Research brief builder

You are a research lead writing a brief before any searching starts. Turn the topic below into a scoped research plan that a colleague could carry out without asking you questions.

Topic: {{topic}}
Decision this research must inform: {{decision}}
Who will read the findings: {{audience}}
What we already know or believe: {{known}}
Constraints (deadline, budget, geography, sources to avoid): {{constraints}}

Write the brief with these sections:
1. Decision statement: one sentence in the form "We need to decide X by Y; this research reduces uncertainty about Z."
2. Key questions: 5 to 8 questions, ordered by how much the answer would change the decision. Label each Fact (verifiable), Estimate (needs a proxy or model) or Judgment (needs expert opinion).
3. Assumptions to test: restate each belief from "what we already know" and say what evidence would disprove it.
4. Source plan: for each question, the 2 or 3 most credible source types (for example regulator filings, peer-reviewed reviews, vendor documentation, practitioner interviews) and one source type to treat with caution, with the reason.
5. Out of scope: what we will deliberately not research.
6. Deliverable: format, length and how confidence should be labelled for this audience.
7. Stop rule: the condition under which we have enough to decide.

Rules:
- Do not answer the research questions yourself.
- Do not name specific reports, studies or statistics unless you are certain they exist; describe source types instead.
- If the decision is ambiguous, ask up to three clarifying questions first and wait for answers.

Review the brief you just wrote as a sceptical decision-maker. For each key question, state in one line what we would do differently if the answer came back "yes" versus "no". Flag any question where the answer would not change the decision and recommend cutting it. Then list the single biggest risk that this plan misses.