MMXXVI · Beirut N 33°53′ E 35°29′
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The practice

8 ways to commission the desk.

The practice does two kinds of work. It reads: how a story, an institution, or a government frames what it says, across languages, outlets, and audiences. And it researches audiences: who they are, what they consume, whom they trust, and what a message will meet when it arrives. For institutions that no longer keep a desk of their own in Beirut, the practice functions as exactly that: an outsourced desk, reading the region’s primary record on their behalf.

Narrative analysis

  1. I. Framing Audit A structured analysis of how a specific story, campaign, institution, or government communication has been framed across markets, languages, and outlets. Includes annotated primary sources and a synthesis of what each frame asks the reader to believe. 15–25 page report 2–3 weeks
  2. II. Country Brief A comprehensive analytical brief on a specific country, file, or institution. Built for clients who need grounded synthesis that public reporting does not produce. Includes primary-source documentation tailored to the client's stated decision context. 20–40 page brief 4–6 weeks
  3. III. Crisis Read Rapid analytical read on how a specific event has been received and framed, for clients in active operational contexts. Delivered as a short memo with primary-source documentation. Retainer clients receive priority scheduling. 5–8 page memo 48–72 hour turnaround

Audience research

  1. IV. Information Environment Assessment A structured map of the information environment around a topic, market, or institution: the outlets, platforms, and voices that carry it, the narratives in circulation, where they originate, and how they travel between languages and audiences. Built on primary sources in English, Arabic, and French, with documented sourcing throughout. For organizations that need to understand an information ecosystem before entering it. 25–40 page report 4–6 weeks
  2. V. Target Audience Analysis A grounded profile of a defined audience: what it reads, watches, and listens to; whom it trusts and whom it discounts; the attitudes already in place; and the frames a message will have to work with, or against. Designed for foundations, agencies, and program teams building communications for audiences in the region. 20–35 page report 4–6 weeks
  3. VI. Campaign Review A structured pre-launch review of a communications plan, campaign, or message set, read against the environment it will land in: framing risks, audience blind spots, likely counter-readings, and the vocabulary the campaign would be handing its critics. Delivered as an annotated memo with recommendations. 10–15 page memo 1–2 weeks

Engagement models

  1. VII. Narrative Analysis Retainer Ongoing monthly analytical coverage of a specific theme, region, or institution. Includes a monthly written memo, ad-hoc availability for questions, and a quarterly synthesis. Suitable for foundations, embassies, and stratcomms firms with sustained regional interests. Monthly retainer Six-month minimum
  2. VIII. Custom Research Commission Bespoke research projects scoped with the client and delivered as a written report, presentation deck, or briefing document. Past examples include comms strategy reviews, narrative position papers, and historical context briefings. Written, deck, or briefing Scoped per engagement

How to engage.

Inquiries are welcome from journalists, researchers, foundations, embassies, agencies and institutional clients.

Write to the desk →
  1. 01 Initial conversations are held in confidence and, where preferred, under the Chatham House Rule.
  2. 02 A full credentials dossier, covering biography, curriculum vitae, references, and past program experience, is shared under NDA before any engagement is signed.
  3. 03 Contracting and invoicing run through a US-registered LLC. Payment by Stripe or international wire transfer.
  4. 04 For research commissions and retainers, an initial scoping conversation is offered without obligation.