Our risk analysis is written for organisations that have to act on developments they cannot follow closely themselves:
Companies and investors
Entering, operating in or partnering with Pakistan and the wider region.
Chambers and business councils
Briefings for members on policy change, trade relationships and regional connectivity.
Governments and diplomatic missions
Independent assessments to sit alongside official reporting.
International organisations
Context analysis for programme planning, staff security planning and stakeholder engagement.
Each product is written for a named reader and states its sources and level of confidence:
Country risk assessments
The political, policy and regulatory outlook for Pakistan or a neighbouring country, with the scenarios that matter to your decision.
Bilateral relationship assessments
Where a relationship between two countries stands and where it is heading, drawing on the IPDS relations trackers.
Political and policy monitoring
A weekly or monthly note on developments in your areas of interest, with a short assessment of what each one means.
Regulatory and policy analysis
What a new law, trade arrangement or policy statement changes in practice, read against the official text.
Regional geopolitical briefings
Trade corridors, regional organisations and connectivity across Central Asia, China, the Gulf, South Asia and ASEAN.
Executive briefings
A confidential briefing for a board or leadership team, in person in Islamabad, at your offices or online.
Coverage. Analysis draws on the IPDS centres of study: Central Asia and Eurasia, BRI and China, the SCO, Europe, the United States, Africa, ASEAN, and Women, Peace and Leadership, together with our work on Pakistan’s foreign relations.
—Official sources first: government statements, legal texts, treaty records and official statistics.
—Regional knowledge from the IPDS centres and our network of scholars and practitioners in the countries we cover.
—Clear judgements, with the evidence and the level of confidence stated, and alternative outcomes set out.
—No speculation about individuals, and no use of material obtained improperly.
Typical formats are below. Timeframes are indicative and are confirmed in the proposal; fees are quoted on proposal.
Rapid assessment
A short assessment of a single development and its implications.
Within five working days
Country or bilateral assessment
A full assessment with scenarios and indicators to watch.
Two to three weeks
Monitoring
Weekly or monthly notes, with a quarterly review call.
Terms of three to twelve months
Executive briefing
A briefing and discussion for leadership, with a written summary.
Usually arranged within two weeks
1
Enquiry
Tell us what you need through the enquiry form. A member of the team replies to arrange a short conversation.
2
Scoping conversation
We discuss the question, the audience, the timeline and any constraints, and suggest the format that fits.
3
Written proposal
A short proposal sets out the scope, method, team, deliverables, timeline and fee. Nothing starts until it is agreed in writing.
4
Delivery
The work is carried out by the relevant IPDS centre, with editorial review by the Research Desk before anything is delivered.
5
Follow-up
We present the findings or run a debriefing, and agree any follow-on work.
The monitoring behind our assessments is visible in our published trackers:
IPDS is an independent, nonpartisan institute. These commitments apply to every engagement:
—IPDS keeps full editorial control of anything published under its name. Findings are not agreed with, or changed for, the organisation that commissioned the work.
—Commissioned work can stay confidential to the organisation that asked for it. If it is published, the commissioning organisation is named.
—IPDS does not lobby or campaign on behalf of any government, company or organisation.
—We decline work that would conflict with our nonpartisan mandate or with existing commitments, and we tell you early if we cannot take a project on.
Use the enquiry form to tell us what you need, when you need it and who it is for. A member of the team will reply to arrange a short scoping conversation.
You may also be interested in Commissioned Research or Training and Executive Education.
