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TN/SVC/00 · Edition 2027 · effective 1 January 2027

Tell us the uncertaintyyou need to resolve.

Services · five pathways

You do not need to know the name of a dispute-resolution procedure. Start with the disputed issue, proposed decision or continuing relationship that needs an independent view. We help determine whether evaluation is appropriate, who must participate, what expertise is required, and how the scope, process, cost and report are agreed.

Ask for a scope reviewFees
  1. Evaluate a disputeUnderstand the case before the case consumes the relationship.A
  2. Review a major decisionChallenge the assumptions before the commitment.B
  3. Keep a relationship movingIndependent judgement available while the relationship is still working.C
  4. Resolve a technical questionResolve the question that turns on specialist knowledge.D
  5. Build an evaluation capabilityMake independent review an organisational practice, not a one-off emergency.E

§ 01Offer specifications

Buyer, trigger, mandate, deliverable, exclusions.

Each offer follows the same commercial logic. These are working specifications, subject to the institution’s actual capacity.

Understand the case before the case consumes the relationship.

(Offer A · Early Neutral Evaluation)

Who commissions. Opposing parties jointly, lawyers on instruction, or participants following an authorised referral process

Trigger. Disputes over contract performance, payment, obligations, liability or the likely outcome of formal proceedings.

Read the full guide Ask for a scope review

(Deliverable)

You receive

A written merits assessment with an issue map, competing positions, evidential gaps, potential outcome scenarios and a non-binding evaluative view. Distribution as agreed in the joint mandate.

Must include

Consent of the parties; Equality of procedural opportunity; The applicable legal context; Confidentiality and any admissibility rules.

Not included

Guarantee a settlement; Advocate for either side or act as legal representative; Produce an enforceable judgement.

Other routes

Mediation, if the parties need help agreeing more than a view of the merits; expert determination, if they want a binding answer on a defined issue; litigation or arbitration where a binding, enforceable outcome is needed.

Challenge the assumptions before the commitment.

(Offer B · Independent Decision Evaluation (Clarity DeepView™ or a panel))

Who commissions. A board chair, special committee, general counsel, investor, project sponsor or duly authorised leadership body

Trigger. Large strategic decisions, conflicts of interest, acquisitions, investment proposals or high-stakes technical alternatives.

Read the full guide Ask for a scope review

(Deliverable)

You receive

An assessment of a precisely framed proposition: evidence quality, unsupported assumptions, credible alternatives, foreseeable risks, what remains unknown and which conclusions are defensible.

Must include

Commissioner disclosure; Independent terms; Access and interview limitations stated; Sector-specific expertise; decision authority retained by the client.

Not included

Give audit assurance; Give regulatory clearance; Give investment advice, unless separately qualified and commissioned; Replace the decision authority, which stays with the client.

Other routes

Internal audit or risk review, a regulated valuation, or specialist due diligence where a licensed opinion is required.

Independent judgement available while the relationship is still working.

(Offer C · Standing Evaluator, standing neutral or dispute board)

Who commissions. JV partners, contracting parties, major-project participants or family-enterprise stakeholders, by agreement

Trigger. Recurring interpretation, payment, quality, governance or interface concerns over a long relationship.

Read the full guide Ask for a scope review

(Deliverable)

You receive

A recurring issue-review protocol, case-specific evaluative notes or recommendations, and documented issue closure.

Must include

Access rights and conflict renewals; Frequency of briefings and activation criteria; Which requests need both parties; Fee structure and precise limits of any binding power.

Not included

Automatically replace a formal dispute board where the contract requires one; Manage the project; Take one party’s side in a later dispute.

Other routes

A dispute board under the contract (for example FIDIC 2017), or ad hoc evaluation when issues arise.

Resolve the question that turns on specialist knowledge.

(Offer D · Expert Review or Expert Determination)

Who commissions. Parties to contractual price, earn-out, engineering, quality, measurement or other technical questions

Trigger. An agreed methodology exists or can be defined, but the result is disputed.

Read the full guide Ask for a scope review

(Deliverable)

You receive

Expert findings on the question, the methodology and the evidence. Binding variant only under a distinct expert determination agreement and applicable law, never an enhanced evaluation report.

Must include

Documented credentials; An agreed method; Consequences of non-participation; Review and challenge rights; publication and admissibility rules.

Not included

Decide questions outside the defined issue; Act without the right specialist qualification; Become binding unless the parties agree that it should.

