What Project Dry Run Will Actually Measure

Project Dry Run is a public feasibility study presented with entirely unnecessary ceremony. Beneath the clipboards and civic weather reports, it asks a practical question: can Dundee help develop a useful grown-up product while creating paid local work?

The inquiry uses three different kinds of information. Comic indicators make the project enjoyable. Real impact measures show whether it benefits the community. Product evidence determines what may honestly be said about the proposed undergarment. The three will always be labelled separately.

The question Dundee is being asked

The proposed first product is the Dundee Personal Weatherproof: Model Citizen No. 1, a discreet, washable absorbent undergarment intended initially for light bladder leakage. The inquiry must determine whether a credible product and value chain can be developed, tested and made as substantially as practical in Dundee and the surrounding area.

That means examining more than a prototype. Project Dry Run will consider:

• what users value in dignity, comfort, language, dressing and care;
• which design, textile, manufacturing and testing skills exist locally;
• which technical capabilities must come from experienced outside partners;
• whether useful paid entry-level work can be created locally;
• what the product would cost and what claims the evidence can support; and
• whether Dundee residents and businesses think the proposal should proceed.

The officially unofficial scorecard

Public fieldwork will produce comic indicators such as Civic Absorbency, Tea Proximity, Weatherproofing Urgency, Trouser Confidence and the Irregularity Quotient. These scores are part of the performance. They are not scientific findings or evidence that a product works.

The real community measures

Alongside the comedy, the project will report practical figures with their method and reporting period. Initial measures include:

• paid local hours created;
• Dundee residents hired, paid or trained;
• local businesses paid or meaningfully engaged;
• participant and user-research sessions completed;
• accessible locations identified;
• local procurement spending; and
• repeat commissions or partner commitments.

A zero will be published as zero. An estimate will be labelled as an estimate. Sponsorship does not purchase a favourable total.

Product evidence has a higher standard

Photographs may show absurd weather tests and theatrical props. They will not be presented as proof of absorbency, durability, fit or health benefit. Any product performance claim requires an appropriate test, a documented method and specialist review.

Personal health information, private research records, unapproved images, confidential manufacturing methods and live commercial negotiations will not be published. Openness does not cancel privacy, safety or legitimate technical confidentiality.

The recommendation is not predetermined

At the end of the seven episodes, the Dundee Recommendation will be go, revise or stop. Failed tests, missing capabilities and reasonable objections will remain in the record. An honest “not yet” is more useful than a ceremonial yes.

Inspect the public evidence file