# Agency partner research worksheet

Use with: https://agencyfieldguide.com/guides/how-to-find-agency-partners

Open this Markdown file in your own editor or copy it into a document. Duplicate the candidate section for each possible partner. AFG does not save completed worksheets.

## Partner brief
- Client problem:
- Missing capability:
- Useful outcome:
- Required platform / industry / implementation experience:
- Timezone overlap and communication requirements:
- Relationship: referral / open collaboration
- Our visible role:
- Partner's proposed visible role:
- Requirements versus preferences:

## Candidate (duplicate)
- Agency / website / AFG profile:
- Relevant project and original source:
- Date source checked:
- Work and agency role explicitly described:
- Why the experience is relevant:
- Credential and supporting source if relevant:
- Evidence of collaboration method:
- Public commercial information:
- Unknowns to discuss:
- Decision: contact / research further / set aside
- Reason and next action:

## First conversation
- Comparable project walkthrough:
- Proposed people and confirmed capacity/date:
- Discovery inputs required:
- Who owns scope and changes:
- How delays are communicated:
- How disagreements are resolved:
- A difficult collaboration and lesson:
- Projects they prefer to decline:
- Relevant reference, with permission:
- Fit concerns:

## Working decisions before an introduction or proposal
- Client aware of both agencies and their roles:
- Who contracts / invoices:
- Deliverable owners:
- Overall timeline owner:
- Client communication owner:
- Who approves scope changes:
- Access needed and access removal:
- Feedback / acceptance / defect process:
- Escalation contact:
- Referral fees or commercial interests and disclosure:
- Future work involving the shared client:
- Exit and handoff:

This is an operating checklist, not a contract.

## Small paid engagement
- Standalone output useful to the client:
- Scope and exclusions:
- Owners and dependencies:
- Price and payment responsibility:
- Start / finish:
- Acceptance criteria:
- How communication and changes will be evaluated:
- Decision meeting date:

## Debrief
- Did the output meet agreed criteria?
- Were risks identified early?
- Were commitments and changes communicated reliably?
- How did the team handle feedback?
- Client perspective:
- Proceed / adjust / stop:
- Specific reason:

## Partner note for future use
- Situations to refer:
- Situations to avoid:
- Best contact:
- What we have directly observed:
- Last confirmed capacity (recheck before promising timing):
- Last review date:

A shared brand mention does not prove prior collaboration. Relevant public work starts the evaluation; current people, capacity and the working relationship need direct confirmation.