What’s The Difference Between Retainer-Based and Project-Based Public Health Instructional Design Services?
Last week I was chatting with a client about my hands on instructional design services and they asked me: “What kinds of projects work better as retainer vs. project or deliverable-based contracts?”
Great question!
Let’s define each type of agreement, project examples, and client benefits.
(1) Retainer Agreement
This refers to an agreement between a consultant and client for a specified amount of time (e.g., 6-12 months). The client pays a fixed rate up front every month to the consultant for a certain amount of work to be carried out. This work can be related to a recurring deliverable or a fixed number of hours protected on the consultant’s schedule.
Retainers are great for longer-term client relationships and projects, especially where there is need for consistent consulting effort each month (either related to hours dedicated or recurring responsibilities).
Project Examples:
Hours: Client retains RPH for an eight month period, to guarantee 8-10 hours of consulting time per month on client’s e-learning projects (deliverables vary by month- revising curriculum, working with subject matter experts, reviewing evaluation data).
Recurring Deliverable: Client retains RPH for a six month period, to have RPH provide monthly online course evaluation data reports and recommendations.
Client Benefits:
Flexibility- Specifically for retainer contracts where clients retain RPH for a specific number of hours per month. Since hours are secured, priorities can change without rewriting scopes of work or signing contract amendments with RPH.
Financial predictability- Clients pay RPH the same fee each month, so it is helpful for budget planning.
Priority access- RPH saves protected time on their calendar for retainer clients.
Long-term planning- Clients can reliably plan on having RPH expertise and resources since retainer contracts are longer term (e.g., 6-12 months).
Building relationships- Retainers offer RPH and clients the opportunity to build long-term trust and support.
(2) Deliverable/Project-Based Agreement
This refers to an agreement between a consultant and client for a specific list of deliverables (e.g., needs analysis report, course design document, subject matter expert interviews, etc.) The payment schedule often includes a deposit and invoices aligned with the completion of deliverables or billed at the end of each month.
Deliverable/Project-Based agreements work well for both short- and long-term projects as long as a detailed scope of work and timeline can be identified. They are a better fit for projects where the focus is on completing discrete deliverables for a specific project vs. providing ongoing consultation and support.
Project Examples:
Client has a workforce performance problem and hires RPH to conduct a needs analysis, with a final report and proposed learning solution as the deliverables.
Client wants to transition an existing in-person training into an online course and hires RPH to design the virtual learning experience, with course design document, course outline, storyboards, and assessment plans as the deliverables.
Client Benefits:
Short-term commitment, no problem- These contracts are great for experimentation because they allow clients to try out new ideas and strategies and consultants without having to commit to the relationship long-term.
Financial predictability- Since project fees are based on deliverables and not time/hourly, clients don’t have to worry about going overbudget if the deliverables take longer than expected (unless clients ask the consultant for additional work outside of the original scope).
Deliverables guaranteed- Since deliverables guide the collaboration, clients don’t have to worry about the consultant running out of retainer hours in any given month.
Customization- RPH writes a custom scope of work and quote for each hands on instructional design client based on their unique needs.
RPH Booking for 2025:
Roman Public Health Consulting LLC is currently booking both retainer and deliverable/project-based e-learning instructional design projects for 2025. If you’re interested in working with us, please reach out via the contact form on our website. We’re excited to learn more about your needs and discuss how a retainer or project-based contract with RPH may be a good fit!
I’d Love To Hear From You:
Have you ever hired or been hired with a retainer agreement? If so, what were the benefits and challenges?
Have you ever hired or been hired with a deliverable/project-based agreement? If so, what were the benefits and challenges?