How it works

How the introduction works

Search finds the people and the kit. A work package turns that into a job: scope, deliverables, a budget band, and a Tuesday by which something useful should have happened.

Search like a grown-up

Look for an expert, a university, a startup, a piece of kit, or a collaboration. Filter by domain if you must. Or type what you actually need — 'someone who understands tidal turbines and does not mind getting wet'.

The catalogue is deliberately small and deliberately described. Every entry says what it is genuinely good for and, where it matters, what it is not. A facility entry tells you the lead time, what to bring and what you leave with. A boffin's entry tells you what they are looking for and what they would rather decline.

This is more useful than a large index, because the failure mode in research brokerage is not an absence of listings. It is a listing that reads well, generates an enquiry, and turns out after three weeks to be the wrong door.

Publish a work package

A work package is a proper job: scope, deliverables, budget band, deadline. Not a vibe. Not a LinkedIn post written at eleven. The network can then apply.

Publishing is free and takes about twenty minutes if you have already decided what you want. If you have not, it takes longer, and the writing is where the deciding happens.

The packages that work state the awkward constraint out loud: the night-shift survey, the eleven-day shutdown, the irreplaceable samples, the chamber booked until March. Publishers instinctively hide these. Applicants who would have discovered them in week six are the ones you were hoping to avoid.

Apply, or be applied to

Viewers apply with who they are, what they can do, and a short proposal. Publishers review. We stay out of the marriage, having done the introduction.

An application is short by design: who you are, your organisation, the relevant capability, and what you would actually do. Publishers read the capability and the approach before they read the price, which is why a paragraph of specifics beats a paragraph of enthusiasm.

We pass applications to the publisher and step back. We do not shortlist, score, or take a position on who should win. The introduction is our business; the judgement is theirs.

Then get out of the way

Be precise. Be generous. Be slightly amused. If the work is good, the joke can wait until the paper is in.

Once two parties are talking, we have done our job. There is no platform fee on the resulting contract, no equity in the introduction, and no obligation to tell us how it went — though we are always pleased to hear.

If it goes badly, we would genuinely like to know, because an entry that produces disappointing engagements is an entry we have described wrongly.

Scope of the service

What we do and do not do

We do

Describe a small catalogue precisely, including the unflattering parts
Host published work packages and pass applications to the publisher
Make introductions where we can see that two parties want the same thing
Say when we think a package is not yet ready to publish

We do not

Take a commission or equity in the work that follows an introduction
Score, rank or shortlist applications on a publisher's behalf
Act as a party to the resulting contract, or hold anybody's money
Claim to have done the engineering. We introduced people who can

Questions

The ones we are actually asked

What does it cost to use?: Searching, browsing, publishing a work package and applying to one are all free. We charge for sponsored listings and for helping publishers scope a package properly. There is no commission on any work that results.
Who can publish a work package?: Any organisation with a genuine job to commission: a startup, a university, a research centre, an industrial firm or a public body. You need a scope, a budget band, a deadline and someone who will answer the telephone.
What happens to my application?: It goes to the publisher. We do not score, shortlist or rank applications, and we do not pass them to anyone else. Publishers review directly and contact applicants themselves.
How long should a work package be?: Shorter than your non-disclosure agreement. The best on our board fit on one screen and a bit. Length is not the measure; a stranger being able to price it is.
Do you take a commission on resulting contracts?: No. Nor equity, nor a success fee. We are paid for listings and for scoping support, which keeps us indifferent to who wins a package.
Can I publish a package anonymously?: Not entirely, because applicants need to know who they would be working for. We can withhold a site's identity or a client's name where there is a real commercial reason, and several packages on the board do exactly that.
What if nobody applies?: Usually the scope describes a subject rather than a task, or the budget band is absent, or the eligibility criteria have accidentally excluded the people best suited to it. We will tell you which, and help you rewrite it.
My facility has spare capacity. Is that worth listing?: Very much so, provided you are willing to describe the limitations as well as the specifications. Facility managers consistently report that an honest entry produces fewer and better enquiries.
Do you vet the organisations you list?: We check that an entry is accurate and that the organisation is genuinely open to collaboration. We do not audit financial standing, insurance or technical competence, and parties should do their own diligence before contracting.
Are you involved in the contract?: No. The contract is between the publisher and whoever they appoint. We are not a party to it, we do not hold funds, and we have no role in a dispute beyond regretting it.
Can a competitor see my work package?: Yes. Published packages are public, which is the point. If the requirement itself is commercially sensitive, a package is the wrong instrument and you should ask us for a direct introduction instead.
What if my question does not fit any of these categories?: Write to us and describe it in plain words. A good proportion of what we do begins with somebody explaining a problem that did not fit the form.

Start a search Publish a work package