RESEARCH ADVISORY

Get the design right before you collect a single response.

Most research problems are not analysis problems. They are decisions made early: a vague question, a sampling frame that cannot answer it, an indicator nobody can measure. Advisory is where those get fixed.

Proposal & thesis Grants & funding Publication M&E frameworks

What we advise on

Support for research design, funding, publication, and evaluation. We agree the decisions to work through and the written outputs you need before the engagement begins.

Proposal & research design

Sharpening a research question into something answerable, then choosing the design, sampling strategy, and sample size that can actually answer it. Includes conceptual framework and hypothesis development.

Postgrad · Research teams

Methodology guidance

Deciding between qualitative, quantitative, and mixed approaches on the merits of your question. Covers instrument choice, validity and reliability, and ethics-committee readiness, with guidance and feedback to help you write your own methodology.

Postgrad · Research teams

Thesis & dissertation support

Structured guidance across chapters, from problem statement through to discussion. Regular check-ins, written feedback on drafts, and preparation for your viva or defence.

MPhil · MSc · PhD

Concept notes & grant proposals

Turning a research idea into a fundable application: narrative, methodology section, workplan, and a budget that survives scrutiny. Written to the donor's actual guidelines, not a generic template.

NGOs · Institutions · PIs

Logframes & budget design

Building the logical framework, results chain, and costed workplan that funders ask for, with indicators that can be measured on the budget and timeline you actually have.

NGOs · Programmes

Publication strategy & pre-submission review

Choosing a realistic target journal, structuring the manuscript to its conventions, and a full critical read before you submit, so reviewers raise fewer of the avoidable objections.

Researchers · Faculty

Responding to reviewers

Working through a revise-and-resubmit decision: what to concede, what to defend, and how to write a response letter that reads as rigorous rather than defensive.

Researchers · Faculty

M&E frameworks & theory of change

Designing monitoring and evaluation systems that inform decisions instead of filling reports: theory of change, indicator definitions, and baseline, midline, and endline design.

NGOs · Programmes · Institutions

Where advisory ends and delivery begins

Research Advisory helps you make research decisions through working sessions and written feedback. Research & Data Services delivers agreed outputs such as cleaned datasets, analysis, and project reports. If you need both, the quote identifies each part and its deliverables.

Most clients need some of both, and we will say plainly which parts of your project belong in which. For academic work in particular, we advise and review, but the thesis remains yours to write, and we will not write or submit assessed work on your behalf.

How an engagement runs

Advisory work is only useful if it is specific. That means understanding your project properly before offering an opinion on it.

Scoping call

A free conversation about where your project is, what is stuck, and whether advisory is the right fit at all.

Written scope

The questions to cover, session and draft-review allowances, written outputs, schedule, and fee. Agreed before work starts.

Working sessions

Structured meetings, in person or online, each with an agenda set in advance and a short written record after.

Handover

A written summary of decisions made, recommendations given, and next steps you can act on independently.

Pricing

Starting prices apply to an agreed scope. Your written quote confirms the deliverables, timeline, included feedback rounds, and total fee before work begins.

Service	Starting price	Deliverables & scope
Research consultation (hourly)	From GHS 500 / hr	You receive: A focused advisory session and written notes with recommendations and next steps.To scope: Share your questions, project stage, and any material to review. Session time and any preparation or document review are agreed in the quote.
Proposal & research design review	From GHS 1,200	You receive: Written feedback on your research question, design, sampling, and conceptual framework, with prioritised next steps.To scope: Share your draft, its length, institutional requirements, and deadline. The quote confirms the sections and feedback rounds covered.
Methodology development	From GHS 1,500	You receive: Guidance on study design, sampling, instruments, and analysis planning, with a methodology outline and feedback on your draft.To scope: Share your research questions, proposal, institutional requirements, and access to participants or data. You write the assessed chapter; we advise and review.
Thesis advisory (per term)	From GHS 3,000 / term	You receive: Scheduled advisory sessions, written draft feedback, and agreed defence preparation.To scope: Share your stage, drafts, supervisor feedback, and academic calendar. The quote defines the term's start and end dates, session allocation, and draft-review allowance.
Concept note	From GHS 1,000	You receive: A funder-facing concept note covering the problem, proposed approach, and expected results, in the agreed format.To scope: Share your project idea, funder requirements, page limit, organisation details, and submission deadline.
Full grant proposal support	On request	You receive: The agreed proposal sections, workplan, logframe, and budget, aligned with the donor's guidelines.To scope: Share the funding call, templates, project brief, partners, budget assumptions, and deadline. The quote specifies which documents we develop or review.
Logframes & budget design	On request	You receive: An editable logframe or results chain and the costed workplan or budget agreed in your quote. To scope: Share programme objectives, activities, indicators, funder templates, budget assumptions, and deadline. These documents can be scoped separately from a full grant proposal.
Pre-submission manuscript review	From GHS 1,200	You receive: A critical review of the manuscript's structure, methods, and interpretation, with a prioritised revision list for the target journal.To scope: Share your manuscript, its length, target journal guidelines, and any previous reviewer feedback.
Reviewer response support	From GHS 800	You receive: A plan for addressing reviewer comments and drafting feedback on your response letter and agreed manuscript sections.To scope: Share the decision letter, all reviewer comments, manuscript, and resubmission deadline. The quote confirms the response and review work covered.
M&E framework design	On request	You receive: A theory of change, results framework, indicator definitions, and measurement plan within the agreed programme scope.To scope: Share programme objectives, activities, donor requirements, available data, and reporting expectations. Budget or logframe work is specified in the quote.
Retainer advisory	On request	You receive: Ongoing advisory sessions and written recommendations for your team or programme, within an agreed monthly allocation.To scope: Share team size, priorities, expected meeting frequency, and documents requiring review. The quote confirms the term, session and review allowances, and fee.

What your advisory quote confirms

A clear brief connects the fee to the decisions, documents, and support your project needs.

Outputs and allowances

The quote lists written outputs, file formats, documents and review length, session allocation, and any work outside the agreed scope. A term has agreed start and end dates.

Schedule and feedback

We agree milestones and feedback rounds around your deadline. Work starts after scope approval and receipt of the required drafts, guidelines, and any agreed initial payment. Missing information or new requirements may change the schedule.

Fee and payment

Your quote confirms the fee and payment terms, including any deposit or staged payments. If you need further sessions or reviews, we agree their scope and cost before proceeding.

A feedback round is one combined set of comments on the agreed outputs. The quote states how many rounds are included; new questions, replacement data, or additional documents are scoped separately.

The initial scoping call is free, and carries no obligation to proceed.
Items marked On request are scoped individually, because their cost depends on the programme, the donor, and the reporting expected. Tell us about the project and you get a firm figure before anything starts.
Final pricing depends on scope, stage of the project, and duration, always confirmed in writing before work begins.
Combined packages (for example advisory plus full data preparation) are available at a bundled rate on request.
Students and self-funded researchers should ask about staged payment across a term.
A deposit may be requested before work begins on larger engagements.

Prices last reviewed September 2026.

Not sure the design holds up?

That is exactly the right time to ask. Tell us where the project is, and the first conversation is free.

Book a scoping call