Wavehill
Wavehill is a UK-based social and economic research and evaluation consultancy serving Welsh Government, UK Government departments, local authorities, and public sector bodies across eight policy verticals including employability, climate change, health, and rural development.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1992
- HeadquartersAberaeron, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Wavehill firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Wavehill
- Legal name
- Wavehill Ltd.
- Website
- https://wavehill.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1992
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Wavehill is a UK-based social and economic research and evaluation consultancy serving Welsh Government, UK Government departments, local authorities, and public sector bodies across eight policy verticals including employability, climate change, health, and rural development.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Wavehill industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Research and Evaluation Consultancy
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Due Diligence & Investigative Research (BPAHALAI)
Keywords
Where Wavehill is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Aberaeron
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
Wavehill business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Research and Evaluation Consultancy Services: Wavehill generates revenue through commissioned research and evaluation projects for government agencies, local authorities, and public sector bodies. Projects include programme evaluations, policy research, economic impact assessments, and monitoring and evaluation services. The company works on a project-by-project basis responding to tenders and direct commissions.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
Wavehill product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Wavehill is a social and economic research, evaluation and analysis consultancy operating throughout the UK. It provides commissioned research and evaluation services—programme evaluation, policy research, economic impact assessments, consultation analysis and social value assessments—to government agencies, local authorities and public sector organisations.
Product overview
Wavehill is a social and economic research, evaluation and analysis consultancy operating throughout the UK. The company does not offer a traditional software product but rather provides a portfolio of research and consultancy services organized across multiple expertise areas (Arts/Culture/Heritage, Business/Enterprise/Innovation, Children/Young People, Climate Change/Energy, Employability/Education/Training, Health/Social Care, Place Regeneration, Rural Development) and service offerings (Business Case & Funding Bids, Consultation Analysis, Economic Impact Assessments, Monitoring & Evaluation, Policy Research & Strategy Development, Social Value Assessments). Clients include government bodies, charities, local authorities, and academic institutions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Social and Economic Research, Evaluation and Analysis Services Core research, evaluation and analysis services helping clients make better decisions based on robust research, reliable evidence and clear rationale. Serves government bodies, charities, local authorities and academic institutions.
- Business Case & Funding Bids Service providing business case development and funding bid support for public sector and organisational clients.
- Consultation Analysis Analysis services for consultation processes, synthesising stakeholder and public input for clients.
- Economic Impact Assessments Economic impact assessment services measuring the economic effects of programmes, projects and investments.
- Monitoring & Evaluation Monitoring and evaluation services for programmes and projects, using theory of change frameworks to assess delivery and impact.
- Policy Research & Strategy Development Policy research and strategy development services supporting evidence-based policy decisions.
- Social Value Assessments Social value assessment services measuring the social value generated by programmes and organisations.
Quantifiable outcome
- 95% of JGW+ programme participants reported improved employment prospects after completing the programme
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Wavehill
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Wavehill technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Wavehill partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.
- CAG ConsultingmajorWavehill partnered with CAG Consulting (led by CAG), Winning Moves, and UCL to evaluate the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme for BEIS. Wavehill led on analysis of market transition, competition effects, and cost effectiveness.
- Winning MovesmajorPartnership with Winning Moves, Belmana, Hatch, and CAG Consultants for the £3.2bn ERDF final evaluation for MHCLG, including surveys of 4,700 beneficiaries and meta-analysis of 260 project-level evaluations.
- BMGmajorWavehill partnered with BMG and the Enterprise Research Centre to evaluate the second year of the Peer Networks Programme during 2021-22, assessing programme performance across different LEP areas.
- CwmpascoreSince 2014, Cwmpas has commissioned Wavehill to conduct biennial mapping surveys of the social business sector in Wales. This ongoing partnership involves understanding the size and scale of the sector and conducting health checks to identify challenges and opportunities.
- Enterprise Research CentremajorPartnership with BMG and the Enterprise Research Centre for Peer Networks Programme evaluation, reviewing delivery mechanisms and testing the theory of change.
- Winning MovesmajorPartnership with CAG Consulting and Wavehill for RHI evaluation, providing evaluation expertise on renewable heat technologies.
- UCLmajorPartnership with CAG Consulting and Wavehill for RHI evaluation, bringing academic research capabilities to the evaluation team.
