Mosaic Approach

Client Mandate

Periplus works with the client to define the question at issue, the decision it informs and the assumptions that need testing. The purpose is not to accumulate information about a country or counterparty, but to establish what would materially change the client’s decision. Periplus then designs lines of enquiry for different parts of the network to pursue independently, directing collection to the questions that matter.

Periplus Network

The network is a standing collection capability: several thousand network associates across 85 jurisdictions, working in hundreds of languages and dialects. Relationships built over years are sustained between mandates by resident sub-regional coordinators, who support selection and collection for each assignment. Network associates are locally embedded specialists engaged by Periplus to conduct detailed conversations with well-placed sources within their own trusted networks. Each associate distinguishes what a source said or observed from the associate’s own interpretation: whether a commitment appears firm or ceremonial, where authority sits and what an omission may signify. Working in the languages in which these relationships are sustained preserves nuances of meaning and context. Associates are vetted, sanctions-screened and engaged under written confidentiality, anti-corruption and data-protection obligations before deployment.

Selection for Each Mandate

For each mandate, Periplus ordinarily selects two to six network associates according to their specialism, location and proximity to the institutions, counterparties or assets at issue. Each pursues a distinct line of enquiry through multiple conversations within their own professional networks, without access to the others’ reporting. This separation allows independently gathered accounts from different institutional perspectives to be tested for agreement and divergence.

Network Deployment

In-country sources, extended associate networks

Collection, coordination and analysis are distinct functions. Source reporting undergoes quality control and independent review, with further enquiries directed to contradictions, gaps and claims that require corroboration. Client identities and confidential material are withheld from associates and sources unless disclosure is expressly authorised.

Synthesis & Judgement

Synthesis tests the client’s working assumptions against what the network has found; a finding that cuts against expectation may be the most valuable one delivered. When accounts differ or rest on a single source, associates make focused follow-up enquiries. Accounts are checked for shared origins before agreement is treated as corroboration. Reporting is tested against documentary records, structured data and geospatial evidence where relevant. Where the mandate requires, Periplus also retrieves lawfully available non-digitised records through in-person enquiries at local archives and registries. The principal responsible for the engagement weighs the findings with local teams, tests competing explanations and assesses what the evidence means for the client’s decision. Findings are delivered in written assessments and oral briefings, with continuing monitoring where required. Each assessment distinguishes source reporting from Periplus’s judgement and direct knowledge from accounts relayed by others. It records each source’s proximity to the matter, assessed reliability and the date of reporting. Contradictions and single-source reporting remain visible; confidence and gaps are stated. For counsel-directed assignments, Periplus collaborates with the legal team to assess the potential evidential use of findings and the further work needed to support reliance. This may include identifying potential witnesses, tracing supporting records and corroborating accounts.

Advice & Engagement

The assessment informs the client’s response: which course to pursue, whom to approach, what to propose and how to sequence discussions and commitments. Where instructed, Periplus remains alongside the client as that response is carried forward, preparing principals and correspondence, coordinating specialist advisers and supporting engagement and negotiation. Periplus interprets counterparties’ responses and what they imply for the client’s position. External engagement is expressly authorised and separately scoped. Decisions and commitments remain with the client; legal and technical advice remains with the relevant specialists. Continuing collection tests whether the evidence still supports the approach, including Periplus’s own advice. Where it does not, Periplus explains why and advises on a change of course.