Evidence, method and sources

Knowledge Center

The research behind Iran Builders — open, sourced, and checkable.

Iran Builders is built on published evidence about what Iran needs and what its diaspora can contribute. This is that evidence — organized so you can read the conclusions in minutes, and check every claim down to its original source. Where we are uncertain, we say so; where sources disagree, we show both.

These twenty areas are an evidence-based priority framework, not an official ranking or a forecast.

They were derived from published research on Iran's current conditions, reconstruction requirements, existing domestic capability, diaspora composition and global technology trends — drawing on UN agencies, the World Bank, WHO, FAO, UNESCO, the IEA, the ITU, WIPO, the OECD and peer-reviewed studies.

The weights we used are a judgment, we publish them, and we show what changes if you disagree.

How we researched and ranked these areas

• 1Why This ExistsThe question we set out to answer, the central finding, and what a network like this honestly can and cannot do.5 topics
• 2How We Research & RankNine criteria, published weights, a sensitivity analysis — and exactly what changes if you disagree with us.8 topics
• 3Iran TodaySixteen sectors, evidence first: what is failing, what is holding, and what the figures actually say.16 sector topics
• 4The 20 Expertise AreasWhere diaspora expertise adds most — beside what Iran needs most urgently. The gap between the two lists is the finding.20 entries
• 5Cross-Cutting Findings & HorizonsSeven findings that hold across every sector, five time horizons, and seven ways to contribute.6 topics
• 6The Iranian DiasporaHow many, where, and how qualified — every figure with its definition, year, source and confidence.6 topics
• 7Research LibraryEvery source we used, graded and annotated — including where credible sources disagree and what we rejected.102 annotated entries · 4 registers
• 8Contribute ResearchSubmit research under your name or an alias. Reviewed for appropriateness — nothing publishes without review.5 topics
• 9LimitationsWhat this research cannot tell you, what we could not retrieve, and what we refuse to claim.7 topics
• 10Complete Source IndexEvery URL the research touched — 361 of them, grouped. Total traceability.361 URLs

Archive v1.1 · Content v1.0 · Updated 26 August 2026