04The project path
Three stages,
seven phases, one path.
The same path runs whether the brief is one division or all five. Three phases are approval points — work does not move past them until you have signed off.
- Stage one — Brief
- 04.1
Enquiry & brief
You tell us the outcome, the timeline, the budget range and any constraints — approvals, compliance, stakeholders.
- 04.2
Scope & estimate
We check feasibility, flag risks and come back with a written scope and estimate broken down by division.
- 04.3 · APPROVAL
Proposal & agreement
Scope of work is signed, payment terms are set and your account manager is named. Nothing starts before this.
- 04.1
- Stage two — Assemble
- 04.4
Team assembly
Division leads and, where needed, associate firms are assigned to the brief under the same contract.EventsFinance & lawIT & consultingPR & mediaPodcast & marketingReal estatePodcast studioIT servicesConsulting
- 04.5 · APPROVAL
Planning & approvals
Schedules, permits, vendor contracts and compliance paperwork are put in place and signed off before execution.
- 04.4
- Stage three — Deliver
- 04.6
Execution & reporting
Work runs to the agreed schedule with fixed review points. You get one consolidated report covering every division involved.
- 04.7 · APPROVAL
Handover & close
Final sign-off, final invoice, and handover of assets and documentation. Retainers roll back into phase 04.2 for the next cycle.
- 04.6
04.8Phase by phase
What happens,
and what you get.
Every phase has a deliverable attached to it. If a phase produces nothing you can see, it has not finished.
Enquiry & brief
You describe the outcome, the timeline, the budget range and the constraints that are not negotiable — approvals needed, compliance frameworks, stakeholders who must be consulted.
What you receive
- Written brief logged and acknowledged
- Named contact assigned at our end
- First response within two working days
Scope & estimate
We check feasibility against the timeline, flag the risks we can see, and return a written scope broken down by division, with an estimate against each part. Where something cannot be done in the time or budget, we say so here rather than later.
What you receive
- Written scope of work
- Estimate itemised by division
- Risk and assumption list
- Indicative schedule
Proposal & agreement
The approval point. Scope of work is signed, payment terms are set, and your account manager is named. No work begins and no cost is incurred before this signature.
What you receive
- Signed scope of work
- Payment schedule agreed
- Account manager named
- Project file opened
Team assembly
Division leads are assigned, and where the brief needs it, associate firms are brought in under the same contract. You are told who is working on what before the work starts.
What you receive
- Division leads named
- Associates engaged if required
- Kick-off call and briefing
- Communication and reporting cadence set
Planning & approvals
The second approval point. Schedules, permits, vendor contracts and compliance paperwork are put in place and signed off. For government work this is usually the longest phase, and rushing it is where projects fail.
What you receive
- Detailed schedule
- Permits and clearances in hand
- Vendor contracts executed
- Compliance file opened
Execution & reporting
Work runs to the agreed schedule with fixed review points. You receive one consolidated report covering every division involved, not separate updates from each.
What you receive
- Work delivered against schedule
- Consolidated progress reports
- Change requests quoted in writing
- Review points at agreed intervals
Handover & close
The final approval point. Sign-off on deliverables, final invoice, and handover of assets, credentials and documentation. Retainer clients re-enter the path at 04.2 for the next cycle.
What you receive
- Deliverables signed off
- Final invoice raised
- Assets and credentials handed over
- Close-out report and review
04.9Ground rules
How we behave
between the phases.
The path only works if the conduct around it is predictable. These are the rules we hold ourselves to.
Nothing starts unsigned
No work is done and no cost incurred before the scope is signed at 04.3. If you need something started sooner, we issue a short-form agreement for that piece rather than proceeding on trust.
Changes are quoted
Anything outside the signed scope is priced in writing and approved before it is done. We do not absorb changes quietly and present them on the final invoice.
One report, not five
However many divisions are involved, reporting arrives consolidated from your account manager on an agreed cadence.
Bad news travels fast
If a permit is stuck, a vendor fails or a date is at risk, you hear it the day we know, with options attached.
How long does the path take?
Phases 04.1 to 04.3 typically take one to two weeks depending on how settled the brief is. Everything after that is governed by the work itself — a compliance retainer moves to execution in days, a government summit may spend two months in planning and approvals.
Can phases be run in parallel?
Within a stage, yes. Across an approval point, no. Team assembly can begin while planning documents are drafted, but nothing crosses 04.3 or 04.5 without your signature.
What if we need to stop mid-project?
Termination terms are set in the scope of work at 04.3. In practice you pay for work completed and committed costs already incurred, and we hand over everything produced to that point.
Do retainers go through the whole path?
Once. After the first cycle closes at 04.7, retainer work re-enters at 04.2 for each new scope period, so the estimate and approval happen again without repeating onboarding.