Engagement & Cost Framework

Verdant engages selectively and deliberately. Costs are structured to protect focus, preserve judgment, and ensure that collaborations remain productive rather than extractive. We do not compete on volume, speed, or novelty. We work where interpretability and stewardship matter.

Guiding Principles

• Minimum fees protect seriousness and attention
• Hourly work is for thinking, not grinding
• Projects have clear scope and endpoints
• Retainers support stewardship, not dependency

Minimum Engagement Threshold

Minimum project size: $5,000

Engagements below this threshold are typically redirected to:

• Office hours or short advisory sessions
• Public or open reference resources
• Deferred collaboration once scope is clarified

This prevents informal consultation from becoming unpaid labor and ensures clarity on both sides.

Hourly Expert Consulting

Used for early-stage design, troubleshooting, interpretation, and advisory roles.

Rates

• Standard expert consulting: $175–$250 / hour
• Specialized spatial or cross-kingdom advisory: $250–$350 / hour

Billing is typically in half-day (4 hour) blocks. Written summaries are included. No expedited or “fire drill” pricing structures are offered.

Fixed Fee Project Work

This is the most common engagement model. Used when scope, deliverables, and endpoints can be defined in advance.

• Spatial feasibility assessment: $5,000–$10,000 Design review, assumptions, risks, and go/no-go guidance.
• Pilot spatial dataset (small): $10,000–$25,000 Sample preparation, data generation, and interpretation.
• Cross-kingdom or interface pilot: $20,000–$50,000 Increased complexity and reduced assumptions.
• Visualization & interpretation package: $5,000–$15,000 Figures, coordinate frameworks, and narrative context.

Retainer: Embedded Expert Mode

Used for ongoing programs, institutional partnerships, and grant-backed work.

Monthly retainers

• Light advisory: $3,000–$5,000 / month
• Active collaborator: $7,500–$15,000 / month

Includes

• Priority access
• Standing meetings
• Rapid review and internal consultation
• Nameable role on proposals when appropriate

Excludes

• Major wet-lab costs unless specified
• Instrument time unless separately contracted

Grant-Embedded Support

When Verdant is named in funded work, support is typically structured as:

• 5–15% of total project budget, or
• Defined line items for personnel, pilot work, coordination, or analysis

This model provides the lowest-friction path for long-term collaboration.

Resource Stewardship Contributions

Non-cash contributions are accepted selectively.

• Compute credits
• Instrument access
• Laboratory or field logistics

Conditions include no exclusivity, no branding control, and no IP capture. Public acknowledgment is acceptable. If conditions change, Verdant disengages.

Pro Bono or Reduced Fee Work

Reserved for exceptional cases, including Indigenous or local stewardship projects, conservation emergencies, or irreplaceable biological contexts.

Even in these cases, scope, outcomes, and accountability must be explicit.

How We Describe Cost

“We usually start with a small, well-defined engagement so everyone can see whether the collaboration is useful before scaling. Costs depend on scope, but most initial projects fall between five and twenty-five thousand dollars.”

Strategic Context

These ranges exist to signal seriousness, filter hype-driven engagement, support sustainable work, and remain legible to foundations and research institutions. This is not venture pricing. It is scientific stewardship pricing.