Research Collective
Research Collective is a Tempe, Arizona human factors engineering consultancy that conducts usability research and FDA regulatory submission support for medical device manufacturers and combination product developers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersTempe, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Research Collective does
Research Collective, LLC is a human factors engineering and user experience research consultancy headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. Founded in 2003 and led by Russell Branaghan, a PhD cognitive psychologist and Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University, the firm specializes in supporting medical device manufacturers and healthcare product companies through usability research, formative and summative human factors validation, use-related risk analysis, regulatory strategy, and instructional material development aligned with FDA Human Factors Guidance.
The firm's service portfolio centers on four interconnected offerings: (1) human factors and UX research engagements, (2) a state-of-the-art usability laboratory available for rent or co-use, (3) customizable training and education workshops for client internal teams, and (4) participant recruiting for usability studies. The on-site Tempe lab is equipped with PTZ Optics cameras, Audio-Technica wireless audio systems, and DJI wireless microphones, supporting high-fidelity session capture for medical device validation studies. The team has executed over 1,000 participant sessions in 2023.
Commercially, Research Collective operates as an enterprise professional services firm targeting medical device manufacturers and combination product developers seeking FDA regulatory compliance. It does not publish pricing, engages clients through direct website and phone outreach, and is structured as an Arizona LLC with no institutional investors. Thought leadership assets, including a published book with Springer-Nature (Humanizing Healthcare) and an active blog and YouTube channel, function as primary inbound demand channels. Geographic footprint remains domestic and concentrated around the Tempe facility.
Research Collective firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Research Collective
- Legal name
- Research Collective, LLC
- Website
- https://research-collective.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Research Collective is a Tempe, Arizona human factors engineering consultancy that conducts usability research and FDA regulatory submission support for medical device manufacturers and combination product developers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Research Collective industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Human Factors Research Consulting for Medical Devices
- NAICS
- Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)
Keywords
Where Research Collective is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tempe
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Research Collective business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Human Factors Research Consulting: Professional consulting services for human factors engineering and usability research for medical device manufacturers seeking FDA regulatory compliance. Includes generative and evaluative user research, regulatory strategy, and instructional material development.
- Lab Rental and Research Space: Rental of state-of-the-art research and usability laboratory facilities for conducting usability studies with medical products.
- Training and Education Programs: Customizable workshop programs for professional education in human factors engineering and medical device design.
- Participant Recruiting: Recruitment services matching study participants to specific research projects for medical device usability testing.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Research Collective product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Research Collective is a human factors research and design consultancy that helps medical device manufacturers and healthcare product companies make their products useful, usable, and safe. Core offerings include human factors and UX research (generative and evaluative user research, regulatory strategy and compliance, instructional material development, physiological research), usability laboratory rental, customizable training and education workshops, and participant recruiting for usability studies. The firm specializes in supporting FDA regulatory submissions and use-related risk analysis for medical products such as drug delivery devices, surgical instruments, ophthalmic devices, and neuromodulation therapies.
Product overview
Research Collective is a human factors research consultancy offering a portfolio of interconnected research services. The core offerings include Human Factors & UX Research (generative and evaluative research, regulatory compliance, instructional material development, physiological research), a state-of-the-art Research Space/Usability Lab for usability studies, Training & Education workshops, and Participant Recruiting services. The company also publishes the book 'Humanizing Healthcare: Human Factors for Medical Device Design' (Springer-Nature) as a thought leadership resource. These services work together to help medical product manufacturers create usable, safe, and regulatory-compliant products through the complete product development lifecycle.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Human Factors & UX Research
Quantifiable outcome
- Conducted over 1,000 participant sessions in 2023
Companies that use Research Collective
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Research Collective technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Research Collective partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Research Collective competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ClariMed: Medical device and healthcare product development consultancy with deep human factors engineering services, focused on FDA, MDR, and global regulatory compliance for medical devices. Directly comparable niche HF specialty.
- UserWise: Human factors and usability consultancy specialized in medical devices, offering summative usability studies, training, and regulatory strategy for FDA submissions. Directly comparable in service portfolio and target market.
- Wiklund Research & Design: Boutique human factors and usability engineering consultancy serving medical device and combination product manufacturers on FDA submissions and design validation. Closest direct competitor to Research Collective in scale, positioning, and service mix.
- Medical Device Usability: Specialty human factors consultancy that conducts usability tests and validation studies for medical devices to support FDA submissions. Closely comparable in operating model and scope.
- Core Human Factors (an Aptima company): Human factors research and usability engineering practice serving medical device, military, and consumer markets, with deep expertise in FDA human-factors validation. Comparable services under broader institutional parent.
Broad incumbents
- Emergo by UL (UL Solutions): UL's medical device regulatory and human factors consulting arm providing global market access, usability engineering, and FDA submission support. Broader incumbent in the same regulatory HF space with global scale advantage.
- NAMSA: Global medical device-focused CRO offering testing, regulatory, and quality services that increasingly incorporate human factors engineering. Broader incumbent with deeper clinical testing portfolio.
- Battelle Memorial Institute: Large applied science and research organization operating human factors and medical device research programs alongside defense and life sciences work. Broad incumbent with overlapping HF capabilities.
Emerging players
- RQM+: Regulatory and quality consulting firm for medical device companies, with adjacent human factors and usability services. Partial overlap on regulatory side of the same client workflow.
- Greenlight Guru (Medrio / Greenlight Guru): Medical device quality management and regulatory workflow platform increasingly offering design controls and human factors content. Adjacent ecosystem player serving the same manufacturers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Research Collective social profiles
Digital presenceResearch Collective financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Research Collective leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Research Collective funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Research Collective M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Research Collective
What does Research Collective do?
Research Collective is a human factors research and design consultancy that helps medical device manufacturers and healthcare product companies make their products useful, usable, and safe. Core offerings include human factors and UX research (generative and evaluative user research, regulatory strategy and compliance, instructional material development, physiological research), usability laboratory rental, customizable training and education workshops, and participant recruiting for usability studies. The firm specializes in supporting FDA regulatory submissions and use-related risk analysis for medical products such as drug delivery devices, surgical instruments, ophthalmic devices, and neuromodulation therapies.
Is Research Collective a public or private company?
Research Collective is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Research Collective founded?
Research Collective was founded in 2003. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Research Collective based?
Research Collective is headquartered in Tempe, United States, in the North America region.
How does Research Collective make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Human Factors Research Consulting is the primary driver. The others are lab Rental and Research Space, training and Education Programs and participant Recruiting.
Who are Research Collective's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ClariMed, UserWise, Wiklund Research & Design, Medical Device Usability and Core Human Factors (an Aptima company). Broad incumbents are Emergo by UL (UL Solutions), NAMSA and Battelle Memorial Institute. Emerging players are RQM+ and Greenlight Guru (Medrio / Greenlight Guru).
Does Research Collective have an API?
No public API is recorded for Research Collective.
What industry is Research Collective in?
Research Collective's product category is Human Factors Research Consulting for Medical Devices. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHALAE, Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom). Its NAICS code is 5417 and its SIC code is 8731.