Publishing Policy¶
| Status: | Draft |
|---|---|
| Source file: | 00 Project Management/publishing-policy.md |
| Sensitivity review: | Completed |
| Purpose: | Define how working research material is converted into publishable documentation. |
Publishing Model¶
The docs/ folder is the controlled publishing layer for the project. MkDocs must only render files inside docs/.
Published pages should show the research trail, evidence status, assumptions, gaps, risks, source summaries, analysis summaries and business case drafts when they are reviewed and safe to publish. They should not expose sensitive raw working material.
The publishing layer should preserve the substantive content of working documents wherever safe and useful. Summaries may be used for navigation and executive readability, but they must not replace detailed working content unless publication would create sensitivity, confidentiality or readability issues.
Can Be Published¶
- Project purpose, scope, research questions and methodology.
- Reviewed scoping summaries.
- Reviewed evidence summaries with source citations.
- Aggregated and anonymised primary research themes, once authorised.
- Gaps, risks, assumptions, limitations and uncertainty.
- Draft business case material where clearly labelled and reviewed for sensitivity.
Must Not Be Published¶
- Personal contact details.
- Buyer, processor, exporter or grower contact sheets.
- Raw interview notes.
- Private internal comments.
- Commercially sensitive information.
- Information provided in confidence.
- Unverified claims unless clearly labelled as unverified.
- Anything identifying a person without consent.
Requires Review Before Publishing¶
- Any material derived from interviews or direct stakeholder engagement.
- Buyer, processor, price, contract, volume or commercially specific information.
- Negative findings that could identify an organisation or person.
- Draft conclusions, recommendations or options.
- Source summaries that include non-public or access-restricted material.
Redaction¶
Sensitive information should be removed before content enters docs/. Redaction should remove names, phone numbers, email addresses, business identifiers, site-specific details, exact contract terms and any details that could reasonably identify a confidential source.
Where a detail is important but sensitive, publish an aggregated or generalised description instead.
Source Citation¶
Published source summaries should identify source title, author or organisation, publication date, source type, geography and product category where available.
Working source registers remain the authoritative internal record. Published pages should not copy raw registers wholesale unless explicitly reviewed for sensitivity.
Uncertainty¶
Uncertainty must be visible. Published findings should state evidence strength and confidence where relevant, using High, Medium, Low or Unknown.
Claims based on limited, international, non-local or product-specific evidence must be labelled accordingly.
Draft Status¶
Every published page must show a status line, such as Draft, In review, Final, Not commenced or Placeholder.
Draft pages must not be presented as final conclusions.
Relationship to Working Files¶
Working files are the private research workspace. Published pages are reviewed derivatives prepared for controlled transparency, with substantive content preserved wherever safe and useful.
When a working file is materially updated, the project should assess whether a corresponding docs/ page should also be updated.