Structured consultancy. Clear deliverables. Defensible practice.

Elysium London offers six engagement models, each designed to address a specific aspect of how inclusive research practice breaks down in institutional settings. Every engagement produces documented, evidenced practice that holds up under funder scrutiny. Every engagement is led by Muhammed Rauf.

How Elysium London works with you

Three engagement tracks. Six structured products. Each with clear deliverables, defined pricing, and procurement routes designed for public sector commissioning.

WORKSHOP & TRAINING

CONSULTANCY

ADVISORY

WORKSHOP AND TRAINING · ENTRY

Foundations Workshop

From £1,500 (online) to £2,500 (in-person)

Who this is for

Research teams, PPIE leads, PhD students, research managers, and delivery partners across NHS bodies, universities, ICSs, and VCSE organisations designing or delivering studies with underserved communities.

The problem it solves

Most teams commit to inclusive research at grant stage but lack a shared understanding of what it means in practice. Standards vary, language is inconsistent, and the gap between policy intent and fieldwork reality goes unaddressed. Generic EDI training does not close this gap. A practitioner-led foundations session, grounded in five years of direct delivery, does.

What is included

Scoping call to tailor content to your team and project context
Online (3 hours) or in-person (half-day) facilitated session
Cohort of 12 to 20 participants
Scenario-based exercises grounded in live research challenges
Applied frameworks: RCA Model and Continuum Model
Written Action Summary delivered within 48 hours
Available standalone or sequenced with Applied Workshops

Procurement route: Commissionable from departmental discretionary, staff development, PPIE delivery, or project management budgets. Below most single-quote procurement thresholds. No committee approval required.

Core outcome: A team with a shared, credible understanding of inclusive research standards and practical steps they can implement from day one, not just in grant applications.

WORKSHOP AND TRAINING

Applied Workshops

From £2,000 (online) to £3,250 (in-person)

Who this is for

Research teams, PPIE leads, programme managers, and departmental groups at universities, NHS Trusts, and ICSs who need to improve a specific aspect of their inclusive research practice. Typically commissioned by a department head, programme manager, or research lead with access to discretionary or staff development budget.

The problem it solves

Most teams doing community-facing research have a specific, identifiable point where their inclusive practice breaks down. Recruitment that does not reach the right communities. Partner relationships that feel transactional. Insight that gets gathered but does not influence decisions. Generic training does not address these specific points of failure. A session designed around the team’s actual problem does.

What is included

Pre-session scoping call (30 minutes) to identify the specific challenge
Facilitated applied session (3 hours), practical and scenario-based
Four focus areas: Recruitment That Works; Working With Community Partners; Power, Legitimacy, and Difficult Conversations; Turning Insight Into Decisions
Written Action Summary delivered within 48 hours
Up to 20 participants per session
Bundle available: Foundations + 2 Applied Workshops from £5,500 (online) / £8,500 (in-person)

Core outcome: A team with clearer, more confident practice on a specific inclusive research challenge, and a written summary to reference, share internally, and build from.

CONSULTANCY · ENTRY

Inclusive Research Review

From £1,950

Who this is for

Research PIs, programme managers, and PPIE leads at universities, NHS Trusts, and ICSs who need an independent expert perspective on their project’s community engagement and inclusion approach. Particularly valuable before an NIHR application, ethics submission, Study Steering Committee, or funder review.

The problem it solves

The gap between what institutions commit to in grant applications and what actually happens in the field is wide and well-documented. Most teams cannot see this gap from the inside. They lack the practitioner reference points to distinguish genuine community engagement from well-intentioned but performative practice. An independent expert review makes that gap visible, names it, and provides a concrete path to closing it.

What is included

Pre-review documentation pack completed by the team
60-minute structured briefing call
Independent practitioner assessment against community-grounded standards
Written Review report (4-6 pages): what is working, where the gaps are, and 3-5 prioritised recommendations
Report delivered within seven working days
One 30-minute follow-up call within four weeks

Procurement route: Below most single-quote and low-value procurement thresholds. Commissionable from grant PPIE budget, project management costs, or departmental discretionary spend. No formal tender required. Two-week turnaround from commission to delivery.

