Metis AI Advisory · Commissioned research
Most people commissioning research have never written a brief before, and nobody wants to ask a supplier how. So it goes unwritten, the request stays vague, and the quote that comes back is vague too — or the whole thing quietly stalls.
It is six questions. They take about ten minutes, and answering them is most of the work of scoping a study. Fill them in below and it will assemble the brief for you — or read the six first, then decide whether the study is even worth commissioning.
The Six
What must the study answer? Not the topic — the question. "How are Asian insurers using AI" is a topic. "Which five AI applications should we prioritise over the next three years, and what have comparable insurers actually deployed?" is a question.
Why it matters — if it takes a paragraph, there is more than one study in it. Splitting it is cheaper than discovering that halfway through.
Name the actual reader, and whoever signs it off. A board, an investment committee, a joint-venture partner, a regulator — each wants a different document.
Why it matters — a document with no named reader is an unformed request, and it is the single most common reason a study lands flat.
Which organisations, markets or competitors count? Named institutions or anonymised themes? Which geographies? If you have a view, say it; if you do not, say that instead and let the supplier propose one.
Why it matters — agreed up front, you are never handed a benchmark against a peer group you would not have chosen. This is also the single biggest driver of what a study costs.
Name what you do not want. Regulatory opinion, vendor selection, implementation planning, primary interviews with your own staff — each is a different piece of work.
Why it matters — this protects your price. Scope that is never excluded has a way of arriving anyway, and being charged for.
When do you need it, and what is it for? A board meeting on the 14th, a partner visit next month, a regulatory submission with a deadline.
Why it matters — the event shapes the work. A study for a board paper is built differently from one for a partner briefing, even on the same question.
A board-ready deck, an interactive page, a written report, or some combination. Your branding or the supplier's. English only, or another language too.
Why it matters — a study nobody can circulate is a study nobody reads. Format is part of the deliverable, not an afterthought.
The Template
Rough answers are genuinely fine — a half-formed brief is far more useful than none, and the gaps are what the scope call is for. Nothing here is stored or sent anywhere until you press a button.
Nothing is stored. This page has no database and sends nothing on its own — the buttons assemble your answers into an email or your clipboard, on your own device. If you would rather not use the email button, copy it and send it however you like.
Fill in a field above and the assembled brief appears here.
What happens after you send it. You get a reply with a view on whether the question is worth commissioning at all — including, sometimes, that a subscription you already hold will answer it, or that it splits into two studies and only one is worth doing.
If it is worth doing, what follows is a scope and a fixed fee in writing before any work starts. What the alternatives cost and how long they take · the price band · the questions people usually ask.