UMass Donahue Institute

What UMass Donahue Institute does

UMass Donahue Institute is a public, university-affiliated applied research and public service institute of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, founded in 1970 and headquartered in Hadley, Massachusetts. It operates multiple business groups spanning economic and public policy research, applied research and program evaluation, organizational capacity building, workforce development, and early childhood services (including the Head Start National Center on Program Management and Fiscal Operations, Connected Beginnings, and the New England Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network). Core technical offerings include economic impact analysis using IMPLAN and REMI modeling software, industry research, public policy analysis, economic development analysis, mapping and data visualization, and proprietary data products such as the Massachusetts State Data Center, the Population Estimates Program (including the Group Quarters Survey and Housing Unit Review Survey), 30-year population projections, and Census 2020 Data Tools. The institute is the official Massachusetts State Data Center and the state's FSCPE representative to the U.S. Census Bureau, and publishes the MassBenchmarks Journal in cooperation with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Name

UMass Donahue Institute

Legal name

UMass Donahue Institute

Website

https://donahue.umass.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

UMass Donahue Institute is a public, university-affiliated research institute of the University of Massachusetts Amherst that provides economic impact analysis, demographic research, population estimates, and program evaluation services to federal, state, and local government agencies, nonprofits, and private sector clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic and Public Policy Research Consulting

NAICS

Public Administration (92), Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921), Administration of Economic Programs (926)

akta.pro primary industry

National Statistics & Census Administration (BPAIAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research Administration & Grants Management Support (Pre/Post-Award, Compliance) (EDAEALAO), Funding, Finance & Grants Reporting (Allocations, Claims, Reconciliation) (EDADAIAG)

Keywords

• Economic impact analysis
• Demographic research
• Public policy consulting
• Population estimates
• Census data services

Headquarters

HQ city

Hadley

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. Government Contracts: Fee-for-service consulting contracts with federal, state, and local government agencies. GSA-approved vendor since 2002 under Professional Services Schedule (PSS) categories 874-1 and 874-4.
2. Nonprofit and Foundation Grants: Grant-funded research and program evaluation for nonprofit organizations and foundations.
3. Private Sector Consulting: Fee-for-service economic research, industry studies, and policy analysis for corporations and industry associations.
4. Higher Education Contracts: Research and evaluation services for universities and educational institutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

UMass Donahue Institute is an applied research and public service institute of the University of Massachusetts Amherst that delivers economic and demographic research, population estimates and projections, economic impact modeling (using IMPLAN and REMI), industry and public policy analysis, and program evaluation to government agencies, nonprofits, foundations, and private sector clients. It also operates as the official Massachusetts State Data Center, publishes the MassBenchmarks Journal in cooperation with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and serves as the state's liaison to the U.S. Census Bureau's Federal-State Cooperative for Population Estimates.

Product overview

UMass Donahue Institute is a university-affiliated research institute offering a portfolio of consulting services, data products, and publications through its Economic and Public Policy Research (EPPR) group and other divisions. The core offerings include Economic Impact Analysis using IMPLAN and REMI modeling software, Industry Research, Public Policy Analysis, Economic Development Analysis, and Economic & Demographic Research services. Key data products include the Massachusetts State Data Center (official Census data source), Massachusetts Population Estimates Program, Population Projections (V2024 series), and Census 2020 Data Tools with interactive dashboards. The institute also publishes MassBenchmarks Journal (in cooperation with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston), Donahue Data Dash (quick data analyses), Socioeconomic Indicators for Massachusetts reports, and the quarterly Massachusetts Economic Due Diligence Report. Additional services include Group Quarters Survey and Housing Unit Review Survey for Census data collection. The organization operates under a multi-service model with GSA-approved contracting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MassBenchmarks: The journal provides timely information about the Massachusetts economy, including reports, commentary, and data about the state's regions and industry sectors.
• Donahue Data Dash
• Socioeconomic Indicators for Massachusetts (SIM)

