Five principles, eight obligations, one amendment process. The Charter is the document the institution holds itself to — and the document the field can hold the institution to.
The Charter's first part is the institution's compass. It is short by design. Each principle is read in full, in order. They are not bullet points; they are the sentences by which the institution holds itself.
The institution is independent of any commercial pipeline that depends upon its findings. The Index, the Standard, the Certification programme, the Annual, and the Summit operate independently of any client engagement. No client purchases editorial influence; no patron purchases methodology accommodation.
Independence is the first principle because it conditions every other. Where independence is in question, the institution declines the work.
The institution tells what is, not what is preferred. Audit findings are unedited; index scores are reported as observed; methodology decisions are recorded with reasons. Where the institution has erred, it says so plainly, in writing, and amends.
Truth is held above comfort, above commercial interest, and above relational pressure. The institution accepts that this principle has costs and bears them.
Every conclusion the institution publishes traces to a documented method. Methodology is canonical, examinable, and amendable through a defined process. The institution publishes its methodology so that any reader may understand how it reaches its findings.
Where method runs out, the institution reasons in writing from first principles and records the reasoning. The institution's case law is part of its method.
The institution moves at the standard's speed. It does not move faster. Where speed and standard conflict, standard prevails. The institution accepts that this principle costs growth and accepts the cost.
Standard is the institution's discipline of restraint. It is the principle most likely to be tested under commercial pressure.
The institution speaks composedly. It does not exclaim. It does not catastrophise. It does not perform its work. The voice of the institution is the voice it speaks in private — measured, exact, and indifferent to the volume of others.
Restraint is the principle by which the institution distinguishes itself from the marketing it grew up around. It is read aloud last because it conditions how the prior four are spoken.
The principles are conditions of identity. The obligations are commitments of practice. The institution holds itself to these eight, publicly, and invites the field to hold it to them.
The institution maintains a Conflicts Register. All material conflicts are recorded. Walled engagements are walled in writing. Three-tier disclosure applies — internal, in-engagement, and public where the public has standing to know.
The institution's methodology is published, in full, in each Annual. It is open to challenge in the Summit's methodology session and in writing at any time. Where the methodology is changed, the change is recorded with reasons.
The Source Register is published in full, in each Annual. Inclusions, removals, and weight changes are minuted by the Methodology Council. Sources whose presence the institution cannot defend are removed.
Where the institution errs, it says so. Corrections are issued in writing and incorporated in the next edition with the prior position recorded. The institution does not silently amend.
Editorial decisions on the Annual, the Index, and the Standard are made by the Methodology Council. Commercial decisions on engagements are made by the Head of Practice. The two functions do not direct each other.
No subject can purchase Index inclusion, Index ranking, Standard endorsement, or editorial coverage. Founding Patron support of the Summit is recognised but does not influence editorial. Sponsorship is not accepted in the form of editorial concession.
The institution's practitioners are certified by examination. Conduct is adjudicated by the Standards Committee under written reasons. Certification may be suspended or revoked where conduct breaches the Charter.
Succession is planned. Methodology is held in trust. The institution's continuity is the responsibility of every Partner. No individual's departure ends the institution.
The Charter is amendable. Amendment is rare, deliberate, and recorded. The procedure below is the procedure by which any change to this document occurs. No other procedure has standing.
The Charter is the institution's constitutional document. Its amendment is a Class A decision and follows the procedure set out below. Editorial corrections — typographical, formatting, clarifications without substance — may be made by the Operations lead with notice; substantive amendment follows the full procedure.
Edition 1.0 of the Charter is ratified by the Founding Partners and the inaugural Methodology Council. The Charter is read aloud at the opening of each Methodology Council meeting and at the opening of the Summit, in full, in order, by a member designated for the reading.
The Charter is the document the field can hold the institution to. The complete edition — including the Founding Partner declarations and the Methodology Council ratification — is available as an institutional record. Write to obtain a numbered copy.
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