Method2Model

Privacy and Policy

This page explains how Method2Model.com works: what is free, what is paid, how we handle your data and code, and what you can expect from us during a project.

These policies are designed for research, development, and governance contexts — not consumer use.

These are practical working policies for our decision-support modeling services. They are not a replacement for a formal contract, statement of work (SoW), or NDA. In case of any conflict between these policies and a specific written project agreement, SoW, or NDA/DPA, the written agreement will prevail.

1. Services and stages

We provide research and decision-support modeling in clearly separated stages. We are method-focused, not outcome-judging: our goal is to make decision logic explicit, inspectable, and testable.

Stage 0 – Stage-0 Logic Check (Free)

You send a short, non-sensitive description of your current method/protocol and the decision gate you want to support (for example, before protocol lock, before submission, or after results). A structured summary is usually enough.

We review it and send a short written answer about:

  • Whether the method and decision gate look modelable (as defined on this site)
  • What would need to change or be clarified (if anything)
  • The lowest-effort defensible next step: a suggested decision use case (from our 12 use cases) and the minimum inputs needed for Stage 1
  • If applicable: a suggested governance tier (for funds/boards)

Stage 0 is completely free and without obligation. It is intended as an initial reality check and routing step, not as a binding commitment to work together.

Stage 0 is intentionally non-sensitive and typically does not require an NDA. Please do not send identifiable patient data, full raw datasets, or confidential sponsor contracts at Stage 0.

Stages 1–4 – Paid work

All work after Stage 0 is paid and scoped in writing (proposal / SoW / contract) before the stage starts:

  • Stage 1 – Logic Lock & Architecture (Assumptions Map / MRR + architecture + input spec + verification plan)
  • Stage 2 – Formula Bridge (Formula Pack + I/O Contract + scenario configuration)
  • Stage 3 – Code & Evidence (runnable code package + runbook + verification evidence)
  • Stage 4 – Managed Runs (optional) (we run the code for you under NDA/DPA on sensitive data, if requested)

Pricing, timelines, and deliverables for each stage are agreed in writing before we start that stage. Descriptions on this page are indicative; the signed proposal / SoW / contract defines the actual scope. You commit to one paid stage at a time.

2. Communication and responsibilities

All project communication normally happens through:

  • The project dashboard (messages and files), and
  • Email notifications connected to that dashboard.

To keep the project moving, the client is expected to:

  • Respond to questions, drafts, and approvals within a reasonable time
  • Provide clarifications, corrections, or decisions when requested
  • Tell us early about major changes to the protocol, constraints, endpoints, or target decision gate

If we do not receive answers after reasonable reminders, we may pause the project until communication resumes. Significant delays in feedback may require updated timelines or re-scoping.

3. Data, privacy, and NDA/DPA

We treat the methods, protocols, and datasets you share as confidential project information. We prefer non-sensitive summaries at Stage 0 and de-identified or synthetic data whenever possible.

NDA: Stage 0 is designed to be non-sensitive and typically does not require an NDA. If your situation requires it, we can discuss an NDA starting from Stage 1.

DPA / data-processing terms: If we will access or process regulated datasets, we will discuss and agree the appropriate data-processing terms (DPA) and security requirements before any such access.

As a default practice:

  • We do not publish or share your raw data, except as required by law or by a written agreement with you.
  • We do not include identifiable patient data in any public material.
  • You are responsible for ensuring that any data you upload are de-identified and shared under the approvals and permissions required by your institution and jurisdiction. We cannot assess compliance with every jurisdiction-specific rule on your behalf.

We may use anonymised, aggregated, or synthetic data for internal testing and examples, as described in the “Code, models, and case summaries” section below.

Data storage (general):

  • Project files are stored in secure, access-controlled systems.
  • Access is limited to the project team and to you (and people you authorize on your side).

More technical details about storage, access control, and retention may be provided in a separate security/policies document or in the specific project agreement where applicable.

4. Code, models, and case summaries

We believe in transparency about how models work. At the same time, we respect that your protocol, method, and data are yours. Our default publication stance is sanitized, non-client-specific examples only.

By default, for some projects we may create:

  • A generalized version of the model code (with confidential details removed),
  • A small synthetic or anonymised example, and
  • A short case summary describing the modeling decision in broad terms (without confidential operational details, sponsor identities, or patient identifiers).

This generalized code and case summary may be:

  • Published on our GitHub as an example or template, and/or
  • Described as a brief case study on our website or in presentations.

For example, we might publish a generic “two-compartment PK model template” or a “simple tumor–immune dynamics model” without mentioning your drug, protocol, dataset, institution, partner, or any identifying project details.

We do not publish:

  • Your raw data,
  • Full protocols with identifying operational details, or
  • Any information that would reasonably allow others to reconstruct your confidential method or patient-level data.

No-publication option: If you prefer that no public example is created from your project, request this in writing at the start of the project (Stage 1). Once we confirm this “no-publication” stance in writing, we will not use that project as a public example.

Governance mode (optional): For funds/boards and other institutional clients, work can run in full privacy mode by default upon request.

5. Ownership and use

Your original methods, protocols, and datasets remain your intellectual property.

Models and code developed specifically for your project:

  • Are provided to you under the license / usage terms described in the project agreement.
  • May also be used by us in anonymised and generalized form as templates or building blocks in other projects, unless we explicitly agree otherwise in writing. This reuse does not include any client-specific strategy, proprietary structures, or confidential decision logic.

You will have access to the version of the code built for your project, as defined in the stage deliverables. We do not guarantee compatibility with every system, environment, or future software version unless explicitly stated in the agreement.

If a project is intended to lead to shared publications, co-authorship and contributions will be discussed on a case-by-case basis before submission.

6. Payments and access to files

Stage 0 is free.

For Stages 1–4, we provide:

  • A written scope and price for each stage, and
  • An approximate timeline, assuming reasonable response times from you.

For each paid stage:

  • We produce draft deliverables within the agreed scope.
  • You review and request minor changes or clarifications within the agreed revision policy.

When the stage is approved and the agreed payment is completed, we:

  • Unlock and deliver the final files in your project dashboard (reports, code, notebooks, runbooks), and
  • Send you an email confirming that the files are available.

Until payment for a stage is completed, drafts may be shared for review, but final downloadable versions and full code repositories may remain locked, watermarked, or accessible only in read-only form. Fees for completed stages are normally non-refundable unless otherwise agreed in writing.

7. Scope and limitations (important)

Our work is research and decision-support modeling.

We do not provide:

  • Direct medical advice to patients,
  • Regulatory approvals, or
  • Clinical decision-making for individual cases.

We do not act as the sponsor, investigator, or decision authority. We inform decisions — we do not own them.

All models are approximations of reality:

  • They depend on assumptions, available evidence, and modeling choices.
  • They cannot guarantee clinical outcomes, regulatory acceptance, funding success, or commercial results.

You remain responsible for:

  • How you interpret and use outputs in your own decisions,
  • Ensuring that any study, trial, or intervention based on these outputs complies with applicable laws, regulations, institutional policies, and ethics approvals.

We recommend treating the outputs as one input among many in scientific and clinical decision-making. To the extent permitted by applicable law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential losses arising from how you choose to use or not use the modeling results.

8. Changes to these policies

We may update these policies from time to time as our services evolve. When we make material changes, we will:

  • Update the date at the top of this page, and
  • Apply the new version only to future projects or to new stages that have not yet started, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

If you have questions about any part of these policies, please contact us before sending sensitive material or starting a new stage.