Civilytics Consulting

What Civilytics Consulting does

Civilytics Consulting is a two-person, founder-owned social science consulting firm that delivers data analysis, research design, program evaluation, budget analysis, literature review, and grant writing services to government agencies, school districts, research firms, and nonprofit advocacy organizations. Founded by Jared Knowles (PhD, Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison) in August 2016 and joined by Senior Partner Hannah Miller (PhD), the firm is structured as a Massachusetts LLC based in the Boston area and markets itself under the tagline 'Social science for the public good.' Its client base spans K-12 education, higher education, public finance, policing and corrections, child welfare, and economic mobility, with named engagements across entities such as Boston Public Schools, Gwinnett County Public Schools, Tennessee Department of Education, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Rhode Island Department of Public Education, Gates Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, Mathematica, Abt Associates, Urban Institute, ACLU of Southern California, and Civil Rights Corps.

The firm's underlying technology stack is built on R programming, statistical computing, multilevel modeling, and machine learning, supported by open-source infrastructure (Nextcloud, Mattermost, Gitea) and integration with client systems (Google Drive, SharePoint, Teams, Dropbox). Civilytics has developed a small portfolio of public-facing analytical products, including 'Policing the American University' (the first national analysis of campus police departments), a Campus Policing Toolkit, public budget analysis covering 100+ jurisdictions, and AI-powered interactive knowledge bases for literature synthesis built using Anthropic's Claude Code. Its pricing is project-based with engagements typically ranging from $10,000 to $40,000 (some smaller, some $75,000+), structured as fixed price, per deliverable, monthly retainer, or hourly arrangements, and distributed through direct outreach and a content-led marketing approach anchored by 'The Civic Pulse' newsletter and earned media placements in outlets such as The Intercept and Reveal.

Operationally, Civilytics functions as a boutique professional services practice rather than a scalable software business — it has no external funding, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed plans to expand headcount materially. Its defensibility rests on PhD-level methodological expertise, accumulated domain knowledge (state-level budget, CRDC, and education datasets), and a portfolio of publicly visible research that drives inbound demand.

Name

Civilytics Consulting

Legal name

Civilytics Consulting LLC

Website

https://civilytics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Civilytics Consulting is a founder-owned, two-person social science consulting firm that provides data analysis, program evaluation, budget analysis, and literature review services to government agencies, school districts, research firms, and nonprofit advocacy organizations across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Science Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Data, Analytics & AI Consulting (BPAHAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Sector & Policy Consulting (BPAHACAN), Equity, Inclusion & Civil Rights Reporting (Disparities, Access, Outcomes) (EDADAIAH)

Keywords

• Data science consulting
• Social science research
• Program evaluation
• Budget analysis
• Policy research

Headquarters

HQ city

Watertown

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, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Professional consulting engagements for data analysis, research design, program evaluation, budget analysis, and training. Engagements range from $10,000 to $40,000 on average, with contract structures including fixed price, per deliverable, monthly retainers, and hourly arrangements.
2. Grant-Funded Research: Research grants from organizations such as the American Educational Research Association (AERA) funded by the National Science Foundation for specific research projects.
3. Training and Workshops: Conducting trainings for community groups and local officials on understanding and advocating about local budgets and data analysis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Civilytics Consulting delivers data science and social science consulting services to government agencies, school districts, nonprofits, and foundations. Core offerings include data analysis and reporting, budget analysis and training, study design and program evaluation, literature reviews and synthesis, and grant and proposal writing, with deep sector expertise in K-12 education, higher education, public finance, policing and corrections, child welfare, and economic mobility.

