Institute of Critical Infrastructure Decision Making.
The research arm of Direct Intelligence Ltd. The governance layer under whose imprint original research is conducted, published and defended.
About the Institute
ICDM was established to solve a structural problem in institutional intelligence. An advisory firm that produces its own claims without an independent research function has no verifiable basis for those claims. It is producing opinion, not analysis. That is sufficient for generic consulting; it is not sufficient for an institutional-intelligence firm serving regulated critical national infrastructure. Research that carries the ICDM mark is institute-governed, not advisory opinion dressed as analysis.
The institute conducts original primary research into institutional decision-making, CNI regulatory architecture, AI governance, behavioural economics in procurement, and standards as market-access infrastructure. It does not aggregate or synthesise third-party reports. It produces original analysis from Direct Intelligence's own work across 24 sectors and 9 sovereign corridors.
ICDM is also the intellectual home of the DIRECT framework — Doran Integrated Rational-Emotional Cognitive Theory — and the governance vehicle for FORGE, the commissioned research service, conducted for verified institutional clients under the same evidentiary standard as the institute's own programme.
Research Programme
Eleven structured research programmes are active across the ICDM agenda, each grounded in primary data collection. The programme runs from 2026 through 2027 and beyond, covering AI governance readiness in UK CNI, ISO adoption in the supply chain, regulatory divergence across the nine sovereign corridors, the institutional decision architecture of CNI buyers, NSI Act navigation, multi-standard compliance burden, institutional intelligence maturity, and a suite of annual benchmarking indices. Research reports publish in gated format as each programme completes.
Publications
ICDM research reaches institutional audiences through six formats.
The Signal
OpenThe editorial publication channel. Curated, not aggregated. Fifty editions across Series A to D. The public face of the research arm.
Sector Briefings
GatedPer-sector analysis, one for each of the 24 CNI sectors: regulatory architecture, procurement environment and decision dynamics.
Request access →Corridor Readiness Briefs
GatedPer-corridor readiness analysis across all 9 sovereign corridors: what each jurisdiction actually requires for market entry and regulated engagement.
Request access →White Papers
GatedTwelve research-grounded papers on decision confidence, governance pathology, transformation failure, board-level decision dynamics and the rational-emotional continuum.
Request access →Specialist Publications
GatedFourteen single-subject papers applying ICDM analysis to specific institutional decision problems across governance, procurement, compliance and critical infrastructure.
Request access →eBooks
GatedApplied titles across Series A to D examining how the DIRECT framework operates in specific organisational contexts.
Request access →The Signal is open. Gated formats require a verified-access request at the Briefing Gate.
Planned Texts
The ICDM publication programme expands through 2026 and into 2027 and beyond, releasing in tranches as each body of work completes.
Eight foundational texts establishing the theoretical architecture of the DIRECT framework and its application to enterprise decision-making.
Research reports from the eleven active ICDM programmes publish in gated format as each completes primary data collection and analysis.
A six-volume academic series establishing Decision Architecture as a formal discipline, authored by Gary Daniel Doran under the ICDM imprint. Book 1, The Architecture of Decision, is in production for 2026.
The Evidentiary Standard
Every ICDM publication is governed by the same standard that governs every Direct Intelligence output. A claim is either sourced, with the source stated, or it is labelled as an assessment, with its basis and confidence level stated. The in-force, announced and under-negotiation distinction is applied to every regulatory reference.
Access ICDM research.
Read The Signal
Open. No registration required. The public face of the research arm.
Commission a Research Mandate
FORGE: bespoke institute-governed research for verified institutional clients. FORGE (Research) →
Request Access to Gated Research
Verified-access request for the sector briefings, corridor readiness briefs, white papers, specialist publications, eBooks and the Keystone Series.