What Decision Research does

Decision Research is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) research corporation founded in 1976 by Paul Slovic, Baruch Fischhoff, and Sarah Lichtenstein, headquartered in Springfield, Oregon. The institute investigates human judgment, decision making, and risk through behavioral science methodologies drawing on cognitive science, social psychology, and cognitive neuroscience, with twelve research scientists distributed across four countries and applied work spanning aviation, business, environmental issues, finance, healthcare, intelligence analysis, and terrorism. Its portfolio of products includes TRIAD (a NASA-supported computerized risk-assessment methodology), multimedia pilot training programs on in-flight and ground icing, and the 'Arithmetic of Compassion' educational website, supported by an output of over 1,000 publications.

The organization does not sell products in a commercial sense; instead, revenue is generated through government research grants and contracts (with primary funding from the EPA, NSF, NIH, and NASA), private-sector research and consulting engagements, and tax-deductible donations. Distribution occurs through peer-reviewed publications, books, direct consulting with federal and international agencies, and partnerships with academic institutions including the University of Oregon, USC, Linköping University, and Yale, where several research scientists hold affiliated faculty positions.

The institute's competitive position rests on the academic credentials of its research leadership — including Paul Slovic's elections to the National Academy of Sciences (2016) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2015), and his 2022 Bower Award — and on long-tenured collaborations with federal agencies such as NASA Ames and the FAA on aviation safety research. Strategic emphasis is on translating foundational research on heuristics, biases, affect, and risk perception into applied tools and policy-relevant findings for government and international clients.

Name

Decision Research

Legal name

Decision Science Research Institute, Inc.

Website

https://decisionresearch.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Decision Research is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research institute founded in 1976, with twelve research scientists across four countries investigating human judgment, decision making, and risk, funded primarily by US federal grants and serving government agencies and applied domains including aviation, healthcare, and environmental policy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Behavioral Decision Science Research

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Management Consulting Services (54161), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Policy, Regulatory & Public Affairs Research (BPAHALAF), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) & Due Diligence (BPAHAJAB), Quantitative Research & Survey Analytics (Survey Design, Sampling, Statistical Modeling) (MPAAALAF)

Keywords

• Behavioral decision research
• Risk perception analysis
• Judgment under uncertainty
• Risk assessment consulting
• Aviation safety research

Headquarters

HQ city

Springfield

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Research Grants and Contracts: Decision Research receives funding from US government agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This constitutes primary funding for their research programs.
2. Private Sector Research and Consulting: Funding from private companies and philanthropic organizations for applied research and consulting engagements related to decision making and risk analysis.
3. Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals and organizations to support Decision Research's mission of studying human judgment and decision making.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Decision Research is a nonprofit behavioral decision science research institute that investigates human judgment, decision making, and risk. It delivers applied research, methodological tools (notably the NASA-supported TRIAD risk assessment framework), multimedia aviation safety training, and consulting services to federal agencies, private companies, and international organizations across aviation, environmental, healthcare, finance, intelligence, and policy domains.

Product overview

Decision Research offers a portfolio of research-based tools and educational resources focused on human judgment, decision making, and risk analysis. The core offerings include TRIAD, a computerized risk assessment tool developed with NASA support; NASA-funded aviation safety training programs (A Pilot's Guide to In-Flight Icing and A Pilot's Guide to Ground Icing); and The Arithmetic of Compassion educational website. The organization also provides numeracy research and risk communication consulting services. These products work together to help individuals and organizations understand and cope with complex and risky decisions across domains including aviation, environmental management, healthcare, and public policy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TRIAD - Tool for Risk Identification, Assessment, & Display A computerized methodology for conducting risk assessments developed with NASA support. It structures and focuses the assessment process, accommodates both hard data and expert judgment, separates consequence judgments by type, and is designed for flexible application in government, industry, and business.
• A Pilot's Guide to In-Flight Icing Multimedia web-based training program designed to educate professional pilots about in-flight icing conditions, including how to avoid ice, detect ice, minimize exposure to dangerous conditions, and exit icing conditions.
• A Pilot's Guide to Ground Icing Multimedia web-based training program providing practical information for professional pilots regarding ground icing conditions during operations.
• The Arithmetic of Compassion Educational website launched in 2016 to teach people about psychological barriers to compassion including psychic numbing, pseudoinefficacy, and the prominence effect — the concept that 'the more who die, the less we care.'
• Risk and Uncertainty Communication Research and Consulting Research and consulting on risk and uncertainty communication to facilitate sound decision making across domains including health, intelligence forecasting, finance, and environmental risk management.
• Numeracy Research and Decision Support Basic and applied research on numeracy and decision making, focused on helping people with low numeracy understand and use complex numerical information to make real-world choices.

