diff --git a/documentation/README-SECTION-3-cli-commands.md b/documentation/README-SECTION-3-cli-commands.md
index 348c2bfff..8a722b748 100644
--- a/documentation/README-SECTION-3-cli-commands.md
+++ b/documentation/README-SECTION-3-cli-commands.md
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ The scripts these commands are grounded in (from this branch's `package.json`):
 // claiming to be ground truth, and this one had silently stopped being it.
 "dev":             "bun x vite",
 "build":           "bash internal/build-lock.sh",
-"build:unlocked":  "bun run check:template-literal && bun run check:sfc-parse && bun run clean && bun run token && for d in plugin-designs/*/; do BUNDLE=$(basename \"$d\") bun x vite build || exit 1; done && bun run tree && bun run check:drop && bun run check:parse && bun run verify && bun run check:sri && bun run check:public-hygiene && bun run check:label-joins && bun run check:facet-cascade && bun run check:descriptions && bun run check:no-abs-paths && bun run check:dep-names && bun run check:composite-srcs && bun run check:embed-targets && bun run check:nested-token && bun run gallery",
+"build:unlocked":  "bun run check:template-literal && bun run check:sfc-parse && bun run clean && bun run token && for d in plugin-designs/*/; do BUNDLE=$(basename \"$d\") bun x vite build || exit 1; done && bun run tree && bun run check:drop && bun run check:parse && bun run verify && bun run check:sri && bun run check:public-hygiene && bun run check:label-joins && bun run check:facet-cascade && bun run check:kpi-unit && bun run check:descriptions && bun run check:no-abs-paths && bun run check:dep-names && bun run check:composite-srcs && bun run check:embed-targets && bun run check:nested-token && bun run gallery",
 "preview":         "bun x vite preview",
 "serve":           "python3 -m http.server 4173 --bind 127.0.0.1 --directory public",
 "cap:sync":        "./node_modules/.bin/cap sync android",
diff --git a/internal/check-kpi-unit-once.mjs b/internal/check-kpi-unit-once.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..eee606189
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/check-kpi-unit-once.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * check-kpi-unit-once.mjs — a KPI must print its unit exactly once.
+ *
+ * THE DEFECT THIS CATCHES. The dashboard rendered "99%  % UNREACHED" and "1%  ADOPTED %".
+ * `kpiText()` returns `k.value` unchanged when `kind === 'pct'`, and that value already carries its
+ * percent sign; the labels in dashboard.config.js carried a second one ('% unreached', 'Adopted %').
+ *
+ * ★ WHY IT SURVIVED REVIEW, which is the point of gating it. Each half is correct on its own. A
+ * label reading '% unreached' is a perfectly reasonable label. A formatter that returns a
+ * ready-formatted percentage is a perfectly reasonable formatter. Only the COMPOSITION is wrong,
+ * and nothing in either file mentions the other. It was found by reading the rendered screenshot —
+ * no amount of reading either source file would have shown it.
+ *
+ * WHAT IT ASSERTS. No `kind: 'pct'` KPI label contains a '%'. That is the whole rule, and it is
+ * one-sided on purpose: the VALUE is the right place for the unit (it is produced by the formatter
+ * that knows the number), so the label must not repeat it. If a future KPI kind formats without a
+ * unit, add that kind here rather than relaxing the rule.
+ *
+ * Parses the config as TEXT rather than importing it. dashboard.config.js is plain data, but the
+ * research-dashboard module graph reaches library/colors/_registry.js, which uses Vite's
+ * `import.meta.glob` and throws under plain node — the trap documented in
+ * documentation/reference.md. Text parsing keeps the gate hermetic: no build, no browser, no
+ * network, so it can live in build:unlocked.
+ *
+ * NEGATIVE-TESTED: restoring either label ('% unreached' or 'Adopted %') fails by name with exit 1.
+ */
+import { readFileSync, existsSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { resolve, dirname, join } from 'node:path'
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
+
+const ROOT = resolve(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), '..')
