Know what the comparison is built on.

What BasisMark is

BasisMark is an early-stage public research project for examining resource claims. It asks a simple question before repeating a comparison: what is each number actually built on?

The project is beginning with Water in Context. Its first research project examines a widely repeated comparison between golf-course water use and U.S. data-center water use.

Why resource comparisons mislead

Two numbers can share a converted unit and still describe different things. A fair comparison must account for the original metric, time period, geography, analytical boundary, value origin, uncertainty, and local context.

A national estimate also cannot answer every local question. Water source, scarcity, timing, infrastructure, reuse, and community impact may matter more in a particular place than a national total.

What makes a comparison fair?

BasisMark checks whether:

• the metrics describe comparable water flows;
• the years and geographic scopes align;
• direct and indirect effects remain distinct;
• observed, reported, modeled, and extrapolated values are labeled;
• original sources support the wording;
• uncertainty and limitations remain visible;
• a national result is not used as a shortcut for local impact.

The methodology separates the public label, technical verdict, confidence, source quality, and review status. One does not substitute for another.

How the work is evaluated

BasisMark uses a twelve-check framework covering metric, unit, time, geography, source quality, value origin, system boundary, double counting, uncertainty, local context, source currency, and ratio eligibility. Failed or unresolved checks become visible limitations rather than disappearing behind a single score.

What is public now

The institutional foundation is public-safe: methodology, generic rating definitions, sourcing principles, correction policy, funding and conflict disclosures, AI-use and human-review disclosures, and an initial privacy notice.

The first flagship is still RESEARCH IN PROGRESS. No final public finding has been released. Scoped external review has not been completed.