UK Lived Experience Consultant Directory
DESCRIPTION OF THE DIRECTORY
The purpose of this Directory is to provide a list of active consultants with lived experience to prospective clients/employers (Users of this Directory). Our hope at Survivor Alliance is to encourage the inclusion of lived experience consultants on all projects discussing systems of modern slavery and human trafficking. This Directory is built to provide easy to access resources for requesting parties, hopefully increasing the networks and income-earning opportunities of consultants with lived experience.
This Directory also aims to increase connections that the access organisations working in the anti-human trafficking and modern slavery field will have to active Consultants available for projects and work.
Currently, this Directory only includes Consultants located within the United Kingdom. The data is limited to what is necessary for understanding what work a Consultant may be able to do, and how to contact them.
Additionally, the Consultants in this Directory are not vetted by Survivor Alliance, and we are not liable for the outcome of any project with a Consultant found in this Directory. We encourage both Consultants and Users to do their due-diligence before agreeing to work together.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
You or Your: The party entering into this agreement with Us by accepting these terms.
Us, We, or Our: Survivor Alliance.
Directory: The spreadsheet or database, in any format, created by Us, including the data of UK Lived Experience Consultants.
Lived Experience: People who identify as having first hand experience as a survivor or victim of modern day slavery or human trafficking.
Human Trafficking: Defined by the United Nations as “‘Trafficking in persons’ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”
Slavery: Defined by the United Nations as “the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised.”
Consultant or Consultants: People who are available to work as an independent contractor for projects or other temporary work. For the purposes of this database, consultants live or are able to work within the United Kingdom and identify as people with lived experience.
User: People who are granted access to this database, on the belief that the consultant directory will be beneficial to assist with locating a consultant for a current or future project.
Data Controller: Survivor Alliance, including contractors, while determining the purposes for which and the means by which personal data is processed.
Data Processor: The technology, software, or physical filing system that processes personal data on behalf of the controller, on that controller’s documented instructions.
Confidential Information: Any proprietary or personal information, from a User, Consultant, or Survivor Alliance that is not public knowledge. This may include but is not limited to emails, names, types of work, and lived experience or knowledge.
USER ELIGIBILITY
Viewing consultant data with this Directory is intended for registered Users who have met the eligibility criteria specified by Survivor Alliance. The eligibility criteria are:
Each User must have an email that is connected to a registered/regulated business or organisation (ex. name@website.com), including if they are an independent contractor.
Each User must include a link to their organisation’s or company’s official website.
Each User must share their full name and job title.
Each User must share their intentions for using this Directory.
Each User must have a business or organisation operating in the United Kingdom.
Each User must complete the application form provided by Survivor Alliance, which is vetted before providing access to the Directory.
CONSULTANT ELIGIBILITY
To be added to the Directory as a Consultant, you must meet the eligibility criteria specified by Survivor Alliance. The eligibility criteria are:
Each Consultant must be actively providing consulting services to organisations and entities in the UK and accurately represent their professional experiences to potential clients.
Each Consultant must have an active email account used for your consulting work.
Each Consultant must be located within the United Kingdom for at least half the year (6 months).
Each Consultant must have the legal right to work within the United Kingdom, at the time of applying to join this Directory.
Each Consultant must inform Survivor Alliance of any changes to their contact information by contacting consulting[at]survivoralliance.org.
Each Consultant must self-identify as a person with lived experience in human trafficking and/or modern slavery.
For Consultants, it is permitted to use a pseudonym for the Directory, if preferred or if necessary for safety reasons.
DISCLAIMERS
Survivor Alliance does not follow any legal process of “verifying” Consultants as having Lived Experience. Upon registration as a Survivor Alliance member, we ask people to self-identify as a survivor of human trafficking or modern slavery. Because we operate on this model of trust and validation, we cannot confirm the legal validity of any Consultant’s Lived Experience.
At this stage, Survivor Alliance cannot commit to a specific time frame for updating the Directory. This includes adding additional consultants, removing consultants, updating consultant information, and/or updating contact information.
All Users must agree to the authorised and prohibited use of this Directory, but Survivor Alliance cannot control the full dissemination of information if a User breaks these terms (such as by downloading and redistributing the Directory). Please keep this in mind before submitting your information as a Consultant.
Survivor Alliance gives no further warranty as to the fitness or accuracy of the Directory or any part of its performance.
Survivor Alliance cannot guarantee any minimum number of consulting opportunities for Consultants. This means that listing your name on this directory does not guarantee that you will be contacted for a consulting opportunity.
PERMITTED USES
Users are allowed to access and use the directory for lawful purposes, including but not limited to:
Providing Subject Matter Expertise: To hire a Consultant for subject matter expertise on a specific form of human trafficking or modern slavery. Please be advised that we do not support or encourage opportunities where Consultants are asked to share their specific lived experiences of violence and exploitation.
Providing Technical Expertise: To hire a Consultant for expertise in program design and implementation; direct service provision; policy review, etc.
Research or Academic purposes: To hire Consultants for research team roles such as Research Assistant, Steering Committee Member, Research Advisory Member, and/or Patient and Public Involvement roles. To advertise opportunities for research participants (i.e. survey or interview respondents) please follow the steps here: https://www.survivoralliance.org/advertise-opps
Training & Event Engagement: To hire a Consultant to deliver a training, present at an event, or facilitate a panel.
PROHIBITED USES
Users and Consultants are prohibited from:
Using the Directory for any unlawful, fraudulent, or harmful activities.
Selling, sublicensing, or distributing the Directory content without authorization.
Attempting to access restricted areas or interfere with the integrity of the Directory.
Engaging in any activity that may compromise data security or user privacy.
Duplicating or downloading the directory (as this is a breach of data protection and infringes on the Consultants’ rights to be removed at any time).
Sharing Consultant details with others who do not have access to the Directory, without explicit written permission from the Consultant first.
DISPUTES, GRIEVANCES, and SAFEGUARDING
Survivor Alliance will not intervene or mediate any challenges or disputes between Users, User’s organisations, and the Consultant. If Users reach out to a consultant and do not hear a response after multiple tries, they may inform consulting[at]survivoralliance.org. If and when Survivor Alliance has capacity, we will reach out to see if the consultant should be removed from the list. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to update User on the status of our outreach to the consultant in a timely manner.
Consultants and Users are encouraged to immediately contact Survivor Alliance at consulting[at]survivoralliance.org if they experience unethical treatment, harassment, threat, breach of confidentiality, or danger from a User or Employer who used this Directory to connect with the Consultant. We encourage consultants to review Survivor Alliance’s Safeguarding Policy for more information.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES FOR USERS
Fundamentals for Compensations and Expenses: This explains different types of fees and what expenses are often covered for consultants.
Resources for determining pay rates: There is a range of consultant rates and we cannot set what you are able to pay for your project(s). However, here are some existing guidances. It is important not to compare the hourly rates to employee hourly rates because consultants do not employee benefits and must pay their own income taxes and other expenses.
NIHR Payment guidance for researchers and professionals involving people in research
Standard rates used by the USA government for most lived experience consulting projects
Guidance from Scottish Social Research Participation and Lived Experience Working Group
Sample Description for a Consulting Opportunity: This sample provides Clients with all the fields of information we recommend are provided to Consultants. Without full clarity about the project, compensation rates, and deadlines, Consultants cannot assess whether the opportunity is right for them.