What ETC Institute does

ETC Institute, founded in 1982 and headquartered in Olathe, Kansas, is a privately held B2B market research firm that designs and administers survey-based research for government clients. Its work is concentrated in three product lines — community surveys for city and county governments, transportation surveys for transit authorities, and organizational surveys for government agencies and nonprofits — supported by the proprietary DirectionFinder® survey methodology and DirectionFinder 2.0 interactive data dashboards. The technology stack includes custom mobile survey applications, geocoding/GIS mapping, sentiment analysis, and a national benchmarking database covering more than 100 types of local governmental services. ETC Institute also publishes the annual "Leading the Way" awards program, which recognizes local government service excellence and functions as a relationship-driven lead-generation channel. The company holds CCPA-compliant data handling practices and reports coverage across 49 U.S. states, with over 265 communities served and over 400 transportation-related data collection efforts completed.

The firm operates as a professional services business with contract-based pricing negotiated through government procurement, typically on multi-year terms with renewal options. Recurring community survey contracts run on 1–2 year cycles, while transportation engagements are frequently tied to federal funding requirements and demographic data mandates. Sales are direct and relationship-driven, targeting city managers, mayors, county executives, transit authorities, and parks and recreation departments. Leadership is held by an executive team including CEO Chris Tatham, Founder & President Elaine Tatham, CFO Greg Emas, and Director of Community Research Jason Morado; ownership appears to be independent and closely held, with no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or acquisition activity. ETC Institute was named a 2024 Kansas City Business Journal Fast 50 company, a cohort that posted average annual revenue growth above 53% over the prior two years.

In April 2025, ETC Institute extended its footprint internationally for the first time, partnering with the Addis Ababa City Administration Transport Bureau (alongside Shaka Analytics) to deliver a transportation and parking systems survey across six corridors in Ethiopia. Domestically, the company has pursued consortium-style delivery on larger municipal engagements, including a Parks and Recreation Master Plan for Gilbert, Arizona alongside BerryDunn, J2 Engineering, and The Design Laboratory. ETC Institute is independently owned, privately held, actively operating, and has remained free of disclosed regulatory actions, restructuring events, or capital raises through the period covered by the available data.

Name

ETC Institute

Legal name

ETC Institute

Website

https://etcinstitute.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ETC Institute is a privately held B2B market research firm founded in 1982 that designs and administers survey-based research — community, transportation, and organizational surveys — for city, county, and transit authority government clients across the United States, using its proprietary DirectionFinder® methodology and benchmarking database.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Community surveys
• Transportation surveys
• Government survey research
• Resident satisfaction surveys

Headquarters

HQ city

Olathe

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Community Survey Services: Recurring survey contracts with city and county governments for resident satisfaction surveys, typically conducted every 1-2 years. Contracts include survey design, administration, data analysis, and dashboard delivery.
2. Transportation Survey Services: Specialized transit surveys including onboard ridership surveys, household travel surveys, and workplace/establishment surveys for transit authorities and transportation agencies. Often multi-year engagements with federal funding compliance components.
3. Organizational Survey Services: Employee satisfaction and internal communication surveys for government organizations and nonprofits. Typically shorter-term projects tied to HR and organizational development initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ETC Institute designs, administers, and analyzes surveys for city, county, and state government agencies, transit authorities, and nonprofit organizations across the United States. Its offerings span community satisfaction surveys, transportation/ridership surveys, and organizational/employee surveys, supported by the proprietary DirectionFinder® survey methodology and interactive dashboard platform for benchmarking against national datasets covering 100+ local government service types.

Product overview

ETC Institute is a market research and survey administration firm founded in 1982 that offers a comprehensive suite of survey solutions and data analysis services primarily for government agencies and transit authorities. The core offering consists of three main survey product lines: Community Surveys, Transportation Surveys (including onboard transit, household travel, and commercial vehicle surveys), and Organizational Surveys. These are supported by the DirectionFinder® Dashboard platform, which provides interactive data visualization and benchmarking capabilities. Additional services include responder engagement tools, advanced data analysis with sentiment analysis and GIS mapping, and strategic insights consulting. The company also offers custom mobile survey applications as add-on tools for field data collection. Together, these products enable clients to gather, analyze, and act on community feedback to inform decision-making and service delivery improvements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DirectionFinder: A survey platform and methodology used for community satisfaction surveys, providing interactive data dashboards and benchmarking analysis.
• DirectionFinder 2.0