+const CFG = join(ROOT, 'plugin-designs/research-dashboard/dashboard.config.js')
+
+if (!existsSync(CFG)) {
+  console.error('KPI-UNIT: FAIL — dashboard.config.js not found at ' + CFG.replace(ROOT + '/', ''))
+  process.exit(1)
+}
+const src = readFileSync(CFG, 'utf8')
+
+// Strip comments before scanning. This file now DOCUMENTS the defect in a comment right above the
+// fixed line, and a naive scan matches that prose and fails on the explanation of the fix — the
+// same self-reference that has bitten three gates in this repo already.
+const code = src.replace(/\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//g, '').replace(/^\s*\/\/.*$/gm, '')
+
+// Each KPI entry is a single-line-ish object literal: { id: '…', label: '…', kind: '…', … }
+const entries = [...code.matchAll(/\{[^{}]*\bid:\s*'([^']+)'[^{}]*\}/g)]
+const offenders = []
+let pctSeen = 0
+
+for (const m of entries) {
+  const body = m[0]
+  const kind = (body.match(/\bkind:\s*'([^']+)'/) || [])[1]
+  if (kind !== 'pct') continue
+  pctSeen++
+  const label = (body.match(/\blabel:\s*'([^']*)'/) || [])[1]
+  if (label && label.includes('%')) offenders.push({ id: m[1], label })
+}
+
+if (!pctSeen) {
+  // A gate that finds nothing to check must say so rather than printing a green PASS. If the
+  // config is refactored so this regex stops matching, silence would read as success forever.
+  console.error("KPI-UNIT: FAIL — found no `kind: 'pct'` KPI entries to check.")
+  console.error('  Either the config changed shape or the parse broke. A gate with nothing to')
+  console.error('  assert is not passing; it is not running.')
+  process.exit(1)
+}
+
+if (offenders.length) {
+  console.error(`KPI-UNIT: FAIL — ${offenders.length} percent KPI label(s) carry a redundant '%'.\n`)
+  for (const o of offenders) {
+    console.error(`  id "${o.id}" has label '${o.label}'`)
+    console.error(`      renders as "<value>%  ${o.label.toUpperCase()}" — the unit twice.`)
+  }
+  console.error("\n  kpiText() returns k.value unchanged for kind:'pct', and that value already")
+  console.error('  carries its percent sign. The VALUE owns the unit; the LABEL says what is being')
+  console.error('  measured. Drop the % from the label.')
+  process.exit(1)
+}
+
+console.log(`KPI-UNIT: PASS — ${pctSeen} percent KPI(s), none repeating the unit in its label.`)
+console.log('  Each half of this bug looks correct alone; only the composition was wrong, which is')
+console.log('  why it was found by reading a screenshot rather than by reading either source file.')
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 52b2d37c2..95531e846 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@
     "check:dxlife": "node internal/check-dxlife-untouched.mjs",
     "check:facet-cascade": "node internal/check-facet-cascade.mjs   # a child facet selection must not outlive its parent: clearing a parent facet must cascade-clear its descendants on EVERY clear path. Asserts on RESULT COUNTS, not DOM — an orphaned child silently ANDs the map to empty. run check:facet-cascade:self-test for the NEGATIVE test (reverts the cascade and requires this gate to FAIL).",
     "check:facet-cascade:self-test": "node internal/check-facet-cascade.mjs --self-test",
-    "build:unlocked": "bun run check:template-literal && bun run check:sfc-parse && bun run clean && bun run token && for d in plugin-designs/*/; do BUNDLE=$(basename \"$d\") bun x vite build || exit 1; done && bun run tree && bun run check:drop && bun run check:parse && bun run verify && bun run check:sri && bun run check:public-hygiene && bun run check:label-joins && bun run check:facet-cascade && bun run check:descriptions && bun run check:no-abs-paths && bun run check:dep-names && bun run check:composite-srcs && bun run check:embed-targets && bun run check:nested-token && bun run gallery",
