Education Policy Institute

What Education Policy Institute does

The Education Policy Institute (EPI) is an independent education research charity founded in 2005 and headquartered at 150 Buckingham Palace Road, London. Registered with the UK Charity Commission (Charity no. 1102186), EPI conducts rigorous data analysis and policy research across early years development, school performance, educational disadvantage, SEND, mental health, teacher workforce, and HE/FE skills. Its outputs include a flagship Annual Report benchmarking English education against world-class standards, a portfolio of thematic research reports and policy analyses, and five interactive data tools covering school funding, mental health services mapping, effective school groups, mental health policies, and geographic disadvantage gaps. The organization serves UK government departments, parliamentary committees, local authorities, academic researchers, and education-sector organizations, with reach into Scotland and Wales through multi-nation studies.

EPI is governed by a board of trustees under Executive Chairman David Laws (former UK Schools Minister) and Chief Executive Natalie Perera, with a senior leadership team combining deep civil-service statistical backgrounds (Jon Andrews and Jo Hutchinson, both formerly of the Department for Education) with academic credentials from UCL, LSE, Middlesex University, and the British Academy. The organization does not sell products or charge for access — all publications and data tools are distributed free of charge to advance its public-benefit mission. Revenue is derived from commissioned research grants and charitable funding, principally from the Nuffield Foundation, the Education Endowment Foundation, the Mercers' Company, and government bodies. EPI does not have a disclosed pricing model or commercial product offering; its economic model is closer to a grant-funded think tank than a revenue-generating enterprise.

Name

Education Policy Institute

Legal name

Education Policy Institute

Website

https://epi.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Education Policy Institute is a UK-registered education research charity that produces data-driven policy analysis, benchmarking reports, and interactive data tools on disadvantage, SEND, school performance, and early years for government, academics, and the education sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Policy Research

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Policy Research Institutes & Think Tanks (EDADADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Equity, Access & Inclusion Policy Research (EDADADAF), Curriculum, Standards & Assessment Policy Research (EDADADAH)

Keywords

• Education policy research
• Education data analysis
• Policy benchmarking reports
• Interactive data tools
• Education research publications

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Commissioned Studies: EPI receives funding from foundations (Nuffield Foundation), government bodies, and commissioned research projects. As a registered charity (Charity no. 1102186), they operate on grant income and research commissions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Education Policy Institute is an independent education research charity that conducts rigorous data analysis and publishes evidence-based research, annual benchmarking reports, and interactive data tools covering English education. Its work spans early years, school performance, SEND, disadvantage gaps, teacher workforce, social mobility, and education funding, delivered to inform policymakers, academics, and the education sector.

Product overview

The Education Policy Institute is a UK-based education research organization offering a portfolio of data visualization tools and research publications. Its core products include five interactive data tools (mental health services mapping, school funding maps, effective school groups, mental health policies tracker, and geographic disadvantage gaps) and comprehensive research publications including annual reports and policy analyses. The organization focuses on rigorous data analysis to inform education policy and raise standards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Annual Report on the State of English Education
• Mapping non-specialist mental health services in 2024
• School funding model interactive maps
• Effective School Groups Data Tool
• Children and Young People's Mental Health Policies Tracker
• Geographic Disadvantage Gaps data tool
• Research Reports and Policy Analyses

Quantifiable outcome

• By the end of secondary school, disadvantaged pupils are on average 19 months behind their peers
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SynccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 December 2025EPI partnered with Sync (wearesync.co.uk/enterprise/) in summer 2025 to host two expert roundtables examining how Multi-Academy Trusts make choices around edtech, focusing on inclusion and SEND support strategies. The collaboration produced a report on edtech decision-making and inclusive practice.
• SKOPE (Oxford University)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 July 2025EPI partnered with Oxford University's research centre SKOPE to publish a report recommending an integrated tertiary education system for England. Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the report calls for replacing competition between FE and HE.
• National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPI partnered with NDNA on multiple reports examining the impact of COVID-19 on the early years workforce, surveying thousands of early years settings across England, Scotland, and Wales from 2020-2021.
• National Children's Bureau (NCB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCB is one of three organisations funded by EYSI delivering evidence-informed programmes to support children's school readiness and home learning environment. EPI provides learning partner support to evaluate programme implementation.
• PeepleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeeple delivers the Exploring Together programme as part of EYSI, focusing on STEM skills in young children. EPI evaluates implementation and highlights lessons learnt across programmes.
• Speech and Language UKminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpeech and Language UK delivers Early Talk Boost programme as part of EYSI, providing online and physical resources to educators and families. EPI evaluates programme implementation.
• University of PlymouthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPI led research supported by University of Plymouth and Nuffield Foundation on systematic review of early years degrees, examining how degrees are variable and difficult for students and employers to navigate.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER): NFER is the UK's largest independent education research charity, producing rigorous data analysis, large-scale surveys, and policy evaluations — directly comparable to EPI's research-then-disseminate model serving government and the education sector.
• Sutton Trust: Sutton Trust is a UK education-focused charity producing research on social mobility and disadvantage — closely overlapping with EPI's social mobility and vulnerable learners research area. Both serve as evidence sources for government and translate findings for public debate.
• Centre for Education and Youth: CfEY is a UK education think tank producing research and policy commentary for government and educators with a smaller team profile similar to EPI, making it a direct peer in operating model and target audience.
• Education Endowment Foundation (EEF): EEF commissions and disseminates education research on effective practice, and is one of EPI's named commissioners. The two operate in the same UK education evidence ecosystem with overlapping funder relationships and audience of policymakers and practitioners.

Broad incumbents

• Reform: Reform is a UK think tank focused on public services reform covering education among other sectors. Its evidence-to-policy pipeline and government audience overlap with EPI's dissemination model.
• RAND Europe: RAND Europe is a research institution producing rigorous policy analysis for government and foundations across education and other sectors, with a similar blend of commissioned research, data tools, and public dissemination.
• Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR): IPPR is a leading UK think tank producing progressive policy research across multiple domains including education. Its commission-and-disseminate model and government-facing posture parallel EPI's approach at a much larger scale.
• Centre for Policy Studies: CPS is a UK centre-right think tank producing policy research and recommendations across public services including education. It is comparable in its government-facing posture and policy translation approach, though broader in ideological positioning.
• Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS): IFS is a larger, more established UK research institution producing rigorous economic and policy analysis that informs government debate. Although broader than education alone, IFS operates on a comparable model of independent, evidence-based research dissemination.

Others

• Nuffield Foundation: Nuffield Foundation is a named EPI funder (post-16 reform, early-years degrees) and an independent charitable trust funding education, welfare, and justice research. Listed as an ecosystem participant rather than a competitor given the funder-operator distinction.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/edupolicyinst

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Education Policy Institute