Commissioning brief

Tell us which decision is blocked.

The useful starting point is not a technology but a decision: what you need to decide, by when, and what evidence would change your mind. Answer what you can; "unknown" is a perfectly good answer at this stage. We read every brief and reply within a few working days with one of three things: a proposed diagnostic, the questions we would need answered first, or a clear statement that the question is outside what we can answer well — with a pointer elsewhere if we know one.

Prices are published on the services page. How we handle confidential material, publication and conflicts of interest is set out on the procurement page. Prefer email? Write to contact@skelfresearch.com.

Please don't include confidential material here. We sign a mutual NDA before any detail about your systems, data or results is shared.

You

Name *

Work email *

Organisation

Your role

The decision

Closest fit *

What decision needs to be made? *

What do you run today, and what do you already know about it?

What evidence would settle it? If you know what would not convince you, that is just as useful.

Constraints

Timing, budget and access

When will the decision be made? *

Budget route

Data access

Who else is involved in the decision?

Attachment — a non-confidential brief or call for proposals (optional, max 4 MB)

What happens after you send it

We read it and reply. If the question is one we can answer well, we propose a call to fill the gaps in the brief. If it is not, we say so, and suggest who might help if we know.
NDA, then detail. Before you share anything about your systems or data, we sign a mutual NDA. The call covers the decision, who owns it, the baseline, the data we would need and the threshold that would settle it.
A fixed-price diagnostic, or a straight answer. Most engagements start with a short diagnostic that frames the question and produces an experiment plan with a cost. Sometimes the diagnostic is the answer; sometimes it shows the question is not worth investigating, which saves everyone the larger spend.
A written scope before larger work. If a sprint or project follows, the scope, acceptance criteria (including what a negative result looks like), data handling and deliverables are agreed in writing first.

Not ready to brief us yet? The methods page explains how an investigation runs, and the sample decision report shows what you would receive.