What Magellan Strategies does

Magellan Strategies is a privately held, founder-owned survey research firm headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, operating since 2007. The firm designs, fields, and analyzes public opinion surveys on a project basis for four primary client verticals: local governments (cities, counties, municipal organizations), school districts, special districts (fire, water, library, parks, metro, housing), and public policy organizations (nonprofits, foundations, advocacy groups). Service offerings include community surveys, ballot measure surveys, voter opinion surveys, post-election surveys, and policy research surveys covering topics such as education funding, housing, public safety, transportation, and healthcare policy. The company has executed surveys for hundreds of Colorado public sector clients since 2007, with documented engagements supporting clients in passing bond measures, mill levy overrides, and tax measures for capital projects and operations.

The firm's core technology is an MMS text survey data collection platform combined with telephone interviewing, which it reports can reach up to 50% of registered or resident populations in a survey area, with particular effectiveness in rural areas with smaller populations. The platform is WCAG 2.0 compliant for accessibility by respondents with disabilities. Dual-mode data collection (text invitations and phone interviews) is positioned as enabling comprehensive demographic representation, including senior households less likely to support tax increases. Survey outputs include custom questionnaire design, data weighting, and actionable insights reports tailored to client decision-making needs. Revenue is generated through quote-based, project-by-project professional services fees covering meetings, presentation, and deliverables, with no publicly disclosed standard pricing or subscription model.

Magellan Strategies operates as a 5-person boutique with no external institutional funding, private equity, or venture capital backing. The leadership team consists of CEO and Founder David Flaherty (30+ years in political and public opinion research, formerly with the Republican National Committee, U.S. House Oversight Committee, and Americans for Prosperity), Principal and Co-Founder Jennifer Flaherty (redistricting and political data consulting veteran), Director of Survey Research Courtney Sievers MPA, and Director of Survey Data Analysis Ryan Winger. The firm is a member and supporter of the Colorado Special District Association. Distribution is exclusively through direct sales and inbound inquiries via website contact forms and phone, with no resellers, distributors, or marketplace channels. Geographic operations are concentrated in Colorado, with one documented California municipal client suggesting nascent out-of-state capability.

Name

Magellan Strategies

Legal name

Magellan Strategies

Website

https://magellanstrategies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Magellan Strategies is a Broomfield, Colorado-based public opinion survey research firm founded in 2007 that designs and conducts custom surveys for local governments, school districts, special districts, and public policy organizations, primarily in Colorado, using MMS text and telephone data collection methods.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Survey Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Quantitative Research & Survey Analytics (Survey Design, Sampling, Statistical Modeling) (MPAAALAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ), Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

Keywords

• Public opinion polling
• Survey research services
• Ballot measure surveys
• Community surveys
• Voter opinion research

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Survey Research Services: Project-based professional services for designing and managing public opinion surveys for government, school district, special district, and public policy clients. Revenue derived from custom survey projects with fees covering meetings, presentation, and survey deliverables.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Magellan Strategies designs and manages public opinion survey research projects for local governments, school districts, special districts, and public policy organizations, primarily in Colorado. Services include community surveys, ballot measure surveys, post-election surveys, and policy surveys delivered through a dual-mode data collection process combining MMS/SMS text invitations with telephone interviews. Each project includes questionnaire design, survey fielding, data weighting, and an actionable insights report for one all-inclusive fee.

Product overview

Magellan Strategies is a survey research firm offering a portfolio of public opinion polling services for governments, school districts, special districts, and public policy organizations. The core offerings include Government Surveys (community, ballot measure, policy, and post-election surveys), School District Surveys (community, ballot measure funding, and policy surveys), Special District Surveys (fire, park and recreation, housing, libraries, water/sanitation, and metro districts), and Public Policy Surveys covering healthcare, housing, public safety, transportation, and other legislative issues. The firm differentiates through its MMS Text Survey Data Collection technology, which uses text message invitations to achieve high response rates. Since 2007, the company has served hundreds of public sector clients across Colorado with community surveys, voter opinion ballot measure surveys, and public policy surveys.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Government Surveys High-quality, in-depth professional opinion surveys for government organizations including community surveys, ballot measure surveys, government policy surveys, and post-election surveys designed to help cities, counties, and municipal governments understand the communities they serve.
• School District Surveys Survey services for K-12 public school districts including school community surveys, ballot measure funding surveys (bonds and mill levy overrides), district community surveys, policy surveys, and post-election surveys to help districts understand public education opinions.
• Special District Surveys Survey services for special districts including fire protection districts, park and recreation districts, housing districts, library districts, water and sanitation districts, and metro districts to support community needs assessment and ballot measure campaigns.
• Public Policy Surveys Customizable and affordable surveys for public policy organizations covering policy proposals related to healthcare, housing and land use, public safety, social media regulation, transportation and transit policy, homelessness, addiction, and mental health, designed to influence policy-makers, media, elected officials, and the general public.

Named customers25 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Colorado Special District AssociationminorOthersMagellan Strategies is a proud supporter and member of the Colorado Special District Association, an organization serving special districts across Colorado.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• ETC Institute: National firm specializing in community surveys and citizen satisfaction research for cities, counties, and special districts, the same buyer and use case Magellan serves.
• FM3 Research: Public opinion research firm serving public agencies, governments, and ballot-measure campaigns, competing directly on ballot-measure and community polling work.
• EMC Research: Opinion research firm serving governments, transit and public agencies, and advocacy organizations, closely aligned with Magellan's public-sector and policy polling.
• Polco (National Research Center): Colorado-based provider of community surveys and civic engagement analytics for local governments and special districts, directly overlapping Magellan's public-sector survey research offering and geography.
• True North Research: Public opinion research firm focused on community and ballot/tax-measure feasibility surveys for local governments and agencies, mirroring Magellan's core services.
• Probolsky Research: Nonpartisan opinion research firm conducting government, ballot measure, and public policy surveys, directly comparable in offering and clientele.

Regional players

• RRC Associates: Boulder, Colorado-based survey research firm conducting community and market research, sharing Magellan's home market and survey methodology focus.
• Godbe Research: Public opinion and community survey firm serving public agencies, but primarily focused on California rather than Colorado.
• Corona Insights: Denver, Colorado-based research and evaluation firm serving nonprofits and government, overlapping in geography and public-sector research though broader in scope.

Others

• Qualtrics: Enterprise survey and experience-management software platform; an enabling/alternative technology public agencies could use for self-serve survey collection rather than a full-service research partner.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MagellanStrat
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Magellan_Strategies
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/david-flaherty-2317994
• Instagraminstagram.com/magellanstrat
• Facebookfacebook.com/MagellanStrategies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Magellan Strategies