Institute for Health Research & Policy

What Institute for Health Research & Policy does

The Institute for Health Research & Policy (IHRP) is a university-wide research institute within the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), chartered in 1997 by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. IHRP centralizes extramural research administration and shared research infrastructure for UIC investigators, operating two scientific cores — a Methodology Research Core that supports study design, biostatistics, and analytic methods, and a Data Management Core that supports data infrastructure across studies. The institute employs approximately 190 staff and is led by Director Robin J. Mermelstein, PhD, with Associate Directors David DuBois, Marian Fitzgibbon, and Rachel Gordon.

Since its founding, IHRP has administered more than $550 million in cumulative extramural funding awarded to UIC investigators. Funding flows from a diversified set of federal agencies — including the NIH, NSF, CDC, USDA, Department of Energy, Department of Justice, and Department of Veterans Affairs — and from philanthropic funders such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the William T. Grant Foundation, the Retirement Research Foundation, and the American Cancer Society. IHRP's service population is exclusively UIC-based researchers in social and health sciences, positioning it as an internal shared-services platform rather than a commercial entity.

As an internal university institute, IHRP does not operate a commercial revenue model. Its operating economics are driven by Facilities & Administrative (F&A) cost recovery on extramural grants, allocations of grant-funded salaries across its cores, and direct institutional support from UIC. The institute's strategic value to UIC is concentrated in three functions: pre- and post-award grants administration, methodological and statistical support for funded studies, and centralized data management — functions that collectively lower the marginal cost of conducting externally funded health and social-science research for UIC faculty.

Name

Institute for Health Research & Policy

Legal name

Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois Chicago

Website

https://ihrp.uic.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Institute for Health Research & Policy is a University of Illinois Chicago research institute founded in 1997 that provides grants administration, methodology research, and data management services to UIC investigators in social and health sciences, having administered over $550 million in extramural funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

University Research Support Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAJAOAM

Global Health Research, Clinical Trials & Product Development Partnerships (PDPs)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Global Health Initiatives & Partnerships

Keywords

• Research support services
• Grants administration
• Health research methodology
• Data management consulting
• Social health sciences

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Extramural Research Funding: The Institute administers hundreds of studies funded by federal agencies, foundations, and nonprofit organizations. Revenue is generated through grant administration fees and indirect cost recovery from extramural funding.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

IHRP is a university research support institute that catalyzes innovative research by providing services and infrastructure to develop research ideas, form collaborations, and manage grants from proposal to closeout. It delivers integrated research support through two scientific cores — the Methodology Research Core and the Data Management Core — along with comprehensive grants administration including personnel management, subcontracts, and proposal development.

Product overview

The Institute for Health Research and Policy (IHRP) is a university research support infrastructure, not a commercial product company. It provides an integrated suite of research support services centered on two scientific cores — the Methodology Research Core and the Data Management Core — supplemented by comprehensive grants administration services. These offerings work together to support UIC researchers across the full lifecycle of their studies, from proposal development to grant closeout.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Methodology Research Core
• Data Management Core
• Grants Administration Services

Quantifiable outcome

• $550 million+ in extramurally funded research administered since 1997
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Mathematica: Research and consulting firm with extensive federal contracts in health and social policy research. Competes for similar NIH, CMS, and federal evaluation work and offers comparable analytical and data infrastructure.
• RTI International: Large nonprofit research institute providing scientific and statistical research services across health and social sciences with substantial extramural funding. Comparable to IHRP's methodology and data management capabilities at broader scale.
• RAND Corporation: Large, established research organization with broad health and social sciences research portfolio, depending on similar federal and foundation funding sources. Wider scope of policy research but overlapping sponsor base and methodology expertise.
• Westat: Research services firm providing statistical, methodological, and data management support for federal and foundation research. Comparable to IHRP's Methodology Research Core and Data Management Core offerings.

Direct peers

• NORC at the University of Chicago: Academic-affiliated research organization conducting large-scale social and health sciences research with substantial extramural funding. Closely comparable to IHRP in mission, sponsor base, and institutional model within a Chicago research university.
• Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS): NIH-funded clinical and translational research institute offering shared scientific resources and grants administration to university researchers. Comparable to IHRP's core-and-services model for NIH-funded research support.
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: Major research university with extensive health research infrastructure, methodology centers, and a large portfolio of NIH, foundation, and federal grants. Comparable as a multi-disciplinary health and social science research hub.
• Kaiser Permanente Division of Research: Embedded research division conducting large-scale health and population health research with NIH, foundation, and internal funding. Comparable in scale and mission to advance population health through research infrastructure.
• Stanford Center for Population Health Sciences: University-based center for population health research within Stanford School of Medicine. Comparable focus on health, well-being, prevention, and health equity, with extramural funding support.
• University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation: University-based health research institute providing research support infrastructure and conducting health services and population health research. Mirrors IHRP's role as a university-wide research home with interdisciplinary faculty.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uic-institute-for-health-research-and-policy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Institute for Health Research & Policy