Fieldwork

What Fieldwork does

Fieldwork is a privately-held qualitative market research services company founded in 1980 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It operates a network of 14 owned research facilities across major U.S. metropolitan markets (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago-Downtown, Chicago-Schaumburg, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles-Orange County, Minneapolis, New York City, Northern New Jersey, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle), supplemented by medical simulation centers in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and Denver, a mobile facility service (Fieldwork Anywhere), and a virtual research platform (Webwork) launched in 2012. The company sells access to physical and virtual venues, participant recruiting (through a 150+ specialist bench and multi-step screening processes), end-to-end project management, and a global field management offering that coordinates international research through vetted local partners across the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East/Africa.

The underlying technology stack is conventional for the industry: integrated HD recording and streaming in every conference room, secure participant databases, online bulletin boards, webcam-based focus group hosting, and dedicated recruiting call-center infrastructure. Specialized physical assets include adjustable hospital beds, patient care manikins, and one-way mirrored observation rooms in medical simulation locations. Operations are supported by compliance with HIPAA, COPPA, GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, the Insights Association Code of Standards, and other regional privacy regimes. The product portfolio also includes niche offerings such as Mock Jury research environments and user/customer experience testing services with blind recruitment and NDA management.

The business model is project-based and price-on-quote, with revenue streams spanning facility rental, participant recruiting (paid incentives plus recruiter fees), managed research services, and virtual research subscriptions. The customer base is reported at 2,700+ clients and is diversified across market research agencies, consumer goods companies, healthcare and pharmaceutical firms (with particular depth in medical device usability and FDA-related human factors work), legal services clients (mock jury), and consultancies. Pricing is custom by location, room configuration, and recruiting scope; no public pricing exists and the company is privately held with no disclosed revenue, institutional investors, M&A, or leadership changes.

Name

Fieldwork

Legal name

Fieldwork, Inc.

Website

https://fieldwork.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Fieldwork is a privately-held qualitative market research services firm founded in 1980, operating 14 U.S. research facilities, medical simulation centers, and a virtual research platform. It serves market research agencies, healthcare, consumer goods, and legal clients with facility rental, participant recruiting, and managed research services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Qualitative Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)

Keywords

• Market research facilities
• Focus group recruiting
• Qualitative research services
• Medical simulation research
• Virtual market research

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Facility Rental and Venue Services: Rental of market research facilities including conference rooms, viewing rooms, lounges, and specialized spaces (Flex rooms, medical simulation centers, test kitchens) with integrated technology and support staff.
2. Participant Recruiting Services: Ethically recruited participants through multi-step screening processes, local recruiting, and national database management for focus groups, interviews, and research studies.
3. Research Project Management: End-to-end qualitative research management including global field management, virtual research support, and coordination across multiple locations and markets.
4. Virtual Research Services (Webwork): Online qualitative research capabilities including live webcam interviews, online bulletin boards, and virtual session hosting with technical support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Fieldwork operates a network of 14 U.S. market research facilities providing physical venues for qualitative research (focus groups, interviews, usability testing) supported by 150+ recruiting specialists, in-house HD recording/streaming, medical simulation centers, and the Webwork virtual research platform. Services include participant recruiting, project management, global field management through international partners, and specialized capabilities such as mock jury research and medical device usability testing.

