FAQ
How soon is Advantage Consulting available?
To ensure we are a good fit for your organization or project, it is important for us to schedule a free initial phone or video call to review your goals, the timeline for the work, funding available to cover our consulting fees, and to determine roles of all stakeholders involved. Advantage Consulting will prepare a draft proposal of our services and our fees- typically within a week of the initial call. After you have reviewed our proposal, we typically hold a second phone or video call to finalize the project’s scope of work, budget, and timeline.
In which areas of the country do you provide consulting services?
Most of our services can be provided anywhere in the country. We build in travel costs to our services to ensure we are able to meet with clients onsite as needed during the course of managing a project. However, most of our work has been done by video conference calls. Dr. Chris Allers, is located in Atlanta, Georgia and Khurram Hassan, is located in Sacramento, California. Depending on the complexity of a particular project we often hire local subcontractors to help us manage such projects. We have served clients in California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Virginia.
What is the cost of your services?
Our usual hourly rate for our consulting services is $100 an hour. However, depending on the complexity of the project (conducting original research, major citywide or statewide initiative implementation), our rate may be higher. Since most of our projects are not where we reside, we build in travel costs for flights, car rental, hotel, and meals. We use federal reimbursement rates to determine our per diem and travel costs.
Who from Advantage Consulting will be directly working with our organization?
Based on who is available from our firm, Dr. Allers or Mr. Hassan will typically take a lead on a project. We may also hire a subcontractor to provide coordination support. If the project is implemented over multiple years (such as a SAMHSA funded project), we usually hire a local evaluator to provide local support. We also make sure that Dr. Allers or Mr. Hassan regularly visit local projects and we build in travel costs that meet the needs of each project.
How can we receive a sample of the firm’s work as well as any relevant references?
We provide some samples of our work for each of our service areas. You can see the description of our services through the website’s menu. After we conduct a free initial consultation call, we can provide a more specific work sample as well as the most relevant references for you to contact. You can also review Our Clients page to see the various types of organizations we have served since our firm began providing consulting services in 2008.
Do you assist with writing grant proposals for funding a project?
Advantage Consulting does not provide grant writing or marketing services. We do provide technical assistance in writing a grant proposal and we can provide content recommendations for your proposal’s evaluation section. Depending on your needs, we can refer you to some of our colleagues who provide grant writing services. One of our main partners who provides fundraising support is the Strategic Funding Group.