Other routes

Party-appointed experts in litigation or arbitration; a regulated valuation where the law requires one.

Make independent review an organisational practice, not a one-off emergency.

(Offer E · Evaluation Capability)

Who commissions. Organisations with recurring decisions, transactions or disputes

Trigger. Inconsistent escalation, a lack of trusted independent scrutiny, or recurring costly contract issues.

Read the full guide Ask for a scope review

(Deliverable)

You receive

A commissioning policy, model contract clauses, role and competency matrices, approval thresholds, specialist panel selection, training and quality review.

Must include

Internal conflicts and procurement safeguards; Locally reviewed legal texts; Governance of any supplier panel.

Not included

Certify the organisation’s legal compliance; Run its decisions for it; Guarantee fewer disputes.

Other routes

Internal review functions, ombuds programmes or panel arrangements with other institutions.

§ 02Engagement protocols

One method. Three lawful protocols.

Two or more parties agree the question, the process, the materials and who receives the report.

(Protocol A)

For example: Early Neutral Evaluation, a JV disagreement, a contract issue.

(Essential safeguards)

01

Consent and authority; shared terms

02

Symmetrical opportunity to provide material and be heard

03

Admissibility and confidentiality position; communications rules

04

Conflicts disclosed to every party; agreed delivery

A board, investor or institution commissions an independent assessment of its own proposed decision.

(Protocol B)

For example: An Independent Decision Evaluation, a pre-investment test, a project health check.

(Essential safeguards)

01

Disclose who commissioned it, and who was and was not heard

02

Information and access limits stated

03

Safeguards from editorial interference; report ownership

04

Limits of reliance; never presented as jointly commissioned

A procurement, policy, workplace or community process affects people who did not choose the evaluator.

(Protocol C)

For example: Policy options, a community impact question, a workplace culture review.

(Essential safeguards)

01

Lawful authority; specialist permissions

02

Rights of response and due process

03

Privacy and data protection; publication and appeal policy

04

Never represented as an official adjudication

§ 03Portfolio decisions

Which services lead, which support, which wait.

OfferingDecisionReason
Early Neutral EvaluationLeadEstablished practice and a strong adviser referral pathway; needs party uptake and a lawful protocol.
Clarity DeepView™Retain · repositionThe delivery format inside “Review a major decision”: sell the question, not the headings.
Standing EvaluatorLead selectivelyHigh-value recurring contractual use; needs real scope, activation and access rules.
Expert DeterminationSeparate offerBinding status follows contract and law, not brand language.
Evaluation PanelsSpecialist formatFor genuine interdisciplinary questions; not a generic product.
Evaluation CapabilityEnterpriseInstitution-level programme; custom discovery and commissioning policies.
Clarity Snapshot™Rebuilt as scopingAn independent expert opinion cannot be promised across subjects at a low universal fee.
SME Cross-BorderWithdrawnNo fee or duration anchor without a reliable dispute, consent and cost definition.
Mediation, Ombuds, Conciliation, ArbitrationRole familiesAdjacent practices with their own standards, legal powers and appointment routes.
Neutrality Engine™NavigationFrames an intake and routes to a person; never an automated conclusion.

§ 04Initial commercial focus

Where budgets, documents and referral channels already exist.

Commissioning now

Commercial focus

Identifiable budget owners and a high cost of uncertainty.

  • Commercial contract disputes
  • Major board and JV decisions
  • Live project and infrastructure relationships
  • Defined technical and contractual calculations
Developing

Education & specialist tracks

Until the right governance and practitioners exist.

  • Family and private matters
  • Community and public-policy questions
  • Health, care and capacity contexts
  • AI-system assurance

ENE has the strongest procedural legitimacy but needs both parties. A decision evaluation can be bought by one authorised client, but faces more scepticism about neutrality. We operate both front doors.

(Commercial nuance)

§ 05Delivery formats

How the work is delivered.

01

Question & Scope Review

For: Anyone who is not yet sure what should be examined, by whom, or whether evaluation is the right process

The entry point to every engagement. The desk checks whether an independent evaluation is appropriate, which engagement model applies, who must consent or be heard, and what specialist competence the question needs, then proposes a defined question, scope, report, fee and conflict-clearance process.

