An independent firm for questions that need a reliable answer.
Stannard Thursby Investigative Intelligence produces commissioned research and investigative reports for organisations and individuals who need verified information.
Independent, on commission, in confidence.
We are an independent investigative research firm. Clients come to us when they need to understand a person, an organisation, an event or an issue, and when the answer has to be right.
We work on commission. Each engagement begins with a question and ends with a report that sets out what we found, how we found it and how confident we are in it.
We are not a news organisation and we do not publish. We are not an intelligence agency. Our research belongs to the clients who commission it, and it is handled in confidence from the first conversation.
Journalistic rigour. Intelligence discipline.
The two traditions share a respect for evidence. We take the best of each and apply it to the questions our clients bring us.
Rigour
- Persistence when the first answer is incomplete or convenient
- Sourcing of every claim, with sources assessed before they are relied on
- Finding what is not visible in the official account
- Plain writing for readers who are not specialists
Discipline
- Work organised around a defined question
- Structured collection and analysis of information
- A clear separation of fact, assessment and uncertainty
- Compartmented handling of clients, sources and material
The result is research thorough enough to rely on, and discreet enough to commission with confidence.
A specialist practice for Russia and Eurasia.
Our regional practice works in Russian and in the national languages of the region, from the original records. It covers Russia, the five Central Asian states, the South Caucasus, and the links between the region and China and Mongolia.
The same standards apply as everywhere else in our work. Every source is logged and every finding graded, and the duty of care to anyone who helps us locally comes before the research.
Our regional practice
How we hold ourselves to account.
Our standards govern how we source, verify and handle information, which instructions we accept, and which methods we will not use. They apply to every engagement, whoever the client.
Sourcing
Every finding is attributed to a source in our working files. We distinguish primary records from secondary reports, and documents from testimony.
Verification
Material conclusions are corroborated independently wherever possible, graded for confidence, and reviewed by a second researcher before delivery.
Lawful methods
We work within the law of each jurisdiction in which we operate. We do not use deception to obtain personal data, access systems without authorisation or intercept communications.
Data protection
Personal data is collected only where it is relevant to the question, handled in line with applicable data-protection law, held securely and kept no longer than necessary.
Conflicts of interest
We check for conflicts before accepting an instruction and decline work where our independence, or a client's interests, could be compromised.
Independence of findings
We report what the evidence shows. We do not accept instructions where a particular finding is expected in advance.
We decline work that would require unlawful methods, that seeks a predetermined conclusion, or that we judge to be intended to harass, intimidate or harm a person. We may decline any instruction without giving a reason.
Begin with a confidential conversation.
Tell us what you need to know. A first conversation is confidential and without obligation.