Network of International Consultants in Health and Development

What Network of International Consultants in Health and Development does

NICHAD (Network of International Consultants in Health and Development) is a UK-based network of approximately 25 self-employed health development specialists, founded in 2019 and registered in Bawdeswell. The network provides short- and medium-term consultancy services in health strategy, health systems strengthening, health economics, monitoring and evaluation, health policy analysis, organisational development, and high-level facilitation. Members operate as individuals or assemble into small teams, with NICHAD acting as a coordination, branding, and referral layer rather than a contracting entity with employed staff. There is no technology product; the offering is professional services delivered by senior practitioners.

The network's value proposition rests on collective expertise accumulated across decades of senior roles in global health institutions. Members include former WHO Directors, Global Fund and Gavi executives, DFID advisers, McKinsey alumni, and academics from LSHTM, Oxford, Cambridge, and Berkeley. Clients span national governments in low- and middle-income countries, bilateral donors (notably UK FCDO), large foundations (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), and the major multilaterals of the global health architecture (WHO, Global Fund, Gavi, Unitaid, UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank). Project experience extends across Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Pacific.

Commercial mechanics are those of a professional services referral collective: individual members set and charge their own consulting fees, with NICHAD providing a single client-facing contact point ([email protected], 24-hour response). The model is explicitly positioned as a low-overhead, high-quality alternative to traditional consultancies, with peer review and mutual professional support as internal quality control. The network has no disclosed revenue, no external funding, no parent company, and no public pricing schedule.

Name

Network of International Consultants in Health and Development

Legal name

Network of International Consultants in Heath and Development

Website

https://nichad.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NICHAD is a UK-based network of about 25 self-employed senior health development consultants offering short- and medium-term advisory services in health strategy, systems, economics, M&E, and policy to governments, foundations, and multilaterals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bawdeswell

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices16 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: NICHAD members provide high quality expertise either as single consultants or as small teams. Members are self-employed professionals who charge consulting fees for health strategy, health systems development, health economics, monitoring and evaluation, policy analysis, organisational development and high level facilitation services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

NICHAD is a network of 25+ self-employed health development specialists delivering short and medium-term consultancy to national governments, foundations, charities, and international agencies. Services span health strategy, health systems strengthening, health economics, monitoring and evaluation, policy analysis, organisational development, and high-level facilitation, provided as individual consultants or small teams across low- and middle-income countries.

Product overview

NICHAD is a network of self-employed health development specialists offering short and medium-term consultancy services in health strategy, health systems development, health economics, monitoring and evaluation, policy analysis, organisational development, and high-level facilitation. The network consists of individual consultants who provide expertise either as single consultants or as small teams, with complementary skills in areas including health systems strengthening, health financing, sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, antimicrobial resistance, and global health partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Health Strategy Consulting Consulting engagements covering the development of national and organisational health strategies, including strategic and operational planning for governments, foundations, and international agencies working in low- and middle-income countries.

Named customers28 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Abt Associates: US-headquartered research and consulting firm running major global health contracts (e.g., SHOPS Plus, PMI) for USAID and Gates Foundation. Direct competitor for donor-funded health systems and evaluation work in LMICs.
• Crown Agents: International development company delivering health systems, procurement and capacity-building services to LMIC governments and donors. Allison Beattie (NICHAD member) previously directed its health practice.
• Palladium: Global advisory firm with a substantial international health practice delivering health systems strengthening, M&E and policy advisory services to donors and LMIC governments - overlapping directly with NICHAD's core offerings at greater scale.
• Mott MacDonald (HLSP): Major infrastructure and development consultancy whose HLSP division has historically dominated international health consulting for FCDO. Multiple NICHAD members (Cindy Carlson, Jackie Mundy, Cheri Grace, Ken Grant) previously led or worked in HLSP, and NICHAD competes directly for the same institutional mandates.

Emerging players

• BroadReach Group: Health systems and programme management firm combining consulting with proprietary Vantage technology platform for LMIC health delivery - competes for the same institutional health systems strengthening mandates.
• ThinkWell Institute: Global health systems and financing advisory firm working extensively with Gates, World Bank and USAID on LMIC health strategy and financing reform - directly comparable mandate to NICHAD's health economics and strategy work.

Direct peers

• HEART Consortium: UK-based health and development knowledge consortium founded by Mike Naylor (now a NICHAD member). Provides similar technical assistance and advisory services to FCDO and other donors in LMIC health, making it the closest analogue to NICHAD's model.
• Cambridge Economic Policy Associates (CEPA): UK-based economic and policy advisory firm with a strong health financing and global health practice serving multilateral clients (Global Fund, Gavi, World Bank). Highly comparable to NICHAD's health economics and policy analysis mandate.
• Integrity (Adam Smith International): Advisory firm specialising in Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) for international development, with strong overlap to NICHAD's M&E offering. Katie Bigmore (NICHAD member) previously led Integrity's global health practice.
• Options Consultancy Services: UK-based consultancy focused on health policy, systems and reproductive, maternal and newborn health across LMICs - closely comparable in geography, donor base and technical scope to NICHAD's offerings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles24 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Network of International Consultants in Health and Development