NRI

What NRI does

NRI, Inc. is a Falls Church, Virginia-based nonprofit behavioral health research and data organization founded in 1989 (per company history) to analyze state mental health hospital data. The company serves all 59 U.S. states and territories, federal agencies (notably the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA), and approximately 200 inpatient psychiatric facilities, providing standardized performance measurement, data reporting, and quality improvement services for the public behavioral health sector.

NRI's core technology is the Behavioral Healthcare Performance Measurement System (BHPMS), a data platform that supports benchmarking, analytics, and regulatory reporting across the behavioral health continuum. BHPMS powers the Inpatient Consumer Survey (ICS)—a 28-item validated instrument endorsed by the National Quality Forum as "Best in Class" and used by 87 to over 100 facilities—and integrates with the Uniform Reporting System (URS) and Mental Health Client-Level Data (MH-CLD) framework operated in partnership with SAMHSA. Adjacent products include the State Profiling System (longitudinal data on state mental health agencies dating to 1996), the Criminal Justice & Mental Health Research Center, and program-specific offerings for First Episode Psychosis, tobacco cessation, and premature mortality research among persons with serious mental illness. NRI's senior staff also serve on CMS and Joint Commission technical advisory panels, embedding the organization in federal quality rulemaking.

NRI generates revenue primarily through annual subscription and professional service contracts with state behavioral health agencies, federal partnerships with SAMHSA for data processing, and low-fee annual subscriptions for ICS benchmarking. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company operates as a sales-led, relationship-based consultancy with no public listing, no disclosed funding rounds, and no parent company, and is governed by a Board of Directors.

Name

NRI

Legal name

NRI, Inc.

Website

https://nri-inc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NRI is a Falls Church, Virginia-based nonprofit that provides behavioral health data, performance measurement, and quality improvement services to all 59 U.S. state and territory mental health agencies, SAMHSA, and approximately 200 inpatient psychiatric facilities via its BHPMS platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Behavioral Health Data and Research Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Behavioral Health Population Health, Quality & Outcomes Measurement (HLAEAHAI)

Keywords

• Behavioral health data
• Performance measurement systems
• Mental health research
• State agency reporting
• Psychiatric facility benchmarking

Headquarters

HQ city

Falls Church

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Behavioral Health Agency Services: Annual customized services to state behavioral health agencies including data processing, review, and analyses. NRI works with all 59 states and U.S. territories to enhance their data reporting capacities.
2. ICS Benchmarking Services: Low annual fee for ICS benchmarking services that provides facilities access to all BHPMS services including personalized customer service and performance comparison capabilities.
3. Survey Development and Validation Services: Expert statistical services to determine survey reliability and validity for client populations, including analysis of sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NRI delivers behavioral health data, research, and performance measurement services to state mental health agencies and inpatient psychiatric facilities. Its flagship BHPMS platform enables benchmarking, quality improvement, and regulatory reporting, while the ICS survey instruments and URS/MH-CLD systems support standardized data collection. NRI also provides survey validation, mortality research, policy evaluation, and criminal justice mental health research services.

Product overview

NRI is a behavioral health research and data organization offering a unified portfolio of products and services centered on data standards, performance measurement, and quality improvement for behavioral health systems. The core platform is the Behavioral Healthcare Performance Measurement System (BHPMS), which powers the Inpatient Consumer Survey (ICS) and supports state mental health agency reporting through the Uniform Reporting System (URS) and Mental Health Client-Level Data (MH-CLD) systems. NRI's Performance & Quality Improvement (PQI) division drives data-driven quality strategies, while the Criminal Justice & Mental Health Research Center provides specialized program evaluation and survey development services. The State Profiling System provides longitudinal data on state mental health agencies dating back to 1996. Additional services include survey validation, data analysis, mortality research, policy evaluation, and specialized programs for first episode psychosis and tobacco cessation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Behavioral Healthcare Performance Measurement System (BHPMS) A comprehensive performance measurement system that equips behavioral health organizations with timely performance data to facilitate evaluation, comparison, and improvement of quality-of-care processes. Includes benchmarking data, data analytics, and state and national data reporting capabilities for nearly 200 inpatient psychiatric facilities.
• Inpatient Consumer Survey (ICS) A 28-item self-administered survey available in English and Spanish that measures six domains including outcomes of care, dignity, rights, participation in treatment, facility environment, and empowerment. Endorsed by the National Quality Forum as 'Best in Class' and used by over 100 US psychiatric facilities.
• Performance & Quality Improvement (PQI) Division A division that establishes data standards, optimizes data processes, and promotes continuous improvement through data-driven insights that inform quality of care strategies. Drives NRI's quality measurement consulting through BHPMS.
• Criminal Justice & Mental Health Research Center A research center that conducts independent program evaluations and offers evaluation support services, including designing evaluations before project implementation, data analysis, and survey development for justice-involved populations and forensic mental health programs.
• State Profiling System A database tracking State Mental Health Agency initiatives dating back to 1996, providing detailed information on organization, service systems, eligible populations, policy issues, consumer data, fiscal resources, and research initiatives across all 59 states and territories.
• Uniform Reporting System (URS) and Mental Health Client-Level Data (MH-CLD) Annual data reporting systems through which states and territories submit URS and MH-CLD data to NRI for processing, review, and analyses, supporting SAMHSA's Community Mental Health Block Grant reporting requirements across all 59 states and territories.
• Annual Customized State Behavioral Health Agency Service Annual customized services for state behavioral health agencies providing ongoing support and data analysis, working with all 59 states and U.S. territories to enhance their data reporting capacities.
• Survey Development and Validation Services Expert statistical services to determine survey reliability and validity for client populations, including sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value analysis for behavioral health organizations.
• Data Analysis and Resource Evaluation Services for analyzing and interpreting state-specific results to determine factors influencing mortality rates and other behavioral health outcomes for state behavioral health agencies.
• Policy and Program Planning and Evaluation Expertise in conducting policy and program planning and evaluation at macro and micro levels, including multi-state evaluations of evidence-based practices, Medicaid expansion implications, and Olmstead policy evaluations.
• Mortality Studies & Research Research services investigating premature mortality among persons with serious mental illness, working with states to prepare data files, analyze results, and produce detailed state-specific reports.
• Olmstead and Other Legal Issues Services addressing Olmstead policy evaluations and legal compliance issues related to community integration for individuals with mental illnesses.