Products and services

• Economic Impact Analysis
• Industry Research
• Public Policy Analysis
• Economic Development Analysis
• Economic and Demographic Research
• Mapping and Data Visualization
• Massachusetts Population Estimates Program
• Population Projections
• Massachusetts State Data Center
• Applied Research and Program Evaluation
• Workforce Development Services
• Organizational Capacity Building Services
• Early Childhood Training and Technical Assistance
• Democracy Education

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully challenged Census estimates for 16 municipalities in 2009, increasing state population by 21,294
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Northeast Economic Development Association (NEDA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional membership organization supporting economic development professionals in the Northeast region. EPPR staff participate in NEDA activities and events.
• Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMassachusetts business association representing employers. EPPR maintains membership for industry research collaboration.
• New England Economic Partnership (NEEP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional economic research partnership providing economic analysis and forecasting for New England.
• The Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization supporting state data centers and community economic development research.
• MassEconminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMassachusetts economic development organization. EPPR maintains membership for research collaboration.
• Association for University Business and Economic Research (AUBER)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization of university-based economic and business research centers. EPPR staff participate in AUBER activities. Rod Motamedi serves as current president-elect.
• Federal Reserve Bank of BostoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMassBenchmarks journal is published by UMass Donahue Institute in cooperation with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, providing authoritative economic analysis of the Massachusetts economy.
• Massachusetts Secretary of the CommonwealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal partnership for population projections and census support. PEP produces municipal population projections by agreement with the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
• Boston Foundation and Mass. Housing PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOVID Community DataLab partnership for analyzing community changes during COVID-19 crisis. Combined data resources for real-time analysis.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• RAND Corporation: Large nonprofit research institution producing policy analysis and applied research across multiple domains. Broad incumbent because it shares UMDI's public policy research and applied analysis model but operates at a much larger national and international scale.
• Urban Institute: Major Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit policy research organization producing economic and social policy research. Broad incumbent because it offers overlapping program evaluation and public policy research services at a much larger national scale than UMDI's regional focus.
• Mathematica: Large nonprofit research and evaluation firm serving federal and state agencies with policy research and program evaluation. Broad incumbent because it competes in the same policy research and program evaluation market with significantly broader government coverage.
• RTI International: Large nonprofit research institute providing applied research, evaluation, and survey services to government and commercial clients. Broad incumbent because it competes in the same applied research and program evaluation space at significantly larger scale.

Direct peers

• W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research: University-affiliated nonprofit research organization focused on workforce and economic policy research. Direct peer because it operates a similar academic-affiliated model producing program evaluation and economic research for government and nonprofit clients.
• Federal Reserve Bank of Boston: Regional Federal Reserve Bank that co-publishes MassBenchmarks journal with UMDI and conducts overlapping regional economic research. Direct peer because it serves the same Massachusetts economic research market with comparable publications and policy analysis.
• New England Economic Partnership (NEEP): Regional economic research partnership providing economic analysis and forecasting for New England. Direct peer because UMDI's EPPR group maintains membership and participates in NEEP activities, serving overlapping regional economic research customers.
• Boston Foundation: Massachusetts community foundation that partners with UMDI on the Greater Boston Housing Report Card and COVID Community DataLab. Direct peer because it commissions and publishes comparable statewide economic and housing research with similar demographic analysis.
• MassINC (Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth): Massachusetts-based independent research and policy nonprofit producing economic and policy research on the state. Direct peer because it competes for the same Massachusetts policy research audience and produces comparable state-level economic analysis.

Emerging players

• Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER): National organization supporting state data centers and community economic development research. Emerging player because UMDI's Massachusetts State Data Center is a member and the organizations collaborate on community economic research, with overlapping but distinct mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/umassdonahue.bsky.social
• Facebookfacebook.com/326480177394210
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/umass-donahue-institute
• Instagraminstagram.com/civicinitiative

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UMass Donahue Institute