Knowledge Partnership

What Knowledge Partnership does

Knowledge Partnership is a privately-held UK market research consultancy founded in 2004 and headquartered in Edinburgh, specialising exclusively in tenant insight services for the social housing sector. The firm serves housing associations, local authorities/councils, and housing co-operatives across Scotland, Wales, and the wider United Kingdom, with delivery constrained to UK-resident users per its terms and conditions. The company is micro-scale, listed at 1-10 employees, with the named team comprising Principal Consultant Alan Kennedy (over 20 years of tenant surveying experience) and Survey Manager Kirsty Traynor, who oversees all fieldwork including field interviewer management.

Name

Knowledge Partnership

Legal name

Knowledge Partnership

Website

https://kpartners.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Knowledge Partnership is an Edinburgh-based UK market research consultancy that provides tenant satisfaction surveys, pulse surveys, focus groups, and EDI research exclusively to social housing landlords, including housing associations, councils, and co-operatives across the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Housing Market Research

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

Keywords

• Tenant satisfaction surveys
• Social housing research
• Market research services
• Pulse surveys housing
• EDI research social landlords

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Market Research Services: Professional services revenue from providing tenant satisfaction surveys, pulse surveys, focus groups, and EDI research to social landlords. Services are project-based with tailored survey design, fieldwork, analysis, and reporting deliverables.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Knowledge Partnership provides bespoke market research services for UK social landlords, including large-scale tenant satisfaction surveys, recurring pulse surveys, professionally facilitated tenant focus groups, and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) research. Projects are delivered end-to-end — from survey design and fieldwork administration (face-to-face, telephone, online, postal) through to analysis and reporting — and are aligned with UK social housing regulatory requirements including the Scottish Housing Regulator, STAR methodology, Tenant Satisfaction Measures, and the Equality Act 2010.

Product overview

Knowledge Partnership offers a suite of four integrated research services for social housing landlords: Tenant Satisfaction Surveys (large-scale periodic assessments of tenant experiences), Pulse Surveys (regular short-form feedback tracking), Tenant Focus Groups (facilitated discussion sessions for deeper insight exploration), and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Research (demographic and protected characteristic surveys). These services are designed to work independently or in combination, providing housing associations, councils, and co-operatives with actionable intelligence for service improvement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tenant Satisfaction Surveys Comprehensive, multi-mode (face-to-face, telephone, online, postal) feedback tool used by social housing landlords — housing associations, councils, and co-operatives across the UK — to gather tenant experiences, concerns, and overall satisfaction data aligned with UK social housing regulatory requirements and the STAR methodology.
• Pulse Surveys Short, focused surveys delivered monthly or quarterly to provide regular tracking of tenant satisfaction for social landlords, capturing feedback shortly after key events such as property repairs, moves, or complaints, including focused assessments of routine repairs, property standards, and overall tenant satisfaction.
• Tenant Focus Groups Professionally facilitated 90-minute structured discussion sessions with typically 8-10 residents exploring 5-6 key service areas including communications, customer contact, and repairs performance, following a bespoke discussion framework developed in partnership with client housing organisations.
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Research Survey methodology supplying UK housing providers with insights into resident demographics and protected characteristics, designed to ensure compliance with equality legislation including the Equality Act 2010 and social housing regulations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Trusted by housing associations, councils, and co-ops across the UK with consistent 5-star client testimonials

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Scotland's Housing NetworkcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerKnowledge Partnership has an agreement in place with Scotland's Housing Network (SHN) to provide survey discounts to their members. SHN is a membership organisation for local authorities and registered social landlords in Scotland. Knowledge Partnership is recognised as a supplier of Tenant Satisfaction Survey services by SHN.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Kantar: Kantar is a global data, analytics, and brand research firm. Its UK public-sector division periodically competes for large-scale social housing and tenant research commissions where specialist firms like Knowledge Partnership also bid.
• BMG Research: BMG Research is a UK-based full-service market research agency with an established public-sector and housing practice. It competes with Knowledge Partnership on tenant satisfaction and public-sector survey contracts, though it serves a much broader client base.
• Ipsos: Ipsos is one of the world's largest market research firms with a UK public-sector practice covering social research and tenant insight. Its scale and panel infrastructure mean it can compete for larger social housing research mandates.
• Capita: Capita is a large UK outsourcing and consulting group with a housing practice covering tenant engagement, surveys, and regulatory reporting. It competes indirectly through scale and bundled contracts with housing associations and local authorities.
• YouGov: YouGov is a UK-headquartered international research and polling firm. While not social-housing-specific, its panel-based survey capabilities and public-sector work make it a potential alternative for tenant satisfaction research at scale.

Direct peers

• Housemark: Housemark is the specialist data, benchmarking, and insight provider for the UK social housing sector. It is the most direct competitor to Knowledge Partnership, offering performance analytics and tenant insight products aimed at the same housing-association and council buyer.
• Smith & Henderson: Smith & Henderson is a research and insight firm focused on the UK social housing sector, providing tenant satisfaction, engagement, and perception research. It is directly comparable as a specialist social-housing research provider.
• TPAS: TPAS is the national tenant engagement advisory organisation for social housing in England. It overlaps directly with Knowledge Partnership in tenant engagement research, focus groups, and resident involvement support for housing associations and councils.

Emerging players

• M.E.L Research: M.E.L Research is a UK-based social and market research consultancy with public-sector experience. It is comparable as a small specialist research firm capable of running tenant and resident insight projects for housing providers.
• Opinium: Opinium is a UK market research agency with a growing public-sector and reputation research practice. It is an emerging competitor that occasionally bids on tenant and resident research mandates alongside specialist firms like Knowledge Partnership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

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 Knowledge Partnership