Milestone 3 — Field Work

Milestone 3 — ADA 22,000

The third milestone is the largest single release because it covers the period of highest operational cost: the primary research phase. Hub coordination, facilitation, travel logistics, and the time required to conduct, document, and begin analysing thirty or more structured primary research interactions are concentrated here. The regional network access and primary research budget lines — ADA 16,000 and ADA 8,500 respectively — are substantially consumed in this phase.

The verification standard for this milestone is procedural and documented: minimum thirty interactions confirmed in the Stakeholder Access Register, CPC Interim Findings Review completed, and methodology adjustments agreed if the evidence requires them. The milestone is not conditional on the findings being positive or confirmatory — it is conditional on the research being conducted at the standard the methodology requires.

The ADA 5,000 contingency allocation is housed within this milestone period. If the Interim Findings Review identifies that a priority region requires additional primary research interactions to achieve sufficient confidence for a playbook recommendation, the contingency may be activated at this stage, with CPC agreement documented before deployment.