Deliverables

  1. A written draft of the question and mandate
  2. The engagement model: joint, single-commissioner or affected-person
  3. Specialist competence and any regulated limits
  4. A fixed quotation, or a referral to a better route

Fee basis. Initial scoping without charge (to be confirmed)

02

Clarity Snapshot™

For: One narrow, well-documented question that needs an independent written view quickly

A short, reasoned written view on a single, precisely framed question, within tight limits agreed at scope review: a small document set, no interviews and no findings of fact on contested evidence. It is not a substitute for a full evaluation, an investigation or regulated specialist work.

Deliverables

  1. Question agreed at scope review
  2. Review of a limited, agreed document set
  3. A short written view with reasons, confidence and limits
  4. Optional fifteen-minute briefing

Fee basis. Fixed quote after conflict and scope review

03

Clarity DeepView™

For: Independent Decision Evaluation: boards, investors, JVs and institutions facing a consequential choice

A full Independent Neutral Evaluation™ with the twelve-part report of the Handbook (NP 6.3): mandate, evidence, issue-by-issue analysis, risk and uncertainty, calibrated conclusions and stated limitations. Sold against a specific question and deliverable, not a template.

Deliverables

  1. Terms of reference agreed with the commissioner or parties
  2. Evidence review and, where needed, interviews
  3. The twelve-part INE™ report, core sections plus matter-specific schedules
  4. Presentation to the decision-makers

Fee basis. Fixed quote after scope review, or staged for complex matters

04

Evaluation Panels

For: Questions that cross disciplines: law and engineering, finance and technology, policy and community

Two or three qualified evaluators from different disciplines, one chairing, who report jointly. A selective, high-value format for major projects, AI systems, institutional reviews and public decisions, where specialist recruitment and governance are demanding.

Deliverables

  1. Panel composition and conflict clearance
  2. Joint terms of reference
  3. Hearings or site visits where useful
  4. A joint report, with any dissent recorded

Fee basis. Scoped fixed fee or capped day rates

05

Standing Evaluator

For: Joint ventures, long contracts, infrastructure programmes, family enterprises

A qualified evaluator appointed at the start of a relationship, kept informed, and available to give an independent view whenever a question arises. Activation rules, response times and information access are written into the agreement.

Deliverables

  1. Appointment and activation rules written into the agreement
  2. Regular briefings and an issues log
  3. Snapshots on request within agreed response times
  4. Annual relationship health evaluation

Fee basis. Annual retainer plus Snapshots as used

06

Early Neutral Evaluation

For: Disputing parties and their advisers, before filing or escalating

The established dispute practice: a confidential, non-binding view of the merits and the likely range of outcomes, given to the parties together, so they can settle, narrow the issues or proceed with realistic expectations. Courts in England and Wales, Singapore and the United States use it. Procedure, consent and whether the view is without prejudice are agreed in advance.

Deliverables

  1. Agreed procedure, consent and confidentiality terms
  2. Position papers from each side
  3. A short evaluation meeting
  4. A reasoned written view of the merits

Fee basis. Fixed fee by complexity, quoted after scope review

07

Expert Determination

For: A defined technical, pricing, valuation or contractual question where the parties want a binding answer

A separate procedural service, not a deeper evaluation: a qualified expert decides a defined question and the determination binds the parties by contract on that question. Requires an agreement, an expert with the right specialist qualification and a clear method.

Deliverables

  1. Determination agreement and agreed method
  2. Submissions and replies from each party
  3. Site visit or testing where needed
  4. A reasoned, binding determination

Fee basis. Scoped proposal under a separate determination agreement

08

Evaluation Capability

For: Organisations, courts and governments building independent evaluation into how they decide

Developed consultatively: evaluation policy and governance, clauses, a panel of pre-cleared evaluators and training in commissioning and using evaluation well.

Deliverables

  1. Evaluation policy, governance and clause design
  2. Pre-cleared evaluator panel
  3. Training for boards and teams
  4. Annual review of how evaluations were used

Fee basis. Programme fee

§ 06How an engagement starts

No evaluator begins until the mandate is agreed.

Initial triage
Scoping memorandum
Conflict disclosure
Written mandate
Evaluation
Report & reasons
IntakeScopeClearMandateWorkWorkReport

(Quality assurance)

01

Documented matter intake

02

Informed consent

03

Scope sign-off

04

Conflicts and privilege review

05

Evidence log

06

Evaluator competence check

07

Process variations recorded

08

Report quality checklist

09

Data retention

10

Complaint pathway

Report quality review checks completeness and intelligibility. It never rewrites the independent findings.

Ask for a scope reviewCommissioning guides