What Be the Change Group does

Be the Change Group is a Vancouver-based full-service research and creative agency founded in 2012 by Brandy Svendson and Dr. Natalie Chan. The firm operates with 14 full-time employees, 12 of whom are women, and has delivered 120 projects across 12 countries for 12 active clients. It is B Corp certified (score 102.9) and a member of 1% for the Planet, serving the health, education, and climate sectors with a client roster that spans BC public health agencies (BC Cancer, BCCDC, BCCSU, Foundry, Ministry of Health) and global multilateral and foundation organizations (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNFPA, UNFCCC, CARE International). The agency's distinctive credentials include an 8-year UNFCCC partnership for climate reporting knowledge translation and facilitating high-stakes convenings such as the Global Cervical Cancer Elimination Forum ($600M in pledges) and a UNGA event with UNFPA ($350M in commitments). Its business model is project-based professional services revenue from mission-driven institutional buyers, delivered through multi-year engagements and event-based work.

The firm's core offerings span research, creative communications, knowledge translation, and a more recently added custom digital product and web development line. Its service delivery model is built around a proprietary low-to-no-literacy methodology for translating complex scientific and policy information into accessible public-facing formats. The multidisciplinary team combines researchers, creatives, scientists, physicians, and coders, enabling integrated research-to-deliverable workflows within a small organizational footprint. Recent expansion of partnerships with Mozaic Consulting and Women Vision suggests a growing partner-delivery model for large global events, allowing capacity scaling without proportional headcount growth.

The company generates revenue through project-based fees across three core verticals: health, education, and climate. Customer mix is split between Canadian provincial government health agencies, which provide recurring multi-year anchor revenue, and global foundations and multilateral bodies, which contribute higher-visibility but more episodic engagement revenue. The 2023 launch of digital product capabilities, combined with a roughly 28% headcount increase over the prior year, signals a deliberate move upmarket and into adjacent deliverable categories, though the firm remains dependent on a small number of institutional clients and the project-based revenue mechanics typical of agency models.

Name

Be the Change Group

Legal name

Be the Change Group Inc.

Website

https://bethechangegroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Be the Change Group is a Vancouver-based, women-majority research and creative agency that delivers knowledge translation, communications, and digital products to mission-driven clients in health, education, and climate, including UN agencies, the Gates Foundation, and BC public health bodies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Communications and Research Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Management Consulting Services (54161), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Marketing Transformation & Change Management (MPAAAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations (HLAJAKAN)

Keywords

• Public health communications
• Research and creative agency
• Social impact marketing
• Knowledge translation services
• Behavior change campaigns

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Research and Creative Agency: Full-service research and creative agency providing services to organizations in population health, education, and climate sectors. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting engagements including research, creative services, campaign development, web design, and strategic communications.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Be the Change Group is a full-service research firm and creative agency that delivers integrated research, creative production, marketing and communications, web design, and knowledge translation services to organizations in the population and public health, education, and climate sectors. The company operates as a consultancy, producing evidence-based campaigns, brand identities, digital products, and clinical communications on a project-by-project basis for foundations, NGOs, government agencies, and academic institutions.

Product overview

Be the Change Group is a research firm and creative agency offering five integrated service pillars: Applied Research + Community Engagement, Creative Services + Production, Marketing + Communications, Web Design Development + Digital Products, and Knowledge Translation + Strategic Clinical Communications. Rather than a unified software product, the company delivers bespoke research, strategic communications, creative production, and digital development services tailored to clients in health, education, and climate sectors. Services range from campaign development and brand identity to custom website development, UX research, data visualization, literature reviews, and clinical communications—provided as consultancy engagements rather than packaged software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Applied Research + Community Engagement Quantitative and qualitative research services for health, education, and climate organizations, including research methods design, engagement and facilitation, data collection, data analysis and visualization, technical report writing, and program and campaign evaluation.
• Creative Services + Production Full creative production for mission-driven organizations, including brand identity strategy and development, communication design and data visualization, illustration and animation, video and photo production, and campaign development.
• Marketing + Communications Strategic communications services including market review, campaign strategy and implementation across multi-platform advertising, influencer marketing, social media listening and reporting, and media buy planning and purchasing.
• Web Design, Development + Digital Products Custom website and digital product development featuring UX research, UX + UI design, custom CMS builds, digital products, digital reports, user testing, and Google Analytics and SEO optimization, with accessibility features built in.
• Knowledge Translation + Strategic Clinical Communications Research synthesis and clinical communication development including literature reviews, cross-jurisdictional scans, adapting and developing clinical resources, developing toolkits, and creating plain language materials.