- Cardiff UniversitycoreCardiff University is a key partner in the Airbus Endeavr research and innovation programme jointly funded by Welsh Government and Airbus Defence and Space. Wavehill has evaluated the programme's delivery and impacts.
- BelmanamajorPartnership for ERDF final evaluation for MHCLG, contributing economic and evaluation expertise.
- HatchmajorPartnership for ERDF final evaluation for MHCLG, providing sustainable urban development expertise.
- CAG ConsultantsmajorPartnership for ERDF final evaluation for MHCLG, providing evaluation consulting capabilities.
- Airbus Defence and SpacecoreAirbus Defence and Space is joint funder with Welsh Government of the Endeavr programme that Wavehill has evaluated since 2010.
- Careers WalescoreCareers Wales delivers the Working Wales service. Wavehill was commissioned by Welsh Government to evaluate this employability support service.
- Arsyllfa ObservatoryminorWavehill's ARFOR 2 evaluation report is reproduced with permission of the Arsyllfa Observatory, who commissioned and published the research.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Wavehill competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- CAG Consultants: UK social research and evaluation consultancy with overlapping public sector client base (UK Government, local authorities). Wavehill and CAG are consortium partners on multiple commissions (RHI evaluation, ERDF final evaluation), making CAG both a peer and collaborator in the same niche.
- BMG Research: UK-based social and market research consultancy serving government, charities and the public sector. Directly comparable as a mid-sized research firm bidding on similar public sector evaluation tenders; Wavehill partnered with BMG on the Peer Networks Programme evaluation.
- NatCen Social Research: One of the UK's largest independent social research organisations, conducting policy-relevant research for government and third sector. Comparable in offering (programme evaluation, policy research) and target clients, though larger in scale.
- Ecorys UK: Research and consulting company with deep UK and EU public sector evaluation practice, particularly on structural funds and regional development programmes. Highly comparable given Wavehill's parallel focus on Welsh/UK regional growth evaluations.
- Regeneris Consulting: UK economic and social research consultancy focused on regeneration, housing, and place-based policy evaluation. Directly comparable in target market (UK local authorities, combined authorities) and service offering (economic impact assessment, programme evaluation).
- WPI Economics: Independent UK economics consultancy providing economic analysis, policy evaluation and impact assessment to government and public sector clients. Comparable on economic impact assessments, business case development and policy research.
Broad incumbents
- Ipsos UK: Global market and social research firm with substantial UK public sector practice (Ipsos Public Affairs, Ipsos MORI heritage). Competes for the same UK government evaluation and policy research commissions as Wavehill but at significantly larger scale and with broader service lines.
- ICF Consulting: Global advisory and digital services firm with a strong UK public sector evaluation and policy research practice (formerly GHK). Competes for the same large-scale UK and EU programme evaluations and energy/climate policy research that Wavehill targets.
- Frontier Economics: Larger UK/european economics consultancy competing for economic impact, regulatory and policy evaluation work with government clients. Overlaps with Wavehill on economic impact assessments and business case development but at much larger scale and price point.
Emerging players
- Oldham Research: Smaller UK-based social research consultancy operating in adjacent public sector evaluation space. Comparable in methodology and customer base, though narrower scale and specialism.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Wavehill social profiles
Digital presenceWavehill compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Wavehill financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Wavehill leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Wavehill funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Wavehill 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 Wavehill
What does Wavehill do?
Wavehill is a social and economic research, evaluation and analysis consultancy operating throughout the UK. It provides commissioned research and evaluation services—programme evaluation, policy research, economic impact assessments, consultation analysis and social value assessments—to government agencies, local authorities and public sector organisations.
Is Wavehill a public or private company?
Wavehill is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Wavehill founded?
Wavehill was founded in 1992. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Wavehill based?
Wavehill is headquartered in Aberaeron, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Wavehill make money?
One revenue line is on record: research and Evaluation Consultancy Services.
Who are Wavehill's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are CAG Consultants, BMG Research, NatCen Social Research, Ecorys UK, Regeneris Consulting and WPI Economics. Broad incumbents are Ipsos UK, ICF Consulting and Frontier Economics. Oldham Research is listed as an emerging player.
Does Wavehill have an API?
No public API is recorded for Wavehill.
What industry is Wavehill in?
Wavehill's product category is Research and Evaluation Consultancy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHALAI, Due Diligence & Investigative Research. Its NAICS code is 541720 and its SIC code is 8700.