Options Consultancy Services

What Options Consultancy Services does

Options Consultancy Services Limited is a privately-held UK global health consultancy, founded circa 1992-1993 and headquartered in London. It provides embedded technical assistance, advisory, and programme implementation services to national and sub-national governments and development funders across more than 60 low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, and other regions. Its core capability areas are Governance and Accountability, Health Financing, Health Commodity Security, Quality Improvement, Monitoring Evaluation Research and Learning, Local Partnerships, and Scaling Solutions, applied across focus areas including Maternal and Newborn Health, Reproductive Health and Family Planning, Health Systems Strengthening, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, Climate and Health, and Health Security.

The firm operates with a delivery model built on a global team of 160 permanent staff supplemented by a database of over 4,000 external technical experts, deployed through four regional hubs in London (headquarters), Nairobi (East Africa), Abuja (West Africa), and Kathmandu (South Asia). Long-term embedded engagements of 20-25+ years with the Governments of Nepal and Kenya underpin its service delivery. Major flagship programmes include the Nepal Health Sector Support Programme (NHSSP), Women's Integrated Sexual Health (WISH), Lafiya, and Evidence for Action-MamaYe.

Revenue is generated through negotiated programme contracts with bilateral and philanthropic donors — principally UK aid (FCDO) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — supplemented by other government and foundation clients. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is structured around multi-year funded programmes rather than per-engagement fees. The company is a private limited company registered in England and Wales (Company No. 2695347), with no disclosed external institutional or venture investment and no public listing.

Name

Options Consultancy Services

Legal name

Options Consultancy Services Limited

Website

https://options.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Options Consultancy Services is a UK-headquartered global health consultancy delivering embedded technical assistance to governments and development funders across 60+ low- and middle-income countries, specialising in health systems strengthening, health financing, and reproductive, maternal, and child health programmes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Global Health Consulting Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Health Systems Strengthening & Global Health Technical Assistance (BPADAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bilateral Development & Aid Agencies (HLAJAKAB), Health Supply Chain, Procurement & Access to Medicines (BPADAIAI)

Keywords

• Global health consultancy
• Health systems strengthening
• Technical assistance services
• Maternal newborn health
• Reproductive health programs

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Technical Assistance and Consulting Services: Options provides technical consulting services to governments and development partners in the health sector. Services include health systems strengthening, governance support, health financing, monitoring and evaluation, and capacity building. Revenue is generated through programme contracts with development funders including UK aid and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Options Consultancy Services provides advisory and technical assistance to governments and development partners to strengthen health systems in low- and middle-income countries. Services are delivered through named programmes (e.g., Evidence for Action-MamaYe, NHSSP, WISH, Lafiya) that span governance, health financing, quality improvement, monitoring and evaluation, health commodity security, and scaling solutions across focus areas including maternal and newborn health, reproductive health, gender equality, climate and health, and health security. Revenue is earned through professional services contracts with bilateral donors, foundations, and government clients.