Products and services

• Community Surveys
• Transportation Surveys
• Organizational Surveys
• DirectionFinder® Dashboard Platform
• Data Analysis Services
• Strategic Insights Consulting
• Responder Engagement Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Clients typically achieve 73% streamlining of survey processes
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Shaka AnalyticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2025Partnership with Shaka Analytics for the Addis Ababa City Administration Transportation and Parking Systems Survey. ETC Institute provided design and analysis expertise while Shaka Analytics led data collection efforts. The collaboration supported assessment of transportation patterns, transit accessibility, and parking utilization across six key corridors in Ethiopia's capital, helping inform long-term strategies for reducing congestion and improving walkability.
• Addis Ababa City Administration Transport BureauflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership for transportation survey project in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The bureau provided official endorsement and collaboration for a comprehensive transportation and parking systems impact assessment, focusing on six key corridors to assess transportation patterns and support the city's infrastructure goals including reducing traffic congestion and enhancing green corridors.
• BerryDunnminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsulting partnership for Gilbert Town Council Parks and Recreation Master Plan development. BerryDunn collaborated with ETC Institute and J2 Engineering to integrate feedback from over 60,000 community members for comprehensive recreational facility and program planning.
• J2 EngineeringminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering partnership for Gilbert Town Council Parks and Recreation Master Plan, working alongside ETC Institute and BerryDunn to develop a comprehensive blueprint for recreational facilities and programs.
• The Design LaboratoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign partnership for Gilbert Town Council Parks and Recreation Master Plan, contributing design expertise to the multidisciplinary team developing the town's recreational facilities plan.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Gallup: Gallup is a global analytics and consulting firm that conducts survey research, including government and public-sector studies (e.g., the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index, State of the States). Comparable survey expertise but operates at significantly larger scale and broader scope.
• Qualtrics: Qualtrics is a large-scale experience management platform used by public-sector and government clients for citizen, employee, and constituent surveys. Comparable as a competitor for government survey spend but as a broad enterprise SaaS platform rather than a specialized community-survey firm.
• Zogby International: Zogby International is a long-established public opinion and market research firm conducting polling and survey research for government, political, and commercial clients. Comparable in survey methodology and government client work, but broader in scope including political polling and consumer research.

Direct peers

• SurveyUSA: SurveyUSA is a market research and public opinion polling firm conducting statistically valid surveys for government, media, and commercial clients. Comparable in survey methodology, public-sector client work, and use of proprietary polling infrastructure.
• FM3 Research: FM3 Research is a California-based public opinion and market research firm specializing in surveys for cities, counties, transit agencies, and public agencies. Directly comparable to ETC in target customers (local government), methodology (statistically valid surveys), and service lines (resident satisfaction, transportation, and ballot measure research).
• Magellan Strategies: Magellan Strategies is a political and public-opinion research firm that conducts resident satisfaction surveys, community surveys, and bond/ballot measure surveys for cities, counties, and school districts. Comparable to ETC in target customer (local government), recurring survey model, and emphasis on benchmarking.
• Polco (National Research Center): Polco, formerly National Research Center, is a direct peer offering community engagement surveys, benchmarking, and a civic engagement platform to city and county governments. Competes head-to-head with ETC Institute for the same municipal client base using statistically valid surveys and national benchmarking data.
• True North Research: True North Research is a public opinion research firm that conducts resident satisfaction surveys, community surveys, and quality-of-life studies for cities, counties, and special districts in the Western U.S. Directly comparable in target customer and survey methodology.
• Probolsky Research: Probolsky Research is a public opinion and market research firm that designs and conducts community, transportation, and employee surveys for public agencies. Comparable in methodology, customer base (municipal and transit agencies), and use of dashboards/benchmarking deliverables.

Regional players

• BerryDunn: BerryDunn is a New England-based consulting firm whose practice areas include government consulting and survey/benchmarking work; ETC has partnered with BerryDunn on community master planning projects. Overlapping in government-sector survey and consulting services but broader in scope and Northeast-regionally focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EtcInstitute
• Facebookfacebook.com/etcinstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/etc-institute

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ETC Institute