Quantifiable outcome

• Paul Slovic received 2022 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science from the Franklin Institute
• +2 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and notable.

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASA supported the development of TRIAD (Tool for Risk Identification, Assessment, & Display), a computerized risk assessment methodology. Also collaborated on aviation safety research including training programs for pilots on aircraft icing.
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPA is one of the primary government funding sources for Decision Research's environmental decision making and risk perception research.
• National Science Foundation (NSF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNSF provides funding for Decision Research's fundamental research on judgment, decision making, and risk analysis.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIH funds Decision Research projects related to health economics, healthcare decision making, and health risk communication.
• University of OregoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaul Slovic serves as Professor of Psychology at University of Oregon. Many researchers have affiliations with academic institutions for collaborative research.
• University of Southern California (USC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoseph Arvai is Dana and David Dornsife Professor of Psychology and Director of the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies at USC. Collaborative research on environmental decision making.
• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAA collaborated on aviation safety research including human-oriented procedure design and pilot training programs.
• Linköping University (Sweden)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDaniel Västfjäll is Professor of Cognitive Psychology at Linköping University in Sweden and senior research scientist at Decision Research.
• Yale UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnthony Leiserowitz is Director of the Yale Project on Climate Change and associate research scientist at Decision Research.
• National Academy of SciencesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaul Slovic elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2016. Joseph Arvai is a member of the NAS Board on Environmental Change and Society.
• Stockholm School of EconomicsnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaul Slovic received honorary doctorate from Stockholm School of Economics in 1996.
• Delta School District (British Columbia)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Delta School District to explore possibilities for systemic changes in students' decision-making skills through structured curriculum development.
• NASA Ames Research CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with NASA researchers on aviation safety projects including pilot decision making training and aircraft icing research.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• RTI International: Nonprofit scientific research institute providing research and technical services to government and commercial clients. Comparable as a contract-research organization with similar federal funding sources (NIH, NSF, EPA) and applied research focus.
• Ideas42: Nonprofit behavioral science research and design organization. Comparable as an applied behavioral science nonprofit working with government and foundations on decision-making interventions and policy design.
• Resources for the Future: Independent nonprofit research institution focused on environmental, energy, and natural resource policy. Comparable as a nonprofit research institute with deep federal funding ties and overlapping environmental decision-making research focus.
• RAND Corporation: Nonprofit research institute that conducts policy analysis and behavioral research for government agencies. Directly comparable as a federally-funded, multi-disciplinary research organization with deep government client relationships and a similar nonprofit funding model.
• Behavioural Insights Team: Organization applying behavioral science to policy and public service challenges. Directly comparable focus on translating behavioral decision research into government and institutional practice, with overlapping consulting offerings.

Emerging players

• Center for Decision Sciences (Columbia University): University-based research center focused on human judgment and decision making. Overlapping academic research scope in behavioral decision science, though operating within a larger university research structure.
• Yale Program on Climate Change Communication: Yale-based research program studying public climate opinion and communication. Anthony Leiserowitz directs this program while also serving as associate research scientist at Decision Research, making it a directly connected peer.
• National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE): USC-based DHS Center of Excellence conducting risk and decision analysis research for security applications. Directly comparable research agenda on terrorism risk perception and William Burns (Decision Research) maintains an affiliation.

Broad incumbents

• SRI International: Large nonprofit scientific research institute with broad R&D capabilities across many domains. Comparable nonprofit contract-research model with federal clients, but at significantly larger scale and broader technical scope.

Regional players

• International Risk Governance Council (IRGC): International organization focused on risk governance frameworks and decision-making under uncertainty. Comparable research focus on risk perception, assessment, and communication, but with a primarily European institutional base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/decision-research

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Decision Research