The Association for Consultancy and Engineering represents a broad network of engineering and consultancy firms across the UK, many of which are navigating the same challenges we hear about every day. These include growing sustainably, delivering great work, and doing it all without getting buried in operational complexity.

This partnership is simple in its intent. It's about supporting consultancies to do their best work, with fewer barriers in the way.

Why now & why this partnership

Over the past few years, one thing has become increasingly clear: expectations are at an all-time high. Many small and mid-sized consultancies are expected to deliver projects faster and for less budget. According to Projectworks data, the average signed project budget has decreased by 56% in the lat two years.

While factors like AI are driving down price, the cost of running a business is more expensive than ever. This puts operations teams under huge pressure. They are balancing delivery, resourcing, forecasting, and financial performance, often across disconnected tools or manual processes.

Through our partnership with ACE UK, we want to help reduce this friction and support SMB consultancies to operate more efficiently, gain clearer visibility, and grow by winning more of the right work.

1. Bringing enterprise-grade tools & processes within reach

Enterprise-level visibility and control should not be limited to firms with the largest budgets.

We believe SMB consultancies should have access to the same level of clarity around their projects, people, and performance, without needing large internal teams to support it. By working with ACE, we hope to make these capabilities more accessible to a wider group of firms.

2. Reducing the operational load

Most consultancies do not exist to manage systems or chase spreadsheets. They exist to solve complex problems for their clients and partners.

Too often, admin and operational overhead gets in the way, pulling time and attention away from the work that creates value.

A big part of what drives us at Projectworks is helping teams spend less time doing business admin and more time doing what they are experts at. This partnership with ACE is another step in that direction.

3. Supporting healthier, more predictable growth

Winning work is important, but winning the right work is what builds a sustainable consultancy.

That means having visibility into pipeline, understanding capacity, and being able to make confident decisions about what to take on and what not to.

Through ACE, we are looking forward to working more closely with firms on how they can build a healthier pipeline, improve conversion, and create a more predictable path to growth.

Looking ahead

We do not see this as a one-way relationship.

ACE brings together a community of consultancies with deep expertise and real-world experience. We are looking forward to learning from that community just as much as we hope to support it, through shared insights, conversations, and practical resources.

If you are part of the ACE network, we are excited to connect.

If you are interested in how consultancies can operate more effectively without adding complexity, we would love to be part of that conversation too.

About ACE

The Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) is the business association for the UK’s professional consultancy and engineering companies operating in the social and economic infrastructure sectors.

They represent around 300 member companies, large and small. As the leading voice for the sector, we foster collaboration to propel the industry to fulfil its ambitions.

This sector is highly skilled, productive, and forward-looking - employing over 470,000 people and contributing more than £39 billion to the UK economy. It competes on a global stage, exporting over £11 billion, providing solutions to the world’s pressing issues and holds the key to a brighter future.