HMS Faculty may be presented with opportunities to consult for external companies or organizations from time to time. These external pursuits are often beneficial and Harvard is supportive of these types of external professional activities. Nonetheless, we strongly encourage faculty to reasonably limit such engagements so that they do not on average consume more than one day per week.
Most personal consulting opportunities are considered personal – the agreement is between the entity and the individual faculty member. Harvard is not a party to the agreement. As a service to the HMS research community, the Office for Academic and Research Integrity (ARI) provides institutional review of faculty consulting agreements to check against potential conflicts with University policies. Members of the HMS research community are invited to send draft consulting agreements for review by ARI to: consulting@hms.harvard.edu.
In general, we respond with our comments within 3 business days of submission. Please keep in mind that our review is only to ensure compliance with institutional policy and the service we provide should not be construed as personal legal advice. We encourage you to review these types of external consulting activities with your personal attorney and/or accountant to ensure your personal interests are protected.
Please see Research Influence High Risk Activities (https://ari.hms.harvard.edu/research-influence/high-risk-activities) for additional information to consider when engaging in outside professional activities.