I'm going to challenge that thinking because mine was challenged on it last month. I was actually approached by a DOJ representative as I talked to what is in my mind a "real" researcher. Had no idea the DOJ person was in the room and was a little taken aback when I was encouraged to apply for funding. Unfortunately it wasn't civil rights so not applicable to LTFA.
There is a sufficient talent pool here of that I'm sure. Three full fledged university level researchers who know study design, population, IRB, chapter and verse of bias, faulty conclusions and the like. There are a sprinkling of stat number crunchers, and also a sprinkling of legal. If you wanted it could be largely qualitative with some light quants or use existing data on quants and do a qualitative to provide insight through context and explaining mechanisms. All of this I mean quality of life, etc., not the medical or pharmaceutical.
A careful design and delegation of tasks would make it manageable. You want something achievable, and ultimately useful. Dismantling of FSOS, calculation of total time and nutritional breakdown on treats over the course of a year. Designing a novel measure of quality of life, studying food allergy dads, measuring the responses anonymously from the school side of the equation, measuring how much they know, expectations. The last one may be a lot of help, IMO.
Or how about a measure of how much academic loss the average LTFA student is denied due to discrimination? Put it in numbers then contextualize it for why and how.