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.
What we advise on
Four areas, one underlying service: thinking through a research decision with someone who has made it before. Each can be a single session or a term-long engagement.
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 teamsMethodology guidance
Deciding between qualitative, quantitative, and mixed approaches on the merits of your question, not convenience. Covers instrument choice, validity and reliability, and ethics-committee readiness.
Postgrad · Research teamsThesis & 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 · PhDConcept 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 · PIsLogframes & 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 · ProgrammesPublication 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 · FacultyResponding 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 · FacultyM&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 · InstitutionsWhere advisory ends and delivery begins
Research Advisory is guidance: we help you make the decision and you carry out the work. Research & Data Services is delivery: we do the cleaning, analysis, or writing ourselves.
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
What we will cover, how many sessions, what you receive in writing, and the fixed fee. Agreed before anything 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
Ranges reflect project size and complexity. Every engagement is confirmed with an exact quote before work begins.
| Service | Price | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Research consultation (hourly) | From GHS 500 / hr | Ongoing advisory support, billed by the hour, with written notes after each session |
| Proposal & research design review | GHS 1,200–3,500 | Full read of a draft proposal with written feedback on question, design, and sampling |
| Methodology development | GHS 1,500–4,000 | Working with you to build the methodology chapter or section from scratch |
| Thesis advisory (per term) | GHS 3,000–8,000 | Ongoing guidance across a semester: scheduled sessions, draft feedback, defence preparation |
| Concept note | GHS 1,000–2,500 | A short funder-facing concept note developed from your idea |
| Full grant proposal support | On request | Narrative, methodology, workplan, logframe, and budget to a specific donor's guidelines |
| Pre-submission manuscript review | GHS 1,200–3,000 | Critical read against target-journal conventions, with a prioritised revision list |
| Reviewer response support | GHS 800–2,500 | Strategy and drafting help for a revise-and-resubmit response letter |
| M&E framework design | On request | Theory of change, results framework, indicator definitions, and measurement plan |
| Retainer advisory | On request | Standing access for a research team or programme, with an agreed monthly session allocation |
- 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