I have 1 million thoughts but not a lot of time right now, the one thing I would say with confidence is that you will find in your early engagements through existing professional contacts (people in control of a budget; managers or owners), so talking to them will probably give you the most accurate picture relative to even high-quality generalized advice.

As a general rule, you will get more accurate information out of people if you ask for concrete historical examples, instead of “what would happen if“. But if they have not hired a contractor before you might have to settle for the second.