Consultation Services Policies

Policies

Consultation Services (CS) recommends that all clients encrypt data sets before emailing.

Consultation Services is committed to scientific excellence and providing easily accessible, expert advice. Because of CS' responsibility to advance the quality of research, requests for project deliverables are subject to review by your individual consultant for meeting scientific standards; not all requested deliverables are guaranteed.

Recharge

With the goal of improving the quality and quantity of science at UCSF and affiliated CTSI institutions, the UCSF CTSI's Consultation Services Program provides a variety of free services, along with an option to purchase additional services on a recharge basis.

What is free:

  1. The initial consultation with each of our Consultation Services Units (Biostatistics, Design, Data Management), up to 1 hour, is free for any project based at UCSF and affiliated CTSI institutions.
  2. Investigators writing grants that include a biostatistician as a co-investigator for at least 10% effort will receive up to 20 additional free hours of consultation and writing assistance from Division of Biostatistics in support of the grant application.

What is not free:

  1. Subsequent consultations and work done by consultants after the initial consultation, irrespective of whether the consultant is included as a co-author.
  2. Review of a manuscript or grant (beyond that offered above), unless the question for the consultant is very focused and can be accomplished within the initial consultation.
  3. Performance of statistical analysis and hands-on database work, even if a full initial hour of consultation has not been used.

If you anticipate that you will need more than 1 hour of services from any Consultation Services Unit, please provide your payment information to [email protected]; payment information is required before proceeding with work beyond the free hour. It is the responsibility of the client to communicate any budget constraints with the consultant in advance of work commencing and to work closely with the consultant to closely review ongoing work and time spent on the project with the goal of meeting any budgetary constraints.

All billing for Consultation Services occurs monthly, following the month of service.

Recharge Rates

CTSI Consultations are supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institutes of Health, through UCSF-CTSI Grant Number UL1 TR001872. UCSF users paying via UCSF recharge with non-industry-sponsored funds are charged the internal rate, which includes the NCATS subsidy; UCSF users paying with industry-sponsored funds and affiliates noted below are charged the full cost of service; external clients and those paying via check are charged the full cost of service plus 26% indirects.

To pay by recharge, you'll need to provide either a speedtype or chartstring after the initial consultation.

Internal, subsidized hourly rates and corresponding subsidies for FY 2024-25, beginning July 1:

  • $245/hour for faculty consultants (services provided after initial consultation)
  • $145/hour for staff analysts and senior staff consultants
  • $110-$140/hour for staff consultants
  • See details for external rates and subsidies (PDF 85KB)

Click here for more information on Data Extraction rates from Academic Research Systems