Product overview

Options Consultancy Services is a global health consultancy that provides advisory and technical assistance services rather than a software product company. Their offerings consist of professional consulting services across health systems strengthening, delivered through their core capabilities including Governance and Accountability, Health Financing, Quality Improvement, Monitoring Evaluation Research and Learning, Health Commodity Security, Local Partnerships, and Scaling Solutions. Services are implemented across focus areas such as Maternal and Newborn Health, Reproductive Health and Family Planning, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, Climate and Health, Health Security, and Health Systems Strengthening. The company operates through programmes such as Evidence for Action-MamaYe, Nepal Health Sector Support Programme, Women's Integrated Sexual Health programme, and various maternal and newborn health initiatives. Options works alongside governments and partners to tackle complex health system issues, providing ideas, advice, and technical know-how rather than packaged software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Health Systems Strengthening (Capability) Description: Cross-cutting advisory and technical assistance service covering governance and accountability, health financing, quality improvement, monitoring evaluation research and learning, health commodity security, local partnerships, and scaling solutions, delivered to ministries of health and development funders across low- and middle-income countries.
• Evidence for Action-MamaYe (Programme) Maternal and newborn health advocacy and accountability programme funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, working with government and civil society partners to use evidence and political economy analysis to strengthen reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCAH) outcomes.
• Women's Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) Programme UK aid-funded programme delivering integrated sexual and reproductive health and rights services across multiple countries, led by Options with regional team leadership managing country-level implementation.
• Nepal Health Sector Support Programme (NHSSP) Long-running embedded technical assistance programme with the Government of Nepal providing advisory support for health sector policy, planning, financing, governance, and service delivery, representing 25+ years of continuous country partnership.
• Health Financing Technical Assistance Advisory service supporting governments to increase domestic health budgets, design results-based financing arrangements, and progress towards universal health coverage, contributing to $656m in additional health budget allocations across 7 countries since 2019.
• Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) MEL support service for health programmes spanning data for decision-making, rigorous evaluation of interventions, and adaptive learning across country portfolios in low- and middle-income countries.
• Governance and Accountability Advisory Technical assistance to strengthen governance, accountability mechanisms, and data-driven decision-making at national and sub-national levels of government, contributing to the strengthening of 120 sub-national governments across 10 countries since 2019.
• Reproductive Health and Family Planning Advisory Advisory and advocacy services supporting national family planning policies and reproductive health programming, including work informing Kenya's revised National Family Planning Guidelines (2024).
• Quality Improvement Technical Assistance Capacity-building and quality improvement support delivered to health facilities and providers, supporting 4,149 facilities across 10 countries since 2016 to improve quality of care in reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health.
• Health Commodity Security Advisory Technical assistance on supply chain and commodities security for reproductive health products and other essential medicines, supported by a Global Practice Specialist in Commodity Security.

Quantifiable outcome

• $656m more allocated to health budgets across 7 countries since 2019
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Chopra FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2023Through The Girl Generation programme, Options partnered with the Chopra Foundation's Never Alone Mental Health Initiative to support the mental health and well-being of FGM/C survivors and activists in Africa. This partnership developed the Survivor Leadership Training flagship initiative.
• United Nations Global CompactcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOptions has signed the UN Global Compact, committing to uphold labour principles and human rights protections. This alignment with UN frameworks supports the company's work in promoting sustainable development and health outcomes globally.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• ThinkWell: ThinkWell is a global health systems and financing consultancy working with governments and donors on health strategy, financing, and policy. It competes with Options in health-financing advisory work and has grown rapidly as a specialized alternative to larger incumbents.
• BroadReach: BroadReach is a global health management consultancy combining advisory services with technology platforms for health systems strengthening and program management. It is an emerging competitor in donor-funded health TA, particularly for USAID and Gates programmes.

Direct peers

• Management Sciences for Health (MSH): MSH is a global health non-profit consultancy providing technical assistance, capacity building, and health-systems strengthening in LMICs. It directly competes with Options on flagship donor-funded programmes and shares a similar embedded-government service model.
• Itad: Itad is a UK-based consultancy specializing in monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) for international development programmes. It frequently partners or competes with Options on the M&E and learning components of donor health programmes.
• Palladium: Palladium is a global advisory firm delivering health systems strengthening, governance, and development consulting across LMICs. It is one of the closest direct competitors to Options, competing on bilateral-funded TA primes such as USAID and FCDO programmes with comparable consortium models.
• Cambridge Economic Policy Associates (CEPA): CEPA is a UK-based economic and policy consultancy advising on health systems, financing, and infrastructure in LMICs. Its health practice is closely comparable to Options' health-financing and policy advisory portfolio.

Regional players

• Genesis Analytics (Health Practice): Genesis Analytics is an African-headquartered consulting firm with a dedicated health practice serving donors and African governments. It is a regional competitor to Options' East and West Africa health financing and systems work.

Others

• Save the Children (Health and Nutrition Programmes): Save the Children is a major ING Os implementing maternal, newborn, and reproductive health programmes across LMICs. It is sometimes a consortium partner to Options and occasionally competes for prime donor-funded health delivery and TA contracts.

Broad incumbents

• Abt Associates: Abt Associates is a large-scale research and consulting firm with a major global health practice that bids on USAID, FCDO, and Gates-funded health systems contracts. It is broader and US-anchored but a recurring competitor for Options on large LMIC health TA tenders.
• Deloitte (Global Development Advisory): Deloitte's Government and Public Services practice includes a substantial global health and international development advisory arm. It frequently leads or sub-contracts on major FCDO, USAID, and multilateral bids that overlap with Options' health-systems strengthening mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OptionsinHealth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/863070

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Options Consultancy Services