Quantifiable outcome

• Missouri narrowed the mortality gap by 10 years for persons with serious mental illness through partnership with NRI to investigate premature mortality causality
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• SAMHSA Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (CBHSQ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNRI works with SAMHSA's CBHSQ through a collaborative partnership to enhance state data reporting capacities, increase use of data in system oversight and planning, and facilitate reporting of Community Mental Health Block Grant performance measures and National Outcome Measures (NOMs).
• SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with CMHS to support the Uniform Reporting System (URS), which is part of the Mental Health Block Grant Implementation Report that State Mental Health Agencies are required to submit to CMHS every December 1.
• Eagle Technologies, Inc.supportingTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner in the collaborative partnership with SAMHSA for enhancing state data reporting capacities and processing Uniform Reporting System and Mental Health Client-Level Data.
• National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNRI engaged NASMHPD and NAPHS to participate in the first public-private test of common performance measures for psychiatric hospitals, which led to the development of HBIPS core measure sets and Joint Commission involvement.
• National Association of Psychiatric Healthcare Systems (NAPHS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with NRI and NASMHPD in the development of the Hospital-Based Inpatient Psychiatric Services (HBIPS) core measure set, engaging The Joint Commission for psychiatric hospital quality standards.
• American Psychiatric Association (APA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipated with NRI, NASMHPD, and NAPHS in engaging The Joint Commission to develop core measure sets for psychiatric hospitals, contributing to the HBIPS measure development.
• The Joint CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNRI has been on The Joint Commission's list of acceptable vendors for their ORYX initiative since its inception. NRI was a key member in the development of the Hospital-Based Inpatient Psychiatric Services (HBIPS) core measure set.
• Missouri State Mental Health AgencysupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMissouri partnered with NRI to investigate causality of high mortality rates among behavioral health consumers, resulting in the state narrowing the mortality gap by 10 years for persons with serious mental illness.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Westat: Westat is a large employee-owned research firm providing statistical, survey, and evaluation services to federal and state agencies, including health and behavioral health programs - comparable to NRI's survey validation, data analysis, and policy evaluation services.
• RTI International: RTI International is a nonprofit research institute providing scientific and technical research services to government and commercial clients, including SAMHSA-funded behavioral health work - directly comparable to NRI's research and data services model.
• Mathematica Policy Research: Mathematica conducts policy research and program evaluation for federal, state, and foundation clients across health and human services, including behavioral health and Medicaid - comparable to NRI's policy and program planning, evaluation, and Olmstead policy work.
• JBS International: JBS International is a behavioral health research and technical assistance firm that works extensively with SAMHSA, HRSA, and state agencies on evaluation, training, and data analysis - directly comparable to NRI's federal/state behavioral health research and program evaluation mandate.
• Abt Associates: Abt Associates is a research and consulting firm serving federal, state, and commercial clients across health, behavioral health, and social policy - comparable to NRI's research, evaluation, and data services for state and federal behavioral health agencies.
• NORC at the University of Chicago: NORC is an independent research organization conducting survey, evaluation, and data analytics for federal agencies and major foundations, including health services research - comparable to NRI's applied behavioral health research and national data reporting services.
• The Lewin Group (Optum Advisory): Lewin provides health and human services policy consulting, including behavioral health program evaluation and state Medicaid analysis for government clients - comparable to NRI's policy, program planning, and evaluation services for state behavioral health agencies.

Broad incumbents

• ICF International: ICF provides research, analytics, and technology services to government clients in health, energy, and other sectors, including HHS/SAMHSA work - comparable as a broader incumbent offering overlapping data and research services to NRI's federal/state behavioral health clients.
• Press Ganey: Press Ganey is a leading patient experience and healthcare performance measurement firm that partners with hospitals and health systems on benchmarking and quality improvement - comparable to NRI's ICS benchmarking and BHPMS performance measurement offerings, but at broader scale.

Emerging players

• Health Catalyst: Health Catalyst is a healthcare data and analytics platform serving health systems on quality, population health, and performance measurement - partial overlap with NRI's data platform and benchmarking focus, but primarily commercial-provider oriented rather than public behavioral health agencies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/nriinc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 NRI