Expert Led Industry White Papers
how to answer the questions published data can’t
An AI assistant can now summarize every public report on a market in under a minute. A white paper that repeats those sources has little left to offer. The papers that still earn readers, links and citations are built on first-hand evidence from the people who run the industry.
That changes what a white paper is worth. If it restates published sources, you get the gist without opening it and an AI assistant has no reason to cite it instead of the originals. The value now sits in what can’t be found elsewhere: what a hospital procurement director plans to cut next year, how 150 plant managers rate a new technology, why a former regulator expects a rule to slip.
That kind of evidence takes effort to collect, which is why most white papers skip it. It is what every TEP white paper is built on.
At a glance
- A white paper argues a position on one question. A report describes a market. A white paper tells the reader what to make of it, and why.
- Recycled sources no longer set a paper apart. Anything already public can be summarized on demand, so original evidence is what earns attention and citations.
- Around 12 well-chosen interviews surface most of the themes in a group of similar experts, according to research on interview saturation. Spread them across buyers, suppliers and independent specialists rather than one viewpoint.
- A short practitioner survey turns a view into a number that journalists, analysts and AI tools can repeat with your name attached.
- Agree how experts will be quoted before the calls. Named, anonymized or background only. Settling it early saves weeks at the approval stage.
- The Expert Point delivers expert-led white papers as a bundled package on the topic and market you choose: the paper itself, built on screened expert interviews, with the supporting evidence behind it.
What an industry white paper is, and who publishes one
An industry white paper is a long-form document that examines a single issue in a sector, such as a technology shift, a regulatory change or a market opportunity, and argues a position backed by evidence. Most run between 8 and 25 pages and are written for decision-makers who will act on them.
Four groups publish most of them:
- Consulting firms, to show depth in a sector before a client asks for it.
- Corporate strategy and marketing teams, to shape how buyers think about a problem the company solves.
- Investors, to explain a thesis to limited partners, co-investors or management teams.
- Industry associations and research groups, to inform policy and set the agenda for members.
The goals differ, but the test is the same. Would a senior person in that industry learn something from it?
White papers vs industry reports
Many teams need both: the report for context and the white paper for the argument. A white paper that tries to cover everything a report does ends up long and neutral, which is the opposite of what makes one worth reading.
Four kinds of evidence, and what each adds
Where white paper evidence comes from
Secondary research is where every paper should start, because it shows which questions are still open. Expert interviews and surveys are how you answer them. The strongest papers use at least two of the four: interviews to find the story, then a survey to size it. If a survey is part of the plan, our primary surveys guide covers sample size and respondent quality.
How we build each paper:
Question and scope
We agree on the topic, market and the question the paper has to answer, then list the claims that will need evidence behind them.
Expert map
We propose a mix of buyers, suppliers and independents that covers each claim, drawing on our network of [X,000] professionals in [X] countries.
Screening
Every expert answers project-specific screening questions before they take part, so each contributor has done the work the paper discusses. You can review the expert list before interviews start.
Interviews and survey
Our team runs the interviews, with recordings and transcripts where the expert agrees, and fields a practitioner survey when the paper needs to size what the interviews suggest.
Writing and review
We draft the paper, share it for your comments and finalize it. Every quote and statistic is traceable to an interview or a data table you receive.
Quote clearance and compliance
Before each interview the expert confirms whether they can be quoted by name, quoted anonymously or used for background only. We check for conflicts before every call, and experts agree not to share confidential information about current or former employers.
How many expert interviews does a white paper need?
Fewer than most teams expect, if they are the right people. In a widely cited study, Guest, Bunce and Johnson (2006) found that most themes in a set of in-depth interviews had appeared within the first 12, with the core ones visible after 6. A 2022 systematic review by Hennink and Kaiser put saturation at 9 to 17 interviews for a fairly similar group of participants.
The catch is the word “similar.” Twelve interviews with former managers from the same supplier give you one perspective twelve times. For a white paper, plan the mix around the viewpoints your argument has to survive:
- Buyers and users, who decide whether the trend you describe actually happens.
