Investigate elements
Understand the question, its context, the players, the available facts and the limits of the information.
Research-Anchored Design
Research with evidence. Think in relationships. Design better possibilities.
Our approach connects what we observe, how we interpret relationships and the alternatives we propose. The RAD Method brings a discipline of research and design that applies to many kinds of problem. At SF/CIA it takes the form of corporate intelligence built around questions that matter to clients.
RAD Method · Public overview
Three moves to build understanding.
Explore a move
Discover relationships
Examine links and changes to widen understanding and explore possible explanations.
Design configurations
Formulate interpretations, alternatives or lines of research that the evidence can support.
Select a move to see a fictional example of how it is applied.
Technology at the service of intelligence
From evidence to operation.
Every engagement passes through four layers. Technology speeds up the path; judgment decides what holds up at each layer.
Ingest
Public, licensed, proprietary and authorized sources.
Knowledge
Ontologies, graphs, traceability and world models.
Analysis
AI, agents and assisted analytics with human validation.
Operation
Alerts, workflows, evaluation and continuous updates.
Human judgment × Emerging technology
Technology widens what is possible; rigor defines what is defensible.
We use emerging technologies, especially AI, to support work with information and representations, while preserving critical analysis and human accountability.
We do not confuse a hypothesis with a fact, or a convincing visualization with proof. If the evidence is insufficient, we say so.
We do not promise
Disruptive AI that revolutionises your industry.
We do offer
We identify signals and competitors that can affect your market.
We do not promise
100% accurate predictions.
We do offer
Scenarios, assumptions and explicit levels of uncertainty.
We do not promise
We have information no one else has.
We do offer
We integrate and cross-check authorized sources to offer a more complete picture.
Glossary
Corporate intelligence glossary.
The terms we use in reports, maps and briefs, with the precise meaning we give them.
- Competitive Intelligence
- Research and analysis of the competitive environment (competitors, substitutes, new entrants, alliances and observable moves) to ground decisions. It relies on lawful sources.
- Business Intelligence
- Analysis of authorized internal data to understand an organization’s performance. At SF/CIA it complements competitive intelligence.
- Signal
- An observation that deserves attention because it could change the reading of the environment or a decision.
- Fact
- A documented observation, verifiable in an identified and dated source.
- Inference
- A provisional conclusion drawn from facts and labeled as such.
- Hypothesis
- A possible explanation that still has to be tested against new evidence.
- Unknown
- What is not yet known and should be stated explicitly, together with what would resolve it.
- Scenario
- A plausible future configuration that depends on explicit assumptions. It is not a prediction.
- Ontology
- An explicit model of a domain’s concepts and relationships, with definitions, limits and owners for change.
- RAD Method
- Research-Anchored Design: SF/CIA’s method in three moves: investigate elements, discover relationships and design configurations.
Let’s discuss your next question
What do you need to understand before your next decision?
Tell us about the market, the competitive move or the opportunity you are trying to understand. We can help you frame the question and assess a suitable research scope.