Gramercy Research Group

What Gramercy Research Group does

Gramercy Research Group, LLC is a privately-held, North Carolina-based health research services firm founded in 2009 by Dr. Melicia C. Whitt-Glover. The company conducts community-based participatory research (CBPR) and develops evidence-based health promotion programs for underserved and minority populations, explicitly integrating faith, science, and research methodology. Its named portfolio includes six active research programs - Instant Recess® (a school-based 10-minute moderate-intensity exercise break), Active & Healthy Brotherhood (chronic disease self-management for Black men), LADIES for a Better Life (faith-based physical activity for African American women), Translating Dietary Trials into the Community (DASH eating plan dissemination), Active Commuting to Schools, and Policy and Environmental Supports for Nutrition and Physical Activity on College Campuses - plus four integrated service lines covering planning, implementation/evaluation, dissemination, and team management/training.

The firm generates revenue through three primary streams: federal contracts secured via the SBA 8(a) Business Development Program (sole-source ceiling of $4M), grants from federal agencies (primarily NIH) and comparative-effectiveness funders (PCORI), and foundation grants from entities such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Morehouse School of Medicine Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center. It holds five SBA certifications - 8(a), WOSB, EDWOSB, SDB, and a North Carolina HUBZone designation - and operates with a small staff (11-50 employees) backed by a five-member Scientific Advisory Committee, a five-member Community Advisory Board, and external consultants.

Gramercy serves federal, academic, faith-based, and community-based clients across 29 states (community/faith footprint) and 15 states (academic/government institution footprint). It is led by a FACSM-designated President/CEO with prior leadership roles at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the Maya Angelou Center for Research and Minority Health, and is supported by affiliated FACSM researchers and a published Google Scholar profile. There is no disclosed parent company, no PE/VC backing, no parent-subsidiary structure, and no M&A activity on record.

Name

Gramercy Research Group

Legal name

Gramercy Research Group, LLC

Website

https://gramercyresearch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gramercy Research Group is a privately-held North Carolina health research firm founded in 2009 that uses community-based participatory research to develop and evaluate evidence-based health promotion programs for faith-, school-, and community-based organizations serving minority and underserved populations, funded via federal grants and SBA 8(a) contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Health, Prevention & Health Education (BPAGACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health Equity, Access & Social Determinants Programs (BPAIAJAO), Health Promotion & Public Health Education (Community Workshops) (EDAAAFAG)

Keywords

• Health promotion research
• Community-based participatory research
• Evidence-based health programs
• Public health research services
• Minority health research

Headquarters

HQ city

Winston Salem

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Contracts and Grants: Research funded by government sources including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies through SBA 8(a) sole source contracts and grant programs.
2. Private Foundation Grants: Research supported by private foundations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and Morehouse School of Medicine Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center.
3. Professional Services: Provides contract services to faith-, community-, government-, and academic-based organizations including planning, implementation, evaluation, dissemination, and team management/training services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Gramercy Research Group provides research and consulting services to government, academic, faith-based, and community organizations through four core capabilities (Planning, Implementation and Evaluation, Dissemination, Team Management and Training) executed as federally and foundation-funded health promotion studies. Its proprietary, evidence-based programs such as Instant Recess® deliver structured physical-activity, nutrition, and chronic-disease self-management interventions targeting racial and ethnic minority populations.

Product overview

Gramercy Research Group is a research and consulting organization that operates as a single unified offering focused on health and wellness research services. The company's portfolio includes six named research programs (Instant Recess®, Active & Healthy Brotherhood, LADIES for a Better Life Study, Translating Dietary Trials into the Community, Active Commuting to Schools, and Policy and Environmental Supports for College Campuses) supported by four core service capabilities (Planning, Implementation and Evaluation, Dissemination, and Team Management and Training). All offerings are grounded in community-based participatory research approaches and integrate faith-based principles with scientific methodology to develop evidence-based programs that help individuals adopt and sustain healthy lifestyles, particularly among underserved populations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Instant Recess® Evidence-based program designed to improve the health and productivity of school-aged children by helping teachers and administrators incorporate 10-minute, moderate-intensity exercise breaks into the regular school day.
• Active & Healthy Brotherhood (AHB) Health intervention program designed for African-American men providing information on basic health, healthy eating, physical activity, stress management, and accessing medical care, structured as approximately 16 group sessions over four months plus follow-up phone calls.
• LADIES for a Better Life Study Study evaluating three approaches for increasing physical activity in African American women, comparing faith-based physical activity programs, general physical activity programs, and self-guided programs using NIH materials.
• Translating Dietary Trials into the Community Partnership with Wake Forest University School of Medicine focused on translating the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan for use in under-resourced communities, including a 12-week pilot intervention.
• Active Commuting to Schools (ACtS) 18-month program designed to increase the number of children who use active transportation (walking, biking, scootering, skateboarding) to get to school, including surveys, educational videos, and community encouragement.
• Policy and Environmental Supports for Nutrition and Physical Activity on College Campuses Research project assessing environmental and policy supports for healthy eating and physical activity at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Predominantly White Institutions (PWI) using a mixed methods approach.
• Planning Services Services including epidemiological surveillance, formative assessment/focus groups, scientific/literature review, evidence scan and summary, research question development, data collection tool identification, and database design, development, and maintenance.
• Implementation and Evaluation Services Services including participant recruitment and retention, indicator development and reporting, data collection, cleaning, verification, storage, and data analysis and interpretation.
• Dissemination Services Services including community outreach, communication strategy development, outreach materials design, conference/workshop/event facilitation, website development and maintenance, and application design and development.
• Team Management and Training Services Services including fiscal agent/monitoring, financial analysis/forecasting, audit preparation, human resources strategy, legal compliance, staff recruiting, interviewing, training, performance feedback, administrative support, and expert panel and peer review.