Quantifiable outcome

• The Proof campaign achieved 6x industry average click-through rates and 51.1% of respondents reported likely behavior change regarding alcohol consumption
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mozaic ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2024Be the Change Group partnered with Mozaic Consulting for the UNGA event with UNFPA, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Family Planning 2030, and Children's Investment Fund Foundation. Also partnered for Global Cervical Cancer Elimination Forum. Be the Change Group provided visual identity and creative direction while Mozaic Consulting managed overall project coordination.
• Jóvenes Contra la ViolenciaminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2023Community partner organization in Honduras that hosted and organized the validation workshop for the adapted GBV Visual Pocket Guide, with support from CARE USA and USAID.
• YA-G-TUminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2023Community partner organization in Mali that hosted and organized the validation workshop for the adapted GBV Visual Pocket Guide.
• Women VisioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Local women's rights organization in South Sudan that partnered with Be the Change Group to adapt the GBV pocket guide into a low-literacy visual format. Women Vision helped ensure work was aligned with community needs and supported the in-country validation workshop in Bentiu.
• BC Ministry of HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with BC Ministry of Health on the Proof campaign, conducting scoping reviews and ensuring alignment with provincial health guidance.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Forum One: Forum One is a digital agency that designs and builds websites, online communities, and digital products for associations, nonprofits, and government clients. It overlaps with Be the Change Group's web design, UX research, and digital product development services for similar mission-driven buyer profiles.
• Whole Whale: Whole Whale is a digital agency that builds websites, runs digital campaigns, and provides data/analytics for nonprofits and social impact organizations. It overlaps with Be the Change Group's web/digital product and marketing service lines for mission-driven clients, but is smaller in scope and digital-only.

Direct peers

• HDMZ: HDMZ is a strategic marketing and branding agency for life sciences, healthcare, and biotech clients. It is comparable to Be the Change Group's health-focused brand identity, marketing, and digital work with BC Cancer, Foundry, and AlignMNH clients, though focused on commercial rather than public-sector health.
• Big Duck: Big Duck is a communications firm that specializes in branding, marketing, and fundraising for nonprofits and foundations. It is comparable to Be the Change Group in serving mission-driven organizations with research-informed, creative-led communications, though typically focused on nonprofit brand strategy rather than health campaigns.
• Bully Pulpit Interactive: Bully Pulpit Interactive is a purpose-driven creative, communications, and digital agency that partners with foundations, nonprofits, and advocacy organizations. It is comparable in mission focus, integrated research-plus-creative model, and foundation/nonprofit client base, though at materially larger scale.
• JPA Health: JPA Health is a full-service agency focused exclusively on health, providing communications, marketing, and digital services to public health agencies, foundations, and life sciences clients. It directly parallels Be the Change Group's public health campaign, behavior-change, and knowledge translation work with BCCDC and BC Cancer.
• Resound Creative: Resound Creative is a full-service agency that specializes in marketing and branding for healthcare, nonprofits, and purpose-driven organizations. It is comparable to Be the Change Group's combination of brand strategy, creative production, and digital services for health and nonprofit clients, though it does less research.
• Mission Partners: Mission Partners is a strategic communications agency focused on public health, education, and social impact, serving government agencies, foundations, and nonprofits. It directly parallels Be the Change Group's focus on health communications, behavior-change campaigns, and public-sector partnerships.
• Purpose: Purpose is a global creative and strategy agency that partners with foundations, brands, and movements to drive social and environmental impact. It is highly comparable to Be the Change Group in combining research, creative production, and campaign execution for mission-driven clients in health, climate, and equity spaces.

Broad incumbents

• Evoke Group: Evoke Group is a global health and wellness communications agency network serving pharma, biotech, and public health clients with strategy, creative, medical communications, and patient engagement. It is comparable as a larger incumbent offering integrated health communications services to many of the same customer types as Be the Change Group.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/bethechangegrp
• Xx.com/BetheChangeGrp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Be the Change Group