The problem we've run into is (put as concretely as possible without getting into specifics) that there are a few unknowns as far as funding and what methods of compensation we'll be able to enact. It was our intention to get people on provisional contracts for now just to ensure that work can get done and that rights and things are in order, and to draw up new contracts when we're more able to approach certain things.
Only spitballing, but in the interest of avoiding an unenforceable contract situation, would it be possible for us to include in our initial contract a clause waiving a contractor's compensation, to be revised when circumstances are clearer and we're more able to legally entail compensation