Inquiries and Mandates

If you have any questions, please contact the head of consulting or the CHESS management. In some instances, CHESS lectures, conferences, or meetings provide an impetus for further reflection and clarification. However, problems often take a vague form -- the CHESS team is available if assistance is needed in identifying specific questions. In any case we ensure a careful clarification of the assignment. We also offer flexibility by providing a number of proven formats for consultancy assignments and billing.

Our consulting and service activities can take various forms. They range from providing peer discussions and lectures, writing commissioned studies and reports, to long-term monitoring of reform projects. Consultation options include in particular:

• Discussing roles, positions, interdependencies, development goals, strategies of units and positions in the university and the higher education system
• Lectures and workshops on issues of higher education policy and organization, for example as input at conferences and retreats.
• Situation analyses and research, e.g., on issues relating to higher education development and administration, interfaces with internal and external stakeholders, or on matters of higher education and research policy
• Support in conceptualizing reform and development projects and/or their implementation
• Support in the compilation and analysis of data to facilitate decision-making and reports

As a competence center of the University of Zurich, the CHESS is part of academia and has a deep understanding of academic culture. Its activities are committed to scientific methods and working principles. The center’s expertise is multi-layered and includes the professional training and experience of its staff and members, as well as strong networking within the disciplines and the broader field of higher education and science research.