What Higher Educational Research Development Institute does

Higher Education Research and Development Institute (HERDI) is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that operates as an advisory intermediary between companies serving the higher education market and senior decision-makers at community colleges. The organization convenes three advisory board divisions — HERDI National (50+ members, nationally focused), HERDI Innovate (serving technology companies with feedback from VPs and CIOs), and HERDI South (~40 members across 11 SACSCOC states) — collectively comprising more than 150 peer-selected community college chancellors, presidents, and senior leaders. Its core service is the facilitation of confidential panel sessions, typically up to three hours in length, in which client partners present products, pricing, and strategies to community college leaders and receive candid feedback on messaging, product development, and go-to-market approach. In-person sessions are held twice yearly (HERDI National, aligned with AACC and ACCT annual meetings) and once yearly (HERDI South, in December), with virtual panels available throughout the year.

HERDI generates revenue through professional-services advisory fees paid by client partners — edtech companies, educational publishers, content providers, and other organizations targeting the community college sector — for access to these panel sessions. The client roster is broad and includes well-known higher education names such as Cengage, VitalSource, ClassLink, ACUE, Anthology, Acadeum, and Akademos. There is no proprietary technology stack; the asset is the proprietary network of community college leaders and the relationships built through association partnerships with AACC, ACCT, the League for Innovation in the Community College, and SACSCOC. The organization is led by President/CEO Toni Cleveland and Director of HERDI Innovate Kathy Roman, and operates without disclosed external funding, parent company, or headcount.

Name

Higher Educational Research Development Institute

Legal name

Higher Education Research and Development Institute

Website

https://herdi.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

HERDI is a U.S. nonprofit that operates advisory boards connecting edtech companies and educational publishers with 150+ peer-selected community college chancellors, presidents, and senior leaders for confidential panel feedback on products, pricing, and strategy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Advisory Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Customer/User Conferences & Client Advisory Boards (THAHAMAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Academic & Education Conference Organizers (THAHACAE)

Keywords

• Advisory board services
• Education consulting
• Market research services
• Community college advisory
• Higher education consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Advisory Services: HERDI generates revenue by providing advisory board services to client partners (companies serving the higher education market). Client company executives pay for access to confidential panel sessions with community college leaders who provide feedback on products, messaging, pricing, and strategies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HERDI operates three advisory board divisions (HERDI National, HERDI Innovate, and HERDI South) that convene more than 150 peer-selected community college chancellors, presidents, and senior leaders for confidential panel sessions with client companies. Client partners pay for up to three-hour confidential sessions where these higher-education decision-makers provide candid feedback on the client's products, messaging, pricing, product development, and go-to-market strategies, helping companies research, sharpen, reshape, and refine their offerings for the community college market.

Product overview

HERDI (Higher Education Research and Development Institute) is a national organization that provides advisory board services connecting innovative companies with community college leaders. The organization operates three distinct advisory board divisions (HERDI National, HERDI Innovate, and HERDI South) comprising more than 150 peer-selected community college chancellors, presidents, and senior leaders. Through confidential panel sessions lasting up to three hours, these leaders provide candid feedback and counsel to client partners to help them research, sharpen, reshape, and refine their messaging, pricing, product development, and strategies. The core offering is the facilitation of direct dialogue between companies seeking to serve the higher education market and the decision-makers who implement solutions at community colleges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HERDI National Advisory Board
• HERDI Innovate Advisory Board
• HERDI South Advisory Board

Quantifiable outcome

• Companies research, sharpen, reshape and refine their messaging, pricing, product development, and strategies through HERDI advisory sessions.

Named customers13 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

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHERDI National meets twice a year in spring and fall, preceding the annual meetings of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT).
• Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHERDI National meets preceding ACCT's annual meetings, and advisory board members sit on ACCT's boards.
• League for Innovation in the Community CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHERDI National advisory board members sit on the boards of the League for Innovation in the Community College.
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHERDI South holds meetings immediately preceding the Annual Meeting of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, drawing members from 11 SACSCOC states.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Whiteboard Advisors: Education-focused consulting firm that convenes leaders, produces sector research, and advises EdTech and policy clients — overlapping with HERDI's advisory, convening, and qualitative-feedback model for the education market.
• HolonIQ: Global education market intelligence platform offering research, advisory, and data products to education vendors and institutions. Operates a parallel intel-gathering and advisory model addressing EdTech companies across the same buy-side as HERDI.
• Entangled Group: Education-sector advisory that facilitates partnerships, pilots, and convenings between EdTech firms and institutions. Directly comparable to HERDI in matching EdTech vendors with institutional leaders and producing qualitative market intelligence.
• Eduventures (Encoura): Research and advisory arm focused on higher education enrollment, marketing, and student success — serves EdTech vendors and institutions with qualitative and quantitative market intelligence, directly mirroring HERDI's panel-based qualitative research for the community college segment.
• Tyton Partners: Education-sector strategy consulting and investment bank advising EdTech companies, publishers, and institutions on go-to-market and growth. Targets the same higher-education vendor buyer that HERDI serves, with adjacent qualitative research muscle.

Broad incumbents

• Huron Consulting Group (Higher Education practice): Large management consultancy with a higher education practice serving colleges and universities on strategy, operations, and technology. Competes with HERDI for higher-ed advisory budgets at a much larger scale and broader portfolio.
• McKinsey & Company (Education Practice): Global management consulting firm with a dedicated education sector practice advising institutions, EdTech firms, and foundations — competes for the same higher education advisory wallet but at significantly greater scale and breadth than HERDI.
• EAB: Large-scale higher education research, advisory, and technology firm serving institutions and EdTech companies. Notably appears as a HERDI client partner per the source materials, indicating that even broad incumbents value community-college-specific panel access.
• Deloitte (Higher Education practice): Big Four professional services firm with a higher education industry practice offering strategy, analytics, and technology consulting — an indirect competitor for institutional and EdTech advisory mandates.

Others

• The Chronicle of Higher Education: Leading higher education news, events, and intelligence outlet serving institutional leaders. Adjacent rather than directly competitive — provides HERDI's network members with the same information ecosystem and overlap with association/conference events.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HERDIresearch
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@herdiresearch6887
• Facebookfacebook.com/HERDIresearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/herdi-org

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 Higher Educational Research Development Institute