1. What decision will the work inform?
Describe the choice, who owns it and when it must be made. Replace broad requests such as “research our industry” with a concrete question and a decision deadline.
2. Who and where does the study cover?
Define the population, organisation, geography and period. Explain what is out of scope and which groups should be included.
3. What evidence already exists?
List available datasets, reports and prior studies. State whether you can share them and what restrictions apply. Do not send confidential or identifiable data through an initial enquiry.
4. What will count as a useful deliverable?
Choose outputs the team will use: a decision brief, dataset, analysis, dashboard, workshop or implementation plan. Agree review and acceptance criteria.
5–7. What are the constraints, responsibilities and next step?
Set an indicative budget, timeline, ethics and procurement requirements, internal decision makers and access dependencies. Then agree a scoping discussion before committing to a method or price.
Sources & scope
An original Ara practical guide. No external statistics or third-party claims are used.
Published 7 October 2026. Guidance is general; confirm current and project-specific requirements before acting.