Research Briefs
Independent research on a directory listing, funded by the resident who asks for it and shared with everyone.
A coming feature
Commissioning isn’t open yet. We’re finishing the research pipeline so briefs run reliably before we take requests. The finished examples below show what we’re building — reading them and telling us what you think is the most useful thing a resident can do right now.
Three finished examples show what a brief looks like: Harbor Point Dentistry, Novant Health New Riverside Primary Care, and Bluffton Electric.
What a Research Brief is
A concise, sourced report on one listing, prepared with AI-assisted research and checked against official records. It separates what was verified from what the business says about itself, and it ends with the questions worth asking before you hire or schedule.
- Identity, ownership, and contact details, checked against state records
- State license status and public board actions, looked up directly, with the date checked
- Services, service area, hours, and published terms, clearly attributed
- For medical practices, each clinician’s license, certification where publicly verifiable, and the hospitals CMS records associate them with
- What independent reviews do and don’t show
- Questions to ask, and what the research could not establish
A brief never endorses, ranks, or scores a business, and it never claims a “clean record” — public records can’t prove the absence of problems.
How commissioning will work
- Ask from the listing. Every vendor card without a brief will offer a “Commission a Research Brief” button.
- The research runs. Identity is resolved first, then official records, then the business’s own pages and independent sources. Briefs are usually ready within a day or two — occasionally longer when an official record has to be rechecked — and you’ll be notified when yours publishes.
- Everyone can read it. Commissioning buys priority and a contribution to the community, not private ownership — finished briefs are shared with all verified residents.
- If no useful brief can be produced — the business can’t be identified with confidence, or the public evidence is too thin — you won’t be charged.
Pricing and the sign-up flow are still being finalized and will be announced here first.
Interested, or have a listing you’d want researched first? Let us know — it helps us decide what to build and which briefs to run when the feature opens.