK);
- Work funded by sub-regional and local voluntary sector and community sector: £265 + expenses and VAT
Our last rate rise was in 2004, and from 2004 to 2007 our rates were £400/£450/£250.
Our rates are
negotiable. We will charge less if your budget is
limited, and we are interested in the work, and we
can afford to do so at the time. Furthermore, as stated
in our CSR
policy, We Research It offers free telephone and
email support to voluntary and community sector agencies
preparing to commission, or fund-raise for, consultancy
or social research work. We also offer free support
and advice by telephone and email to service user
groups wishing to conduct their own research. Support
in person can be provided at our offices.
Please telephone
or email if you would like to discuss any of these
options.
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