Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Scholenda Consulting Inc. ("Scholenda," "we," "SCI," "our," "us") website located at www.scholenda.com and any services described on it (collectively, the "Services"). By accessing our website or engaging our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use our website or Services.

1. About Scholenda

Scholenda Consulting Inc. is a research, policy, and academic support consultancy based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, providing services as described in our Scope of Services, including legal and interdisciplinary research (non-advisory), policy analysis and framework development, academic editing and mentorship, and capacity-building and training. Scholenda is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or representation — see our Professional Services Disclaimer.

To support the quality and consistency of our work, we may use professional software and AI-assisted tools, always under human review and subject to the data protection safeguards described in our Privacy Policy.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, to engage our Services or enter into an engagement agreement with us. If you are accessing our website on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization to these Terms.

3. Engagement of Services

General website content is provided for informational purposes only. Paid consulting, research, or academic support services are provided only under a separate signed engagement agreement or statement of work, which sets out the specific scope, deliverables, fees, and timeline for that engagement. In the event of any conflict between these Terms and a signed engagement agreement, the engagement agreement governs for that engagement.

4. Fees and Payment

Fees for services are as set out in the applicable engagement agreement, proposal, or price sheet. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, invoices are payable according to the terms stated on the invoice. Late payment may result in suspension of ongoing work. Fees are quoted in Canadian dollars (CAD) unless otherwise stated in the applicable proposal. Deposit, cancellation, and refund terms are set out in Sections 4.1–4.9 below.

4.1 Deposits

• Self-serve services (e.g., editing, technical/reference-management support): full payment is due at the time of booking, before work begins.
• Project-based and institutional engagements: a deposit of 50% of the total quoted fee is due upon signing the engagement agreement or statement of work, to confirm the engagement and reserve capacity. The remaining balance is due upon delivery of the final deliverable, or according to the milestone schedule set out in the engagement agreement for multi-phase projects.
• Retainer engagements: the first month's retainer fee is due before work begins; subsequent months are billed in advance on the agreed billing date.
• Discovery and scoping calls are provided free of charge and require no payment or deposit to book.

4.2 Cooling-Off Period (Individual/Consumer Clients)

If you are engaging Scholenda as an individual consumer — rather than on behalf of an organization, business, or institution — you may cancel your engagement within 14 calendar days of signing the engagement agreement or making payment, whichever is later, for a full refund of any amount paid, provided Scholenda has not yet begun substantive work on your deliverable. If you expressly request that we begin work within this 14-day period, you acknowledge that you may lose your right to a full refund once work has substantially begun, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

This cooling-off period reflects standards commonly applied under Ontario's Consumer Protection Act, 2002 and the EU Consumer Rights Directive for distance/online consumer contracts. It does not apply to engagements entered into by organizations, NGOs, IGOs, government agencies, or other institutional clients, which are governed by the cancellation terms of the applicable engagement agreement.

4.3 Cancellation After Work Has Begun

Where an engagement is cancelled after Scholenda has begun substantive work, the deposit and any fees paid are refundable only for the portion of work not yet performed, calculated on a pro-rata basis according to hours logged, milestones completed, or percentage of the agreed deliverable finished — less any non-recoverable third-party costs already incurred on your behalf (for example, data access fees, translation services, or travel booked for fieldwork).

4.4 Refunds for Delivered Work

Once a final deliverable has been delivered and accepted, fees for that deliverable are generally non-refundable, consistent with standard practice for professional research, analytical, and creative services where the value has already been provided. If you believe a deliverable materially fails to meet the scope agreed in your engagement agreement, contact us within 14 days of delivery at contact@scholenda.com; we will work with you in good faith to remedy the issue through revision or, where a remedy is not possible, a partial refund proportional to the shortfall, at Scholenda's discretion.

4.5 Retainers

Unused retainer fees for a billing period may be refunded on a pro-rata basis if the retainer is terminated with at least 30 days' written notice before the next billing date. Retainer fees for work already performed, or for a billing period already underway, are non-refundable.

4.6 Rescheduling and Cancelling Booked Calls

Free discovery and scoping calls may be rescheduled or cancelled at no charge with at least 24 hours' notice via your booking confirmation link. Repeated late cancellations or no-shows may result in future bookings being subject to a waitlist rather than priority scheduling.

4.7 Payment Processing, Currency, and Fees

Payments are processed through secure third-party payment processors. Approved refunds are returned to your original payment method and may take 5–10 business days to appear, depending on your bank or card issuer. International clients are responsible for any currency conversion or cross-border transaction fees charged by their bank or card issuer; these third-party fees are not refundable by Scholenda.

4.8 Disputes and Chargebacks

If you have a concern about a charge, please contact us at contact@scholenda.com before initiating a chargeback with your bank or card issuer, so we can work to resolve the issue directly.

4.9 Mandatory Local Protections

Nothing in this Section limits any non-waivable cancellation or refund right you have under mandatory consumer protection law in your jurisdiction of residence. Where such law provides greater protection than this policy, that law applies to the extent required.

5. Intellectual Property

Our content: all website content, methodologies, templates, training materials, and pre-existing tools and frameworks used by Scholenda ("Background IP") remain the exclusive property of Scholenda Consulting Inc., whether or not incorporated into a client deliverable.

Client deliverables: unless otherwise agreed in a signed engagement agreement, final deliverables prepared specifically for a client (excluding Background IP) are licensed to the client for their internal and, where applicable, publication use upon full payment, while Scholenda retains ownership of its underlying Background IP and the right to use anonymized, non-confidential learnings for its own research, marketing, and professional development.

Client materials: you retain all rights to materials you submit to us (e.g., manuscripts, organizational documents). You grant Scholenda a limited licence to use those materials solely to provide the requested Services.

6. Confidentiality

Each party agrees to keep the other's confidential information private and to use it only for the purposes of the engagement, consistent with our Privacy Policy. This obligation survives the end of an engagement.

7. Academic Integrity

Our academic support services (editing, coaching, mentorship) are intended to strengthen a client's own work and skills. We do not write, complete, or submit academic work on a client's behalf, and clients are responsible for complying with their institution's academic integrity policies.

8. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Misrepresent your identity or authority
• Use our website or Services for any unlawful purpose
• Attempt to access non-public areas of our systems
• Use our research or materials in a way that violates academic integrity policies or applicable law

9. No Guarantees

As set out more fully in our Professional Services Disclaimer, Scholenda does not guarantee specific outcomes or results from the use of our research, analysis, or educational services.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Scholenda's total liability arising out of or relating to these Terms or any engagement will not exceed the fees paid by you for the specific Services giving rise to the claim in the six (6) months preceding the claim. Scholenda is not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold Scholenda harmless from claims arising out of your misuse of our Services, your breach of these Terms, or your violation of any law or third-party right.

12. Termination

Either party may terminate an active engagement in accordance with the terms of the applicable engagement agreement. Scholenda may suspend or terminate access to our website for any user who violates these Terms.

13. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Ontario, Canada, unless otherwise required by mandatory consumer-protection law in your jurisdiction of residence.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Continued use of our website or Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

15. Severability and Entire Agreement

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, Cookies Policy, Professional Services Disclaimer, and any signed engagement agreement, constitute the entire agreement between you and Scholenda regarding your use of our website and Services.

16. Contact

Questions about these Terms may be directed to contact@scholenda.com.