Engagement Protocol

How RESOLUTES defines, governs, and limits its engagements.

RESOLUTES engagements are governed by protocol, not convenience. This protocol defines how engagements are initiated, structured, executed, and concluded in regulated payment environments. It exists to protect institutional integrity on both sides.

Purpose Of The Protocol

The Engagement Protocol exists to ensure that all work undertaken by RESOLUTES is:

deliberate,

bounded,

and institutionally defensible.

In regulated environments, poorly defined engagements create ambiguity, misalignment, and long-term risk.

This protocol prevents that by establishing clear entry conditions and operating rules.

Entry Conditions

Diagnostic-First Engagement

All engagements begin with a structured diagnostic.

The diagnostic determines:

whether the context is appropriate,

whether structural issues are present,

and whether deeper involvement is justified.

Engagements may be declined at this stage if alignment is not established.

Scope Definition

Bounded and Explicit

Scope is defined before work begins.

Each engagement specifies:

objectives and boundaries,

areas of inclusion and exclusion,

deliverables and timelines.

Scope expansion requires explicit redefinition.

Informal scope drift is intentionally avoided.

Commercial Structure

Clear and Non-Contingent

RESOLUTES engagements follow a defined commercial structure.

Retainer-based or milestone-based pricing

No revenue share arrangements

No equity for services

No deferred or success-based compensation

Commercial clarity prevents misaligned incentives and preserves judgement independence.

Role And Responsibility

Advisory, Not Execution Substitution

RESOLUTES operates in an advisory and structural judgement capacity.

Resolutes:

does not replace internal management,

does not act as an outsourced operations team,

does not execute day-to-day processes on behalf of clients.

Decision ownership, operational execution, and accountability remain with the client organisation at all times.

Engagement Boundaries

Depth Over Volume

RESOLUTES operates with intentional capacity limits.

Limited concurrent engagements

No scale-through-volume model

Depth, attention, and accountability prioritised

Capacity limits are essential to maintain judgement quality.

Confidentiality And Independence

All engagements are governed by strict confidentiality.

RESOLUTES maintains:

independence from vendors,

neutrality across banks and partners,

and separation from conflicted commercial interests.

This independence is foundational to trust.

Duration And Exit

Engagements are finite by design.

Duration is defined upfront

Exit conditions are explicit

Open-ended advisory relationships are avoided

The objective is institutional stability, not dependency.

Exclusions

The Engagement Protocol does not support:

free or exploratory advisory,

informal consultations,

opportunistic involvement,

cosmetic compliance exercises,

engagements without decision authority.

These exclusions are deliberate.

The Operating Framework defines how RESOLUTES works.

This Engagement Protocol defines when and under what conditions that framework is applied.

Clarity at the beginning prevents complexity later.

This protocol exists to ensure that engagements are structured, bounded, and aligned with institutional responsibility from the outset.