Product overview

Fieldwork is a qualitative market research support company operating a network of physical and virtual research environments across the United States and globally. The core offering consists of Market Research Environments & Facilities providing physical venues in 13 U.S. cities (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago-Downtown, Chicago-Suburbs, Dallas, Denver, LA-Orange County, Minneapolis, New York City, Northern New Jersey, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle) complemented by Virtual Market Research (Webwork) for online qualitative studies and Fieldwork Anywhere for mobile/pop-up facilities. Supporting services include Recruiting Services with 150+ specialists, Global Field Management for international coordination, and specialized capabilities such as Medical Simulation Centers (Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver), UX/CX Research, Mock Jury Research, and Medical Device Usability Testing. The portfolio is completed by the Fieldwork Ambassador Program for community engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Market Research Environments & Facilities In-person qualitative research facilities across 13 U.S. cities offering flexible conference rooms, observation/viewing areas, lounges, HD recording, and streaming capabilities for focus groups, in-depth interviews, taste tests, and product trials. Used by market research firms and corporate research sponsors.
• Virtual Market Research (Webwork) Online qualitative research platform providing live webcam interviews, online bulletin boards, and virtual focus groups with hands-on technical support and full-service project management. Targets market researchers needing remote participant engagement.
• Fieldwork Anywhere Mobile or pop-up facility service that brings Fieldwork's research capabilities, technology, and specialized recruitment to any location nationwide outside existing permanent facilities. Targets clients needing research in cities without a Fieldwork-owned location.
• Global Field Management International research coordination service providing single-point-of-contact project management with vetted local partners across the Americas, Europe, Asia/Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, including language, cultural, and time zone management for multi-country qualitative studies.
• Recruiting Services Human-centric participant recruitment service spanning medical research (patients, healthcare professionals), consumer research, and B2B research, featuring ethically recruited participants through multi-step screening processes. Fielded by 150+ recruiting specialists across local and national databases.
• Medical Simulation Centers Realistic clinical environment facilities in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and Denver featuring adjustable hospital beds, patient care manikins, medical-grade equipment, locking storage, and one-way mirrored observation rooms. Supports FDA approval-related medical device usability and human factors testing.
• UX/CX Research User experience and customer experience research services including expert blind recruitment, device distribution, NDA management, and robust security measures for streamlined UX/CX testing. Targets product teams needing secure user research.
• Mock Jury Research Realistic courtroom simulation environments with representative sample recruitment, juror management, comprehensive recording capabilities, and trial preparation support for legal case testing and evaluation.
• Medical Device Usability Testing Human factors testing services leveraging flexible medical simulation setups, rigorous privacy standards (HIPAA-compliant), extensive user testing expertise, and specialized recruitment for FDA medical device approval research.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2700+ clients supported in gaining insights
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Privacy Policy Compliance PartnersminorOthersFieldwork complies with various privacy laws and standards including HIPAA, COPPA, GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and U.S. state privacy laws in Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah. The company adheres to Insights Association Code of Standards and Ethics for Market Research and Data Analytics.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Dynata: Dynata operates one of the world's largest first-party research data and panel networks, overlapping with Fieldwork's participant recruitment capabilities while serving a much broader online research market.
• Toluna: Toluna is a global online panel and market research provider serving consumer insights, product testing, and survey research — broader than Fieldwork's physical-facility focus, but competing for the same enterprise market research budgets.

Emerging players

• Respondent.io: Respondent operates an online marketplace for recruiting research participants across B2B and consumer studies, emerging as a low-friction alternative to traditional facility-based recruiting models like Fieldwork's.
• User Interviews: User Interviews is a self-serve online platform for recruiting research participants and running remote qualitative studies — an emerging substitute for Fieldwork's traditional in-person focus group and recruiting service, particularly for mid-market and consumer research.

Direct peers

• L&E Research: L&E Research runs owned qualitative research facilities in multiple U.S. cities with participant recruiting capabilities, competing with Fieldwork for the same facility-rental and recruiting budgets.
• Focus Pointe Global: Focus Pointe Global runs owned focus group facilities in major U.S. markets along with participant recruiting and qualitative project management — essentially the same product-market fit as Fieldwork's in-person research offerings.
• Schlesinger Group: Schlesinger Group operates a global network of qualitative research facilities, recruiting, and project management services, directly competing with Fieldwork's facility-and-recruiting model across the U.S. and Europe.
• Action Research Partners: Action Research Partners provides focus group facilities, medical and consumer recruiting, and qualitative project management — closely overlapping Fieldwork's core in-person research service set.
• Recon Market Research: Recon MR operates a network of qualitative research facilities and field management services in the U.S. and Canada, providing comparable facility rental and recruiting services to research agencies and enterprises.
• Greenberg Qualitative Research: Greenberg Qualitative Research is a U.S. focus group facility and recruiting firm serving consumer and healthcare research clients, directly comparable to Fieldwork's facility/recruiting core.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fieldworkinc
• Facebookfacebook.com/FieldworkInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fieldwork
• Instagraminstagram.com/fieldwork_inc

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Fieldwork