Bespoke Engagements / Advisory Consulting
For projects that do not fit neatly into a single category, but still need clarity, structure, and a strong thinking partner.
Not every challenge arrives with a clear brief. Sometimes the need is still taking shape. A team is navigating complexity, but does not yet know whether the answer is a workshop, a learning system, a communication strategy, a research sprint, or something more hybrid. In other cases, the work is simply too cross-cutting to fit a standard service description.
Bespoke / Advisory is designed for those situations.
This offer provides flexible, high-trust support for organizations, leaders, researchers, and teams working through complex questions in learning, communication, systems change, research, strategy, writing, facilitation, and AI. Some engagements are short and focused. Others unfold over time as a thought partnership, advisory relationship, or custom hybrid project.
The goal is not to force the work into a pre-existing format. It is to shape the right structure for the challenge at hand.
This offer is especially useful when your organization is:
facing a challenge that spans multiple domains at once
trying to shape an idea, initiative, or body of work that is still emerging
looking for a strategic thought partner rather than a single deliverable
needing support across writing, facilitation, learning, research, communication, or AI
exploring a hybrid engagement that combines several methods or formats
unsure which offer is the right fit and wanting help defining the brief itself
Working on something complex, cross-cutting, or hard to define?
What this offer helps with
Some of the most important work starts in ambiguity. A question is forming, but the structure around it is not yet there. A team is sensing friction, possibility, or change, but has not yet decided what kind of support is needed. In these moments, a rigid service package can get in the way.
This offer helps clients work through challenges that are:
cross-functional or hard to categorize
strategically important but still in formation
intellectually complex or interdisciplinary
relational, emergent, or process-heavy
in need of both clarity and creative thinking
better served by partnership than by a narrowly scoped output
Depending on the context, that might mean helping shape an initiative, supporting a leader as they refine an idea, combining communication and learning design in a custom project, or providing ongoing advisory support through a period of transition or development.
Possible deliverables
Each engagement is tailored, but Bespoke / Advisory work may include:
thought partnership and strategic reflection
custom project framing and offer design
editorial and narrative development
research, synthesis, and writing support
facilitation planning or advisory input
learning and communication strategy
hybrid support across workshops, materials, systems, and messaging
AI advisory for teams exploring careful implementation
coaching for storytelling, pedagogy, or idea development
design of a custom process, sprint, or multi-part engagement
feedback on frameworks, programmes, publications, or proposals
Some engagements stay light and advisory. Others become deeper collaborations with clearly defined outputs and phases of work.
Who this is for
This offer is designed for organizations and individuals working in complexity, especially where the work is interdisciplinary, future-facing, or still taking shape.
It is a good fit for:
founders, directors, and leaders developing a new idea or initiative
organizations that need a strategic partner across multiple areas of work
researchers and subject matter experts translating expertise into action
teams facing a challenge that is too hybrid for a standard service package
institutions needing trusted outside perspective during a transition, redesign, or period of growth
clients who know they need support, but want help defining what kind
Common challenges
This work is often helpful when:
you are dealing with a real challenge, but the brief is not yet clear
your needs cut across strategy, communication, learning, and facilitation
you want an experienced outside perspective to help shape the right approach
your project is too custom, interdisciplinary, or emergent for an off-the-shelf format
you need support thinking, writing, structuring, or translating as the work develops
you want a collaborator who can move between big-picture thinking and concrete execution
How we work
Our approach is relational, strategic, and adaptive. We begin by understanding the real shape of the challenge, what is changing, where the friction is, what kind of movement is needed, and what forms of support might actually be useful.
From there, we may work in a few different ways:
as a short-term thought partner
as an advisor across a defined process or initiative
as a custom project partner combining multiple capabilities
as a flexible collaborator brought in at key moments of development, delivery, or transition
We pay close attention to:
what the situation actually requires, rather than what a standard package assumes
how ideas, people, and processes are interacting
what needs to be clarified before action is taken
how support can remain light where possible and deep where needed
when to structure the work, and when to leave room for emergence
how to make complexity more workable without flattening it
The aim is to provide the kind of support that helps a project, team, or leader move with greater clarity, confidence, and coherence.
Relevant experience includes learning design, facilitation, and knowledge translation work with the University of Toronto, Dark Matter Labs, Nourish, Maven, Concordia University, Fleming College, and Disco, including learning design support connected to Margaret Atwood’s Practical Utopias course.
Example formats
This work can take many forms. A few examples:
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A focused advisory relationship for leaders, researchers, or practitioners developing an idea, body of work, or initiative.
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A custom engagement that combines elements of learning design, communication, facilitation, research, or AI support.
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Help shaping writing, frameworks, proposals, presentations, or public-facing ideas as they develop.
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Ongoing support across a project, process, or transition where outside perspective and pattern recognition are needed.
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A short engagement designed around a specific challenge, such as clarifying a concept, shaping a programme, or translating expertise into action.
Why this matters
Not all valuable work begins with certainty. Some of the most generative projects begin in half-formed questions, cross-disciplinary tension, or a strong feeling that something important is present but not yet clear.
Bespoke and advisory work creates room for that stage without leaving it unsupported.
It helps emerging work find the right form, and it gives complex projects the strategic companionship they sometimes need in order to move well.
Engagements
Projects are scoped based on the nature of the challenge, the level of support required, and the duration of the relationship. Some engagements are a few sessions. Others unfold over several weeks or months.
Engagements may include advisory retainers, custom sprints, scoped hybrid projects, or flexible support tied to a larger initiative.
Pricing and duration
Typical engagements range from $2K to $30K+, depending on format, scope, and duration. Longer advisory relationships and hybrid projects are scoped individually. Sliding-scale rates may be available for nonprofit and community-led organizations.