- Suppliers and competitors, who see the same market from the other side of the table.
- Independent specialists, such as engineers, consultants or former regulators, who can test claims from both sides.
Three to five interviews in each group, 10 to 15 in total, is a sound starting point for most single-sector papers. Add more where the groups disagree. Disagreement is often where the most interesting finding sits.
Six checks for any white paper, including ours
We write the paper. You choose the topic and market, and we bring the experts, run the research and deliver the finished white paper with the evidence behind it, as one package.
- The white paper. A first hand information report that answers your question and takes a clear position, collated and put together by our research team from the expert evidence.
- Expert interview evidence. Derived from interviews with screened experts (buyers, suppliers and independent specialists) with summaries and [transcripts] for each call.
- Survey data, where the question needs a number. A practitioner survey of qualified respondents, with the data tables.
The recycled-sources problem
Most white papers are assembled from desk research: a market size from a syndicated report, a few statistics from the trade press, a two-by-two framework and a call to action. That worked when finding and reading those sources cost a reader several hours. It doesn’t anymore.
Search engines now look for pages that add something. Google’s own guidance on helpful content asks whether a page provides “original information, reporting, research, or analysis.” AI assistants behave in a similar way in practice. When ten pages say the same thing, the one most likely to be cited is the original source, not the tenth summary of it.
The white papers that travel tend to share three features. They answer a question nobody has answered publicly. They contain at least one finding a reader can quote in a sentence. And they show plainly where that finding came from.
Sectors we cover, and who we'd interview
We also run projects in education, financial services, and media and entertainment.
Frequently Asked Questions
An industry white paper is a long-form document that examines one issue in a sector, such as a new technology, a regulatory change or a market shift, and argues a position supported by evidence. Unlike a general industry report, it is built around a single question and ends with a clear view of what decision-makers should do.
An industry report describes a whole market, usually from published data and modeled estimates, and stays neutral. A white paper focuses on one question, draws on targeted evidence such as expert interviews and surveys, and takes a position. Reports are used for reference; white papers are written to change a decision.
Most industry white papers run between 8 and 25 pages. Length should follow the argument: a paper with one clear finding and strong evidence is more useful at 10 pages than a padded one at 30. Lead with an executive summary that stands on its own.
For a single-sector paper, 10 to 15 interviews is a sound starting point, split across buyers, suppliers and independent specialists. Research on qualitative saturation suggests most themes in a similar group appear within about 12 interviews, so add more only where perspectives differ.
Yes, with the expert’s agreement. Before each call, agree whether the expert can be named, quoted anonymously (for example, “a procurement director at a US hospital system”) or used for background only. Experts should not share confidential information about their current or former employers.
AI assistants tend to cite sources that contain information found nowhere else, stated clearly. Publish the paper as an HTML page as well as a PDF, include original findings that can be quoted in a sentence, show the source and sample behind each number, and keep the author and publication date visible.
Yes. The Expert Point delivers expert-led white papers as a bundled package on the topic and market you choose. We source and screen the experts, run the interviews and any survey, write the paper and hand over the supporting evidence, such as interview summaries, transcripts and data tables.
Most white paper packages take 1 week from agreed scope to final paper. Interviews with common roles can be scheduled within days. Senior or rare specialists, and any survey of a narrow professional audience, add time.
Six checks for any white paper, including ours
1
Can a reader name one finding they couldn't have found anywhere else?
2
Does the paper take a position that someone could reasonably disagree with?
3
Is every statistic sourced, with the sample size shown for any survey result?
4
Would a practitioner in the sector recognize the description of how their job works?
5
Can each key finding be quoted in one or two sentences without losing its meaning? That is how journalists, analysts and AI assistants will use it.
6
Have the experts you quote approved how they appear?
Use them to judge any paper you buy, read or plan to publish. If the answer to the first question is no, more editing won’t fix it. The paper needs new evidence.
Bring us the question your paper has to answer
Tell us the topic, the market and the decision the paper should inform. A research manager will come back with a proposed scope, the expert mix we’d interview and a delivery date, usually within hours.