Evidence over narrative
A well-told story is not a finding. Every conclusion we deliver is tied to a source record, and where the evidence is thin we mark it thin rather than dressing it up.
About the firm
Independent, by
construction.
Consultancy Research International exists because the people making the largest commercial decisions are usually working from the thinnest evidence.
Our position
We sell research. Nothing else.
We do not run a fund. We do not sell software, data subscriptions or advertising. We hold no position, direct or indirect, in the markets we are asked to research. That structural simplicity is the point: it is what allows a client to read our conclusion without first working out what we stood to gain from it.
Every programme is built around a single written question, and the method is chosen to answer that question rather than to fill a template. Coverage is maintained continuously in the sectors we work in, so a new brief in a familiar category starts from an established base.
We would rather turn down a mandate than deliver one badly. Where a question falls outside what we can evidence properly, we say so at the scoping call.
Principles
Four rules we do not trade away.
Disagreement is data
When credible sources contradict one another, that tension usually contains the insight. We report it rather than averaging it into a comfortable middle.
Sample quality decides answer quality
A sample is not more reliable for being larger, only more confident. We would rather extend a timeline by three days than fill it with responses that cannot speak to the question.
Say the uncomfortable thing
Clients are paying for judgement, not agreement. If the research undermines the thesis that commissioned it, that is the most valuable output we can deliver.
Tell us the decision. We will build the evidence.
Most engagements begin with a thirty-minute scoping conversation. There is no charge for it, and no obligation to proceed.