+    "build:unlocked": "bun run check:template-literal && bun run check:sfc-parse && bun run clean && bun run token && for d in plugin-designs/*/; do BUNDLE=$(basename \"$d\") bun x vite build || exit 1; done && bun run tree && bun run check:drop && bun run check:parse && bun run verify && bun run check:sri && bun run check:public-hygiene && bun run check:label-joins && bun run check:facet-cascade && bun run check:kpi-unit && bun run check:descriptions && bun run check:no-abs-paths && bun run check:dep-names && bun run check:composite-srcs && bun run check:embed-targets && bun run check:nested-token && bun run gallery",
     "check:template-literal": "node internal/template-literal-check.mjs",
     "verify:map-paint": "node internal/verify-map-paint.mjs",
     "check:sri": "node internal/sri-consistency-check.mjs",
@@ -97,7 +97,8 @@
     "check:script-flags": "node internal/check-script-flags-reachable.mjs",
     "check:shell-scroll": "node internal/verify-shell-scroll.mjs",
     "check:no-orphan-gates": "node internal/check-no-orphan-gates.mjs",
-    "check:one-palette": "node internal/check-one-palette.mjs"
+    "check:one-palette": "node internal/check-one-palette.mjs",
+    "check:kpi-unit": "node internal/check-kpi-unit-once.mjs"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@capacitor/android": "^7.6.9",
diff --git a/plugin-designs/research-dashboard/dashboard.config.js b/plugin-designs/research-dashboard/dashboard.config.js
index 79539b1fa..0c7a0419a 100644
--- a/plugin-designs/research-dashboard/dashboard.config.js
+++ b/plugin-designs/research-dashboard/dashboard.config.js
@@ -174,11 +174,16 @@ export default {
   kpis: [
     { id: 'total', label: 'UPGs in scope', kind: 'count', showDelta: true },
     { id: 'pop', label: 'Σ population', kind: 'sum', field: 'population' },
-    { id: 'unreached', label: '% unreached', kind: 'pct',
+    // ★ NO '%' IN A `kind:'pct'` LABEL. kpiText() returns k.value unchanged for pct, and that
+    // value ALREADY carries its percent sign — so a label that also carries one renders
+    // "99%  % UNREACHED". Found by reading the rendered screenshot, not by reading the code:
+    // each half looks correct in isolation and only the composition is wrong, which is why it
+    // survived review. The label says WHAT is measured; the value says how much.
+    { id: 'unreached', label: 'unreached', kind: 'pct',
       test: (r) => !/engaged/i.test(lbl(r.engagement_status)) || /unengaged/i.test(lbl(r.engagement_status)) },
     { id: 'countries', label: 'countries touched', kind: 'distinct', field: 'country_code', via: 'geoIso' },
     { id: 'praying', label: 'Σ praying', kind: 'sum', field: 'people_praying' },
-    { id: 'adopted', label: 'Adopted %', kind: 'pct', test: (r) => Number(r.adopted_by_churches) > 0 },
+    { id: 'adopted', label: 'adopted', kind: 'pct', test: (r) => Number(r.adopted_by_churches) > 0 },
   ],
 
   // ── table columns ── (DashboardDataTable)
@@ -220,6 +225,18 @@ export default {
     { key: 'engagement', label: 'Engagement', get: (r) => lbl(r.engagement_status), type: 'str', w: 0.97 },
   ],
 
+  // ── map ── (DashboardMapPanel)
+  // `paper` = "near-white minimal — data reads like print". The style registry
+  // (library/styles/registry.js) already listed `research-dashboard` as this style's own
+  // `bestFor` target, and already resolves the name on BOTH engines — Mapbox light-v11 and
+  // the keyless MapLibre Positron. It was simply never set here, so the panel silently took
+  // each engine's default instead. CARTO ships Positron expressly as the basemap "good for
+  // POINT data", which is exactly this map's job, so this is an alignment, not a new choice.
+  // One line, and it survives the MapLibre swap unchanged.
+  map: {
+    mapStyle: 'paper',
+  },
+
   // ── charts ── (DashboardChartsRail)
   charts: [
     { id: 'religion', type: 'donut', facet: 'religion', title: 'Religion', topN: 8 },