Core outcome: A formal written assessment, produced by an independent practitioner, that gives the team a credible external position to take to funders, ethics committees, and governance bodies. Citable in grant applications and ethics submissions.

CONSULTANCY · CORE

Applied Inclusion Programme

From £9,500

Who this is for

Research teams at universities, NHS Trusts, and ICSs who are actively designing or delivering community-facing research and need to build, evidence, and sustain a credible inclusion approach across their programme. Most relevant where inclusion is a funder condition, where an application review has identified gaps, or where previous community engagement has been questioned.

The problem it solves

Most teams commit to inclusive practice at grant stage and find it difficult to deliver consistently under the pressures of live research. The problem is rarely intent. It is the absence of structured, expert guidance for making credible inclusion work on a specific project, with specific communities, under real time and resource constraints.

What is included

Pre-programme diagnostic: review of protocol, PPIE plan, recruitment strategy, and engagement approach
Diagnostic findings note shared before Session 1
Session 1 (half-day): shared foundations and framework application
Sessions 2 and 3 (three hours each): applied consultancy on priority areas
Inclusion Standards Toolkit: decision tools, templates, and reference materials
Cumulative Action Report: suitable for submission to funders and ethics committees
30-day responsive support post-programme

Procurement route: Commissionable from research delivery and PPIE budgets within NIHR grants, ICS system development funds, or university research centre operational budgets. Decision-maker: Programme Director or Head of Research.

Core outcome: A tested, documented inclusion approach embedded in the team’s live programme, supported by an Inclusion Standards Toolkit and Cumulative Action Report. Both are formal evidence artefacts for funders and governance bodies.

SENIOR ENGAGEMENT

Retained Inclusive Research Advisory

Priced by proposal

Who this is for

Programme Directors, Heads of Research, and ICS research leads managing a portfolio of community-facing research projects who need consistent inclusion standards, community continuity, and governance credibility across multiple studies over time.

The problem it solves

Inclusive research practice is difficult to sustain at portfolio scale. Community relationships dissolve when projects end. Standards drift under delivery pressure. Staff turnover means institutional knowledge is lost. Each new project rebuilds from scratch. Institutions that want consistent, portfolio-level inclusive practice need a sustained external function with the community groundedness and governance independence that internal appointments structurally cannot provide.

What is included

Scope and structure agreed by conversation and proposal (typically 15-25 days per year)
Co-developed inclusive research standards framework for the institution
Applied practice sessions for research staff at multiple levels
Community and partnership advisory: structured support for community relationships
Governance and ethics input across the portfolio
Quarterly learning summaries for senior leadership and funders
Responsive advisory access between structured engagements

Procurement route: Requires a scoping conversation before proposal. Commissionable from core research programme budgets, NIHR infrastructure grants, or ICS system development funds. Decision-maker: Director of Research or equivalent executive lead.

Core outcome: An embedded inclusive research function with community groundedness, governance independence, and portfolio continuity. A cumulative evidence trail across multiple projects that strengthens the institution’s position with funders, ethics bodies, and community partners over time.

INDIVIDUAL · PRACTITIONER

Practitioner Advisory

£600 per month (three-month minimum)

Who this is for

Individual researchers, PPIE coordinators, early career academics, and community research practitioners navigating the specific challenges of inclusive research delivery. Also relevant for researchers from communities of colour working between institutional research systems and community settings who need a thinking partner with credibility and experience in both.

The problem it solves

Individual researchers and PPIE leads rarely have access to a practitioner they can think with directly about the real challenges of inclusive research. Not the theoretical, but the specific: how to navigate a difficult conversation with a community partner, how to protect the integrity of community insight when institutional pressures push towards simplification, how to develop a practitioner identity in a sector that still undervalues community-grounded expertise.

What is included

Procurement route: Commissioned directly by the individual. No tender, committee, or approval process required. Fundable from PPIE development budget, project management costs within active grants, or personal professional development spend.

Core outcome: A practitioner making clearer, more confident decisions on live work, with a growing sense of their own practitioner identity and a working relationship with a senior practitioner who knows their situation in cumulative detail.

Not sure which engagement fits?

The right starting point depends on the team’s situation, timeline, and accountability requirements. A 20-minute scoping call is the fastest way to identify it.

muhammed@elysium.london