Product overview

Civilytics Consulting is a social science consulting firm offering a portfolio of analytical and advisory services rather than a unified software product. Their core offerings include Data Analysis and Reporting, Budget Analysis and Training, Study Design and Program Evaluation, Literature Reviews and Synthesis, Grant and Proposal Writing, and Data for the Public Good. The firm also produces public research products including the Policing the American University Report and Campus Policing Toolkit. They have recently begun delivering AI-powered knowledge bases as client projects. Their work is delivered primarily through consulting engagements rather than packaged software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Data Analysis and Reporting End-to-end data analysis and reporting service covering descriptive analyses, quasi-experimental and experimental designs, simulation methods, automatic reporting pipelines, practitioner-focused reports, and technical working documents for government agencies, nonprofits, and education clients.
• Budget Analysis and Training Analysis of city, county, and state budgets with cross-locale comparisons of revenue and spending, paired with training sessions for community groups and local officials on understanding and advocating about local budgets.
• Study Design and Program Evaluation Design of logic models and theories of action, data collection systems for program indicators and outcomes, planning of rigorous and feasible research designs, and full evaluation of whether programs are working, for whom, and under what conditions.
• Literature Reviews and Synthesis Conducting and synthesizing literature reviews for federal agencies and nonprofits, evaluating existing research evidence, with recent use of AI tools to augment the synthesis work.
• Grant and Proposal Writing Proposal writing and management services for all levels of government, philanthropies, and nonprofits, including proposal drafting through to grant reporting, both for Civilytics' own work and as consultants for other organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• School-related arrests declined by ~40% from over 62,000 students in 2015-16 to under 35,000 in 2021-22, based on Civilytics analysis of CRDC data
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Research For ActionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Collaboration on research regarding school closures, including how to minimize harms when school closures are announced. Research For Action produces resources on school closure policy impacts.
• Student Leadership Network (SLN)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Civilytics is building a curated literature review of research evidence on college access interventions for SLN. The project involves developing an AI-driven knowledge base that allows interactive exploration of the evidence base using Claude Code, representing a modern approach to literature synthesis.
• Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northeast & IslandscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Jared Knowles worked with REL-NEI and Rhode Island Department of Public Education on a design and feedback process for data dashboards, resulting in a five-step continuous improvement process resource for states and districts to build user feedback into dashboard design.
• Rhode Island Department of Public Education (RIDE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Collaborated on improving data dashboards for schools, district leaders, and communities through structured user feedback sessions covering usability, information value, and retrieval.
• Anthropic (Claude Code)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023Civilytics used Claude Code, an AI coding agent from Anthropic, to redesign and build their new website. This represents a partnership/usage of AI tools for productivity in consulting work and website development.
• Tableau FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership on creating data visualization tools and the 'Defend Your Data' guide. Also involved in prison gerrymandering dashboard for Tableau Racial Equity Data Hub.
• Reveal (Center for Investigative Journalism)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Civilytics provided background data analysis for Reveal's national radio story on prison gerrymandering, contributing to journalism that examined the extent and impact of prison gerrymandering in Wisconsin.
• Borealis PhilanthropyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Borealis Foundation invited Civilytics to present a webinar on police budgeting and comparing police budgets across the country for grantees working on police accountability in their cities.
• Community Resource HubminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partnership on police accountability tools and municipal police/sheriff accountability resources. The Community Resource Hub supports community organizations in producing evidence for city budget deliberations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mathematica: One of the largest U.S. social policy research and evaluation firms, conducting program evaluation, survey research, and data analytics for federal agencies and foundations. Civilytics has partnered with Mathematica and competes for similar federal education and social-policy engagements.
• Urban Institute: Nonprofit research organization delivering economic and social policy research, data analysis, and program evaluation. Civilytics has partnered with Urban Institute on data analysis and serves overlapping foundation and government buyers.
• Abt Associates: Global research and evaluation firm focused on social, economic, and health policy. Hannah Miller previously worked at Abt, and Civilytics has partnered with Abt on education and social-policy research — directly comparable in methods and client base.
• American Institutes for Research (AIR): Large nonprofit behavioral and social science research organization with deep federal contracts in education evaluation, assessment, and technical assistance. Listed as a Civilytics partner and serves identical federal education agency buyers.
• MDRC: Nonprofit social policy research organization known for rigorous random-assignment evaluations in education, workforce, and public safety. Comparable methodology (causal designs, multilevel modeling) and foundation/government buyer mix.
• Child Trends: Nonprofit research organization focused on child welfare, K-12 education, and youth justice research — overlapping two of Civilytics' named segments (Child Welfare and Policing/Corrections).
• Westat: Employee-owned research firm providing statistical research, evaluation, and survey services to U.S. federal agencies. Closely comparable in terms of statistical methods, R/survey tooling, and federal contract delivery.
• Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago: Policy research center focused on children, youth, and families with deep expertise in child welfare and education data analytics. Strong overlap with Civilytics' Child Welfare and K-12 segments.
• Bellwether Education Partners: Nonprofit education policy and consulting organization focused on K-12 and higher education. Directly comparable in education policy consulting and serves overlapping foundation and state-agency clients.

Broad incumbents

• RAND Corporation: Large, established policy research institution with a much broader portfolio across defense, health, education, and criminal justice. Overlaps with Civilytics on education and policing/corrections research but operates at vastly larger scale and as a broader incumbent rather than a direct competitor for sub-$100K engagements.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/civilytics
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/civilytics
• Xx.com/civilytics
• Facebookfacebook.com/civilytics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Civilytics Consulting