Narrative-first, evidence-driven

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Use when: something smells off and you want receipts, not rumors.
Goal: find the real constraint: money, rules, contracts, staffing, enforcement.

What to look at (in order)

1. Agendas + minutes (what they actually decided)
2. Budgets (what they funded)
3. Contracts (who got paid, for what, with what metrics)
4. Dashboards / reports (what they track, what they hide)
5. Audits / IG reports (when available)

Questions that cut through fog

• “Who owns the next decision?”
• “What’s the timeline?”
• “What metric will you publish?”
• “What’s the enforcement mechanism?”
• “What happens if it fails?”

Escalation ladder (calm)

1. Ask directly (one ask + metric)
2. Ask in writing (creates record)
3. Bring it to a meeting (public record)
4. Contact oversight (inspector general, ethics office, ombuds)
5. Partner with a watchdog org (if needed)

Watchouts

• Conspiracy brain: avoid it.
• Drama gravity: don’t feed it.
• Keep your claims tight.

What success looks like

A published metric, an audit clause, a changed contract term, or a funded enforcement capacity increase.

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