Quantifiable outcome

• LADIES Study: Approximately 450 participants from 30 churches completed physical activity intervention programs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIH provides funding for research projects including the Translating Dietary Trials into the Community study (HL091303) and the LADIES for a Better Life Study (HL0945801). NIH funding supports Gramercy's mission to improve health in underserved communities.
• Wake Forest University School of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Translating Dietary Trials into the Community project (DASH eating plan) and Policy and Environmental Supports for Nutrition and Physical Activity on College Campuses study.
• Winston-Salem State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Policy and Environmental Supports for Nutrition and Physical Activity on College Campuses study, focusing on HBCU campuses for obesity prevention strategies.
• UCLA Center to Eliminate Health DisparitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding support for Instant Recess research and dissemination, focusing on brief bouts of exercise in classroom settings to enhance children's physical activity and fitness.
• UNC Gillings School of Global Public HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner providing research collaboration and expertise in public health and epidemiology.
• Liberation Health StrategiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity health organization partner working on health initiatives and research projects.
• Liminal Spaces LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization involved in health research and community collaboration.
• REACH Beyond SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization collaborating on health research and community-based initiatives.
• WeCollabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner for health and wellness initiatives.
• Forsyth County Department of Public HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment health agency partner for community health initiatives and research projects.
• Active Living ResearchmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch organization focused on physical activity research and policy.
• Prevention StrategiesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization focused on health prevention strategies.
• MACHE (Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity at Wake Forest)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic center focused on minority health and health disparities research.
• Montana State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for research collaboration.
• Shaw University Divinity SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHBCU divinity school partner for faith-based health initiatives.
• UCLA Center for Health EquitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic center partner focused on health equity research.
• YMCA of Northwest NCmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization partner for health and wellness programs.
• YWCA of Winston-SalemmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization partner focused on women's health and empowerment.
• Winston-Salem/Forsyth County SchoolsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool district partner for student health and physical activity programs including Instant Recess.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ICF International: ICF is a large global consulting and digital services firm with a substantial public health practice serving CDC, NIH, and state health agencies. Competes with Gramercy for federal health research and program support contracts but offers a far broader portfolio.
• RTI International: RTI International is a major nonprofit research institute with substantial health equity, social science, and community-based research practices serving NIH and other federal sponsors. Significantly larger and broader than Gramercy but directly competes for similar federal awards.
• Westat: Westat is a large employee-owned research firm that conducts health services, epidemiology, and community-based research for NIH, CDC, and other federal agencies. Overlaps with Gramercy's federal research services but operates at vastly greater scale across many domains.
• Mathematica: Mathematica is a large policy research and evaluation firm with deep federal health and human services portfolios. Overlaps with Gramercy's evaluation and dissemination services but at much greater scale and across many topic areas.

Direct peers

• Health Resources in Action (HRiA): HRiA is a nonprofit public health research and consulting organization that designs and evaluates community-based health programs, very similar in mission and operating model to Gramercy's CBPR work. Comparable in delivering planning, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination services to community, academic, and government clients.
• ETR Associates: ETR is a nonprofit that develops evidence-based health promotion programs, conducts research on adolescent and community health, and disseminates curricula to schools and community organizations — closely overlapping with Gramercy's Instant Recess®-style school-based health intervention portfolio.
• Equal Measure: Equal Measure is an evaluation and research firm that partners with foundations, nonprofits, and government to assess health and social programs serving underrepresented communities. Directly comparable to Gramercy's community-based evaluation and learning services targeting minority and underserved populations.
• MayaTech Corporation: MayaTech is an SBA-certified small disadvantaged business providing health equity, health services research, and policy analysis to federal agencies. Highly comparable to Gramercy as a small, federally certified health research contractor competing for similar set-aside awards.
• Community Science: Community Science (formerly Aspen Institute's community strategies group) specializes in community-based participatory research, evaluation, and capacity building with foundations and government agencies. Directly comparable in CBPR methodology, federal contracting, and mission to Gramercy Research Group.
• Cicatelli Associates Inc. (CAI): CAI is a nonprofit public health training and capacity-building organization that works with community-based organizations, health departments, and federal agencies on health equity initiatives. Highly comparable to Gramercy's community-focused health promotion model and grant-funded operating model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/GramercyNC/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/Gramercy-Research-Group-232368311771
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gramercy-research-group

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Gramercy Research Group