ECI Methodology Citation Guidelines
How to accurately cite Brinley Institute PDT and NQS scored outputs. These guidelines apply to any third party citing a BEI Civic Intelligence output.
Why these guidelines exist
Phase C scored outputs will be cited. Some citations will be consistent with the methodology. Some will mischaracterize what the scores mean. BEI cannot prevent third-party citation, but BEI can document — in advance — what citation practices are consistent with the methodology and what practices misrepresent it.
These guidelines apply to any third party — journalist, researcher, advocate, regulator, legislator, or litigant — citing a BEI PDT or NQS output. They are published for transparency and are themselves citable as BEI’s stated position on methodology application.
What BEI PDT and NQS scores measure
What the PDT measures
Process quality — specifically, whether the public record documents that an incentive agreement followed a process likely to protect public interests: that need was demonstrated, leverage was used, costs were disclosed, returns were specified, protections were built in, and adequate notice was given.
What the NQS measures
Notice quality — specifically, whether the public notice documents for an agreement met nine criteria designed to enable genuine public participation rather than satisfy the legal minimum.
What neither score measures
- ·Whether a company or government official behaved wrongfully
- ·Whether an incentive agreement was a good or bad economic decision
- ·Whether an entity acted in good faith or bad faith
- ·Whether an entity violated any law
- ·Whether a project caused any harm
A PDT score of 22 does not mean the applicant did anything wrong. It means the public record did not document the process quality factors BEI uses to assess the agreement. The absence of documentation and the presence of wrongdoing are different things. BEI’s methodology cannot distinguish between them.
Authorized citation practices
The following uses are consistent with the PDT/NQS methodology.
Accurate
- ·"According to the Brinley Institute's Public Deal Test, the [project] incentive agreement received a PDT score of [X], reflecting that [state the specific factor findings from the scored output]."
- ·"BEI's Notice Quality Score for the [project] agreement found [factor] was rated [rating], based on [source cited in BEI's Records Reviewed]."
- ·"The [project] agreement scored [X] on the PDT's F1 (Need) factor, reflecting [exact BEI language from the scored output]."
- ·"BEI scored the agreement [X] on the PDT, indicating that [accurately state what that score indicates per BEI's scoring guide]."
Permitted with attribution
- ·Citing individual factor ratings (e.g., "F2 (Leverage) — Not Found in Public Record") with attribution to BEI and the scored output URL.
- ·Comparing PDT/NQS scores across multiple BEI-scored agreements to identify patterns, so long as the comparison accurately represents the factor-level findings.
- ·Citing the BEI "process quality only" framing: "BEI assesses process quality, not project outcomes."
Unauthorized citation practices
The following uses misrepresent the methodology and should not be attributed to BEI.
Score recharacterization
- ·Stating or implying that a PDT/NQS score is evidence of wrongdoing, illegality, or fraud by any named party.
- ·Converting a PDT/NQS rating into a verdict: "BEI found that [entity] [did / did not] act in the public interest" — BEI does not issue this finding.
- ·Describing a low PDT score as evidence that an agreement "failed" or a high score as evidence that it "succeeded" — these are economic and political judgments BEI does not make.
Factor-level distortion
- ·Citing a single factor rating (e.g., "F1 = Partially Documented") while omitting the methodological context (what F1 measures, what Partially Documented means, what public record was reviewed).
- ·Omitting the HRS (Heightened Review Standard) confidence limitation when citing F1 ratings on HRS-triggered agreements.
Attribution errors
- ·Attributing characterizations to BEI that are not in the scored output.
- ·Citing BEI as finding that an entity made false statements — BEI's methodology does not assess the truthfulness of representations.
- ·Citing BEI Phase B internal calibration outputs as public findings — Phase B is internal methodology review, not public output.
The mandatory disclaimer
Every Phase C scored output carries BEI’s standard methodology disclaimer. Any citation of a scored output should acknowledge the disclaimer or link to it:
“BEI scores reflect process quality based on publicly available records as of the scoring date. Scores are not verdicts about named parties’ conduct, intent, or legal compliance. BEI is a public-record aggregator, not an investigating authority. Factor ratings reflect what was and was not documented in the public record — not what occurred.”
Citation verification
Third parties seeking to verify that a planned citation is consistent with this methodology are invited to contact BEI prior to publication. BEI will confirm whether the planned citation accurately represents the scored output.
This is a good-faith service, not a gatekeeping function. BEI cannot prevent any citation, and citation verification requests do not grant BEI editorial authority over third-party publications.
Contact for citation verification:
jessica@lumanavi.comECI-METHODOLOGY-CITATION-GUIDELINES-001 · VELA™ Phase C Gate Condition #1 · Filed 2026-06-18 · Civic Intelligence