Independent researchers
Your research portfolio, without an institution behind it
What matters
What your website should do for you
Credibility from the work itself
Readers judge independent researchers by their outputs. Reports, articles and datasets should be easy to browse and cite, with clear dates and versions.
A clear offer
Commissioned research, evaluations, literature reviews, data analysis and speaking are different services. Each should say what is delivered and for whom.
Method transparency
Explaining how you gather and check evidence helps prospective clients judge fit and helps readers trust your conclusions.
Quick publishing
When a report is released, its page, summary and download should go live the same day, without waiting for a developer.
Pages your site could have
A starting point. We plan the final pages around your content.
- Home
- Your field, the questions you work on and your latest public output
- Work
- Reports, articles and datasets with summaries, dates and downloads
- Services
- Commission types, typical deliverables and how engagements work
- Methods
- How you source, analyse and review evidence
- About
- Background, qualifications and affiliations you can verify
- Contact
- Commission and collaboration enquiries
Features you can add
Report library
Each output has a summary page, a citation and a downloadable file, so it can be shared and cited properly.
Version notes
Corrections and updates are recorded on the report page, which matters when your work is quoted.
Commission enquiry form
Asks for the question, timeline and intended use, so you can judge fit before a call.
Topic filters Larger addition, quoted separately
Browse a larger body of work by theme, client type or year.
In your own words
Changes you could ask for
Request 01
“Publish the attached housing affordability report with a 150-word summary, the citation, and a link from the home page.”
Request 02
“Add a correction note to the 2025 transit report: figure 4 had the wrong axis label, fixed on 3 November.”
Request 03
“I am no longer offering survey design. Remove it from Services and from the enquiry form options.”
A fictional example
Moving from an old site
Before
A policy researcher has reports scattered across a Squarespace site, a newsletter archive and a shared drive, so prospective clients see only part of the work.
The move
We gather the public outputs into one structured library on Replit, write clear service pages from your notes, and redirect old report addresses that have been cited elsewhere.
After
New reports go live by describing them to Replit Agent, or by forwarding the file and summary to us if you have a management agreement.
What we will ask you for
- Public reports and articles you have the right to republish, with dates
- A list of services and the kind of clients you work with
- Client names only where you have permission to show them
- A short biography and verifiable qualifications or affiliations
Works with tools you already use
- Newsletter sign-up through your existing provider, such as Substack, Buttondown or Mailchimp
- Links to ORCID, SSRN, Zenodo or other repositories where your work is deposited
- An external scheduling link for introductory calls
Questions
Common questions
Can I show reports I wrote for clients?
Only where your contract or the client allows it. Where it does not, a short description of the type of work, without naming the client, is often acceptable. Check your agreements first.
How is this different from the academic pages?
Academic sites centre on teaching, supervision and an institutional record. An independent researcher's site is closer to a professional practice: it has to explain services and win commissions as well as present the work.
Can readers download my data?
Yes. Files can be linked from the site or from a repository you already use. For large or sensitive datasets we recommend a dedicated repository rather than the website itself.