research: establish global network address book baseline

data/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+# Data directory
+
+`entities.csv` is the canonical round-1 structured address book.
+
+## Columns
+
+| Column | Meaning |
+|---|---|
+| `id` | Stable lowercase identifier |
+| `name` | Published entity or system name |
+| `category` | Controlled taxonomy value |
+| `scope` | `global`, `regional`, or `regional-community` |
+| `region` | Service/community region, not merely headquarters |
+| `homepage` | Official or canonical public homepage |
+| `directory_url` | Best public contact, membership, data, or discovery entry point |
+| `role` | Concise functional description |
+| `source_url` | Primary evidence for the role |
+| `status` | Evidence status defined in the method document |
+| `verified_at` | Date checked, UTC (`YYYY-MM-DD`) |
+| `notes` | Important caveat; blank when none |
+
+CSV was chosen for round 1 because it is inspectable in Git, opens in spreadsheets, and requires no custom parser. If nested relationships become central, introduce versioned YAML or JSON without deleting CSV history.