Shortlist · Version 2026-10
Code of Conduct
Accepted once: by a brand with its first brief, by a partner on joining the network. It sits beside the Shortlist terms and is printed in full in every edition of the Project Brief.
Brands agree to
1. State a budget to Shortlist, and decide whether partners see it.
2. Name the decision-maker and a decision date, and keep to it.
3. Ask for no unpaid speculative work. If ideas are wanted before hiring, pay for them.
4. Tell each partner not chosen, and say why.
5. Keep what partners share confidential, and use no ideas from a partner not hired.
Partners agree to
1. Decline a brief that is not a fit, promptly.
2. The team that pitches does the work. If a named lead changes before or during the work, tell the brand first.
3. Price honestly for the scope, and say what is excluded.
4. Disclose conflicts with the brand's competitors.
5. Keep briefs confidential.
6. Keep your capacity and How to work with us page current when Shortlist asks.
Both agree to
1. Confirm the hire and its value with Shortlist before signing a contract.
2. Answer the check-ins honestly.
Shortlist agrees to
1. Give a written reason for every partner recommended, including where the fit is weaker.
2. Let no payment influence who is recommended, who joins the network, or what the Index covers. Both sides pay Shortlist, and it says so.
3. Keep check-in answers private, and publish them only in aggregate, except what a respondent chooses to make public.
4. Share a brief only with the partners recommended on it.
Where it sits
The Code sits beside the Shortlist terms, which are accepted at the same time: a brand with its first brief, a partner on joining the network. Confidentiality, confirming the hire with Shortlist before signing, and the fee bind both sides; the rest are the norms the network runs on. Anyone may use the Code, whether or not they use Shortlist.
How matching works · The Project Brief · The terms · Shortlist