Academic Research & Consulting Services

What Academic Research & Consulting Services does

Academic Research & Consulting Services (ARCS) is a Vermont-based sole proprietorship founded in 2011 by Sandra A. Lathem, Ed.D. that provides customized consulting services to K-12 school districts, colleges and universities, non-profits, and small businesses. Core offerings include organizational development, program evaluation, logic model development, report writing, grant writing, constituent management, and web site development. The firm operates without a proprietary technology platform; service delivery is human-capital driven, with Little Green Light referenced as a third-party constituent management tool used in client engagements.

ARCS earns revenue through project-based professional services engagements, with each project scoped and priced individually based on client needs. Its go-to-market is owner-operator sales: Sandy Lathem acquires clients through direct outreach, professional reputation, and word-of-mouth referrals, with primary contact via phone (802-522-7923) and email ([email protected]). Distribution is direct and regional, with no intermediaries and no self-serve or product-led motion. Marketing is limited to a LinkedIn professional profile and referral channels.

The customer base is concentrated in the education sector. Named clients include the Vermont Agency of Education, multiple Vermont supervisory unions and school districts, and higher education institutions such as the University of Vermont, Community College of Vermont, Johnson State College, University of St. Francis (Illinois), and Wilson College (Pennsylvania), alongside the non-profit Friends of Green River Reservoir. ARCS is a single-practitioner operation with no disclosed employees beyond the founder, no external funding, and no institutional ownership.

Name

Academic Research & Consulting Services

Legal name

Academic Research & Consulting Services

Website

https://arcsvt.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Vermont

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Consulting and Professional Services: Project-based professional services including program evaluation, organizational development, grant writing, report writing, logic model development, and web site development. Revenue is earned through individual client engagements rather than recurring subscriptions or product sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Academic Research & Consulting Services (ARCS) is a sole proprietorship that delivers individualized consulting and research support to small businesses, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations. The practice offers services spanning organizational development, constituent management, logic model design, program evaluation, report writing, grant writing, and website development, with the founder personally executing and overseeing each engagement.

Product overview

Academic Research & Consulting Services (ARCS) is a consulting services firm offering a unified suite of professional services for small businesses and non-profits. The portfolio includes organizational development, constituent management (with Little Green Light), logic models, program evaluation, report writing, grant writing, and website development. ARCS works closely with clients to customize solutions and deliver evidence-based program evaluation reports. These services are offered as integrated consulting offerings rather than discrete software products or modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Organizational Development Consulting

Quantifiable outcome

• Clients report transformational outcomes from engagement, enabling reorganization and strategic vision articulation

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hanover Research: Provides research, data, and advisory services to educational institutions and non-profits. Closely comparable to ARCS in client base and service menu (program evaluation, organizational research), but operates at materially greater scale as a subscription research provider rather than a sole-practitioner consultancy.
• Augenblick, Palaich and Associates: Education consulting firm specializing in school finance analysis, program evaluation, and organizational reviews for K-12 districts and state agencies. Directly comparable to ARCS on program evaluation and organizational development engagements for supervisory unions and education agencies.
• McREL International: Non-profit education research and consulting organization that conducts program evaluation, logic model development, and organizational improvement work for schools and districts. Directly comparable service offering to ARCS, with overlapping client profile in K-12 and higher education.
• Education Resource Strategies (ERS): Non-profit consulting partner that works with school districts on strategic planning, resource allocation, and organizational redesign. Directly comparable to ARCS' organizational development and program evaluation work for K-12 supervisory unions, though at a much larger organizational scale.
• WestEd: Non-profit educational research and development organization offering program evaluation, policy analysis, and organizational consulting to schools, districts, and state agencies. Closely comparable service menu to ARCS, particularly in evaluation and logic model development.
• Bellwether Education Partners: Non-profit education consulting organization that advises school districts, states, and non-profits on strategy, organization, and program improvement. Comparable to ARCS in client base and organizational development focus, but operating at national scale.
• Gibson Consulting Group: Independent education consulting firm providing program evaluation and organizational development services to school districts and education agencies. Closely comparable scale and service model to ARCS as a focused education evaluation consultancy.

Broad incumbents

• Mathematica Policy Research: Large policy research and program evaluation firm serving federal, state, and non-profit clients including education agencies. Overlaps with ARCS on program evaluation methodology, but operates as a much larger R&D organization with broader policy scope.
• RAND Corporation: Major non-profit research institution conducting program evaluation, policy analysis, and organizational studies across education and other sectors. Comparable on evaluation methodology, but operates at vastly larger scale and competes for state-level and federal research contracts rather than individual district engagements.
• Huron Consulting Group: Large global consulting firm with an education and non-profit practice that delivers strategic planning and organizational development services. Overlaps with ARCS at the high end of district and university engagements, but competes as a broad management consultancy rather than an education specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/academic-research-&-consulting-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Academic Research & Consulting Services