A candid view is offered of the dilemmas faced by a consultant or researcher whose career depends on a record of achievement in competing for successive project grants from government agencies or independent research sponsors, and then in delivering conclusions that will address the expectations of the sponsoring parties. The main focus is on projects that address the persistent challenge of reconciling central policy influence with the encouragement of local variety - as was once advocated by Chairman Mao in China's 'Hundred Flowers' campaign. The discussion concludes with some pointers as to what OR can add to the contributions of other policy support professions. Particular reference is made to the use of graphical representations of political complexity to complement conventional textual forms of argumentation. The story starts, then, when I am about to start a new research project, having been awarded a contract by some public body. Up until now, I may have been waiting a long time, with bated breath, to hear whether the project would come off. It may perhaps be the outcome of a protracted procedure of competitive tendering in response to a research brief prepared by a governmental agency, in which case my colleagues and I will have had to present our claims convincingly against those of other rival teams. Or perhaps it is the outcome of an application to a Foundation or Research Council, and I have had to live in a state of uncertainty while lengthy processes of referee assessment and committee discussion take their course. In either case, my research credibility has been on the line, and I have had to argue a cogent case that I will be able to deliver some useful results during the project's allotted span - which I will probably have pitched on the short side, in order to keep the budget within what I judge to be acceptable bounds.

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