What Bureau of Economic and Business Research does

The Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR) is a university research bureau within the University of Florida's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, operating continuously since 1929 from Gainesville, Florida. It is the statutorily designated producer of Florida's official State and Local Population Estimates and Projections, covering all 67 counties and 411 municipalities, and serves as Florida's representative to the U.S. Census Bureau's Federal-State Cooperative Programs for Population Estimates.

BEBR delivers its work through four integrated programs. The Population Program produces annual official estimates and quinquennial projections to 2050 using GIS-based small-area modeling built on statewide property parcel data and land-use layers. The University of Florida Survey Research Center (UFSRC) operates a 93-station CATI laboratory with VOIP and 100% call recording, conducts mail, telephone, and web surveys through Qualtrics, and holds NCQA accreditation alongside AAPOR and AASRO memberships. The Economic Analysis Program provides economic forecasting and impact studies, and the Social Networks Program—launched in 2012 in collaboration with the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute—applies network science and the open-source EgoNet tool to academic collaboration, health, and community networks.

Revenue is generated through five streams: recurring State of Florida contracts for population estimates, fee-for-service survey research (UFSRC earned nearly $11 million over the past decade), federal grants from NIH, NSF, NIAAA, and others, custom Data On Demand services, and donations. Customers span state and local government agencies (AHCA, FDOT, PSC), non-profits and foundations (Kaiser Family Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, RAND), academic researchers, and the general public, who access free population and Consumer Sentiment Index data via the website.

Name

Bureau of Economic and Business Research

Legal name

Bureau of Economic and Business Research

Website

https://bebr.ufl.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1929

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

BEBR is the University of Florida's research bureau that produces Florida's official state and local population estimates and projections, and runs the UF Survey Research Center, Economic Analysis, and Social Networks programs for government agencies, researchers, and the public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic & Demographic Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

National Statistics & Census Administration (BPAIAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Quantitative Research & Survey Analytics (Survey Design, Sampling, Statistical Modeling) (MPAAALAF), Health Data, Vital Statistics & Population Health Informatics (BPAIAJAM)

Keywords

• Demographic research services
• Population estimates
• Economic analysis
• Survey research
• Social network analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Gainesville

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Contracts: Annual contracts from the State of Florida to produce official city and county population estimates used for state revenue-sharing, budgeting, and planning.
2. Survey Research Services: Fee-for-service survey research conducted for returning clients including state agencies, non-profit groups, and academic researchers. Earned nearly $11 million in revenue over the past decade.
3. Grant-Funded Research: Research grants from NIH, NSF, and other federal agencies for social network analysis and other demographic research projects.
4. Custom Data Services: Data search, data processing, and data analysis services provided on a quote basis for specialized data needs.
5. Social Networks Program Revenue: Social networks projects have brought in over two million dollars in revenue to BEBR.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

BEBR collects, analyzes, and disseminates comprehensive economic and demographic data about Florida. It produces official state and local population estimates and projections, conducts monthly Consumer Sentiment Index surveys, operates the University of Florida Survey Research Center (UFSRC) for mail/telephone/web surveys, and delivers social network analysis and visualization services for academic and government clients.

Product overview

BEBR offers a portfolio of interconnected research and data products focused on Florida's economic and demographic landscape. The core offerings include the Florida Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) Survey for monthly economic outlook monitoring, Florida Estimates of Population and Population Projections for official state and local population data, the University of Florida Survey Research Center (UFSRC) for multi-modal survey services, the Social Networks Program for network analysis and visualization, the Economic Analysis Program for statewide economic statistics, and Data On Demand for customized data services. These products serve government agencies, private industries, researchers, and the general public, with BEBR operating as a research center within the UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UF Survey Research Center (UFSRC): One of the largest and most respected university-based academic survey programs in the United States, conducting mail, telephone, and online surveys with NCQA accreditation.
• Social Networks Program
• Economic Analysis Program

Products and services

• Florida Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) Survey
• Florida Estimates of Population
• Florida Population Projections
• University of Florida Survey Research Center (UFSRC)
• Social Networks Program
• Economic Analysis Program
• Data On Demand
• Network Science Program

Quantifiable outcome

• UFSRC earned nearly $11 million in revenue from survey research over the past decade
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Began collaboration in 2012 to map, visualize, analyze, and shape collaboration networks at UF. CTSI and BEBR collaborate on network science research projects and share resources for scientific collaboration analysis.
• UF Center for the Humanities and the Public SphereminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on research project to analyze research interests, collaboration efforts, and topics taught by UF Humanities faculty members.
• UF-FAMU-USC CaRE² Health Equity CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on health equity research through the CaRE² Health Equity Center Program.
• UF Biodiversity InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on biodiversity research network analysis.
• University of Miami Clinical and Translational Science InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on clinical and translational science research networks.
• University of Kentucky Center for Clinical and Translational ScienceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on clinical and translational science research networks.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service: University of Virginia's demographic and economic research center. Direct peer to BEBR as a state-affiliated academic unit producing official state population estimates, demographic projections, and applied policy research with similar structure and customer base.
• University of New Hampshire Carsey School of Public Policy: Academic policy research center producing state and regional demographic, economic, and social research. Directly comparable to BEBR's role as a university-based source of state-level data, surveys, and policy analysis for government and foundation clients.
• Population Reference Bureau: Nonprofit that produces demographic data, population estimates, and applied population research for U.S. and global audiences. Closely comparable to BEBR's population estimates, projections, and applied demographic analysis work, with overlapping funder base (foundations, federal agencies).

Broad incumbents

• NORC at the University of Chicago: Large, university-affiliated independent research organization conducting national and international survey research, demographic studies, and policy evaluation. Comparable to BEBR's UFSRC survey and population work but operating at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• RTI International: Major nonprofit research institute delivering large-scale survey research, statistical analysis, and social science research for government and commercial clients. Comparable to BEBR's UFSRC and Social Networks Program as a competing provider of fee-for-service survey and analytics work.
• Mathematica: Large research and data analytics firm conducting program evaluation, survey research, and policy analysis for federal and state agencies. Comparable to BEBR in serving government clients with applied research, but at much broader scale and across many policy domains.
• U.S. Census Bureau: Federal statistical agency that produces official U.S. population estimates and projections and funds state cooperative programs. Comparable to BEBR as the upstream producer of the national data BEBR builds on, and the federal counterpart for the Federal-State Cooperative Programs BEBR represents Florida in.
• Abt Associates: Major research and consulting firm delivering survey research, impact evaluation, and policy analysis for federal, state, and commercial clients. Comparable to BEBR in providing applied research services to government clients, though at broader national and international scale.

Others

• Westat: Large employee-owned research firm providing survey design, data collection, and statistical analysis for federal agencies and foundations. Directly comparable to BEBR's UFSRC survey research services, though operating at national scale rather than focused on a single state.

Regional players

• State Demographer Offices (e.g., Florida Office of Economic & Demographic Research): Florida's state-government demographer producing official population estimates used for legislative apportionment and revenue. Direct comparator to BEBR's population program as another Florida-specific demographic authority; relevant for understanding how BEBR's mandate is structured alongside the state demographer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bebr_uf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bebr-at-uf
• Facebookfacebook.com/BEBR.UnivFlorida

Compliance2 records

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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