Federal Science Partners

What Federal Science Partners does

Federal Science Partners (FSP) is a Washington, D.C.-based boutique public policy consulting and strategic advocacy firm founded in 2014, serving higher education institutions, national research facilities, scientific organizations, and selected corporations and non-profits. The firm helps clients attract and retain federal research and education funding, position themselves as thought leaders with Washington decision makers, defend against program terminations, and secure congressional support through the appropriations process. Its core offerings include public policy advocacy, federal funding attraction and retention, thought-leadership positioning, coalition support, congressional support generation, grant funding enhancement, and strategic opportunity creation, delivered as integrated consulting engagements rather than discrete technology products.

The firm's competitive differentiation rests on the personal backgrounds of its partners: founding partners Meg Thompson (20+ years on Capitol Hill, including House Appropriations Subcommittee staff roles) and Joel Widder (former Acting Director and Deputy Director of NSF's Office of Legislative and Public Affairs), plus partners Hon. John A. Culberson (former U.S. Congressman who chaired the House CJS Appropriations Subcommittee), Allison Hays (former Public Affairs lead at Consortium for Ocean Leadership), and John Martens (30-year House Appropriations Committee veteran and Senior Advisor), with Lesley Young serving as Consultant for Defense/National Security. Documented outcomes include increasing NIH appropriations from $30B in FY2013 to nearly $36B in FY2019, securing a $70M FY2018 funding increase for the National Sea Grant College Program, doubling federal support for a marine lab infrastructure program over three years, and influencing key provisions of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017.

FSP operates a partner-led, relationship-based business model with no technology product layer, no public pricing, and no disclosed revenue figures. Distribution is entirely direct, through founding partners and senior consultants engaging university presidents, research institution leadership, and association executives. The firm is privately held, appears to be independently owned by its partners, and is not venture-backed. Operating geographies are limited to the United States, with all work conducted in and around the federal government ecosystem in Washington, D.C.

Name

Federal Science Partners

Legal name

Federal Science Partners

Website

https://federalsciencepartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Federal Science Partners is a Washington, D.C.-based bipartisan boutique consulting firm that provides federal appropriations advocacy, funding attraction, and public policy counsel to universities, national research facilities, scientific organizations, and selected corporations and non-profits.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Federal Advocacy and Public Policy Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Sector & Policy Consulting (BPAHACAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Science, Technology & Innovation Administration (National R&D Policy) (BPAIAAAK), Intergovernmental Affairs & Federal Grants Administration (BPAIAAAC)

Keywords

• Federal advocacy services
• Public policy consulting
• Government relations
• Federal funding strategy
• Science policy advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Strategic Consulting Services: Federal Science Partners generates revenue through consulting engagements with research institutions, universities, and scientific organizations seeking to advance their public policy agendas and federal funding priorities in Washington.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Federal Science Partners is a boutique consulting firm that provides federal public policy advocacy and strategic counsel to higher education institutions, national research facilities, scientific organizations, and select corporations. Services focus on helping clients attract and retain federal research and education funding, navigate the federal appropriations and budget process, and position themselves as thought leaders with Washington decision makers. Engagement is delivered directly by founding partners and senior consultants with extensive bipartisan relationships across congressional committees and federal science agencies.

Product overview

Federal Science Partners is a consulting firm offering a unified suite of federal advocacy and public policy services. The core offerings include public policy advocacy, federal funding attraction and retention, thought-leadership positioning, coalition support, congressional support generation, grant funding enhancement, and strategic opportunity creation in Washington. These services are delivered by a team of former congressional staff and government relations professionals to help clients navigate federal agencies and congressional committees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Public Policy Advocacy Services
• Federal Funding Attraction and Retention
• Thought-Leadership Positioning and Strategic Opportunity Creation
• Coalition Support and Congressional Support Generation
• Federal Funding Preservation and Enhancement

Quantifiable outcome

• Increased NIH appropriations from $30 billion in FY2013 to nearly $36 billion in FY2019 for biomedical and biological research clients
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers27 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hudson Saraney Hill: Hudson Saraney Hill is a Washington, D.C.-based federal science consulting firm specializing in research, environmental, and science policy advocacy. It serves many of the same federal agencies and research institution clients as FSP with comparable appropriations and policy services.
• CRD Associates: CRD Associates is a Washington-based government relations firm focused on the scientific and research community. It represents higher education and research institutions seeking federal funding and policy outcomes, directly comparable to Federal Science Partners' core service model.
• Mehlman Consulting: Mehlman Consulting is a bipartisan government relations firm focused on health, life sciences, and technology policy. It serves associations and organizations seeking appropriations and regulatory outcomes in scientific domains, overlapping directly with FSP's biomedical and life sciences advocacy work.
• Lewis-Burke Associates LLC: Lewis-Burke Associates is a federal relations firm focused on research institutions, universities, and scientific organizations seeking federal R&D funding. It serves an overlapping client base of major research universities and science-focused associations with virtually identical service offerings to Federal Science Partners.
• Cornerstone Government Affairs: Cornerstone Government Affairs is a bipartisan federal lobbying and strategic advisory firm with offices in Washington, D.C. It serves research institutions, universities, and associations seeking appropriations and policy outcomes, making it a direct competitor to FSP in the R&D advocacy space.

Broad incumbents

• Holland & Knight: Holland & Knight is a major law firm with a substantial federal government relations practice representing universities, research institutions, and associations on appropriations and policy matters. It pursues the same institutional research clients as FSP but as a broader practice area across multiple industries.
• Forbes Tate Partners: Forbes Tate Partners is a public affairs and government relations firm providing strategic advocacy and communications services across multiple sectors including science and technology. It overlaps with FSP on appropriations work for research-adjacent clients but operates at broader scale with diversified sector exposure.
• Cassidy & Associates: Cassidy & Associates is a Washington, D.C.-based federal government relations firm founded in 1975 that serves institutional clients across multiple sectors including science, education, and research. It provides appropriations advocacy comparable to FSP but at significantly larger scale and broader sector coverage.
• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Akin Gump is a major international law firm with a sizable government relations practice serving research universities, scientific associations, and corporations on federal appropriations and policy. It competes with FSP on institutional clients seeking higher-touch advocacy, though as one service line among many.
• Van Scoyoc Associates: Van Scoyoc Associates is a long-established Washington, D.C. government relations firm providing federal advocacy across multiple sectors including science and research. It serves many of the same federal agency clients (NIH, NSF, NASA, NOAA) but operates across a broader portfolio of issues beyond science policy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/FedSci
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/federal-science-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Federal Science Partners