National Core Indicators

What National Core Indicators does

National Core Indicators (NCI) is a nonprofit collaborative initiative founded in 1997 that measures and tracks the performance of state human services systems for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, aging adults, and individuals with physical disabilities. The organization operates two main programs — NCI-IDD and NCI-AD — through which it administers standardized surveys (In-Person Survey, Family Guardian Survey, Adult Family Survey, Child Family Survey, Adult Consumer Survey, and State of the Workforce Survey) directly to individuals receiving services. Data is collected via ODESA (Online Data Entry System Application), a proprietary platform operated by HSRI that features access control, authentication, encrypted storage and transmission, and physical server security. The 2021-2022 cycle gathered 13,559 adult responses across 27 states, with a minimum 400-survey-per-state threshold designed to deliver 95% confidence intervals at +/-5% margin of error.

NCI is not a standalone corporation but a joint initiative of three nonprofit organizations: Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) in Cambridge, MA; the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS) in Alexandria, VA; and ADvancing States. State developmental disabilities and aging services agencies voluntarily participate as members, paying dues and committing to administer the standardized surveys. Reports are freely and publicly available in accessible formats, functioning as a freemium model. A secondary revenue stream exists through fees for de-identified secondary data analysis. Thirty-four NCI measures have been incorporated into the CMS HCBS Quality Measure Set, embedding the organization's instruments into federal Medicaid quality frameworks. NCI distributes its outputs through a public website, chart generator, webinars, and direct state engagement rather than through a traditional sales channel.

The organization's competitive position rests on 25 years of cross-state longitudinal data, psychometrically validated survey instruments with inter-rater reliability above 90%, and the only national effort that directly surveys people receiving services about their own experiences. Revenue is not publicly disclosed but is funded through state membership dues and potentially federal grants. The organization has no venture capital, private equity, or public market involvement, consistent with its nonprofit collaborative governance structure.

Name

National Core Indicators

Legal name

National Core Indicators (NCI)

Website

https://nationalcoreindicators.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

National Core Indicators is a nonprofit collaborative initiative, founded in 1997 and jointly operated by HSRI, NASDDDS, and ADvancing States, that measures and benchmarks the performance of state human services systems for people with intellectual, developmental, aging, and physical disabilities through standardized surveys administered to 27+ participating states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Services Performance Measurement

NAICS

Public Administration (92), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Benefits Administration (BPAIAKAC)

Keywords

• Disability services measurement
• Human services research
• Survey data analytics
• Quality measurement frameworks
• Long-term services evaluation

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Survey Reports (Public): NCI produces reports that are freely and publicly available, allowing for comparisons among states in accessible formats for all stakeholders including people who receive services and their families.
2. Secondary Data Analysis: Participating states own their data, and de-identified NCI data is available for secondary analysis for a small fee. This provides an additional revenue stream for researchers and organizations seeking to conduct specialized analysis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

National Core Indicators is a national collaborative effort that measures and tracks the performance of state intellectual/developmental disabilities (NCI-IDD) and aging and physical disabilities (NCI-AD) service systems through standardized in-person, family, and consumer surveys. Participating states use the proprietary ODESA platform to collect data directly from people receiving services, and NCI produces publicly available national and state reports enabling cross-state comparisons. The initiative is jointly operated by HSRI, NASDDDS, and ADvancing States, and is funded through state membership dues.

Product overview

National Core Indicators (NCI) is a national collaborative effort comprising two main survey programs: NCI-IDD (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) and NCI-AD (Aging and Disabilities). These programs measure and improve the performance of state service delivery systems by gathering standardized performance and outcome measures. NCI offers multiple survey instruments including the In-Person Survey (IPS), Family Guardian Survey (FGS), Adult Family Survey (AFS), Child Family Survey (CFS), Adult Consumer Survey (ACS), and the State of the Workforce Survey. Data is collected through HSRI's proprietary Online Data Entry System Application (ODESA). Reports and data are freely and publicly available, with state-specific reports enabling comparisons among states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NCI-IDD (National Core Indicators - Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) A national program that measures and improves the performance of state developmental disabilities service systems through standardized surveys collecting data directly from individuals using services and their families.
• NCI-AD (National Core Indicators - Aging and Disabilities) A national program that measures and improves the performance of state aging and physical disabilities service systems through standardized consumer surveys of people receiving long-term services and supports.
• In-Person Survey (IPS) Face-to-face survey conducted with adults receiving DD services, gathering data on demographics, outcomes, service satisfaction, employment, safety, choice, and decision-making. The 2021-22 report covered data from 27 states and 13,559 adults.
• Family Guardian Survey (FGS) Survey administered to families who have an adult family member (18+) who does not live in the family home and receives services from DD services in their state.
• Adult Family Survey (AFS) Survey for families with an adult family member (18+) who lives in the family home and receives services from DD services in their state.
• Child Family Survey (CFS) Survey for families who have a child (under 18) who lives in the family home and receives at least one service from DD services in their state.
• Adult Consumer Survey (ACS) Survey for people receiving long-term services and supports, defined as at least one active service (not including case management) at least twice a week, including chore services, personal care attendant, day services, and home-delivered meals.
• State of the Workforce Survey

Quantifiable outcome

• 27 states participated in the 2021-2022 survey, collecting data from 13,559 adults
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Human Services Research Institute (HSRI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1997HSRI is one of the three founding nonprofit organizations of National Core Indicators. HSRI provides research expertise, data collection infrastructure (ODESA platform), and coordinates with state agencies on survey administration and analysis.
• National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1997NASDDDS represents state directors of developmental disabilities services and is a founding partner of NCI-IDD. NASDDDS member agencies are the primary users and participants in the survey program.
• ADvancing StatescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1997ADvancing States (formerly NASUAD) represents state agencies on aging and physical disabilities and partners on NCI-AD initiative for aging and disability services measurement.
• State Developmental Disabilities AgenciescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState DD agencies voluntarily participate in NCI-IDD by collecting standardized survey data from adults receiving services. 27 states currently participate, with each state committing to share results with stakeholders.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• ADvancing States: Co-founding partner of NCI-AD representing state aging and disability agencies; ADvancing States provides NCI with state-level access and policy alignment for the aging and physical disabilities measurement program.
• National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research Institute (NRI): NRI conducts the only comparable state-level outcome measurement program for public mental health systems (NASMHPD Research Institute), making it the closest functional peer to NCI's measurement-of-state-services model, just in a different disability domain.
• Human Services Research Institute (HSRI): Co-founding nonprofit operator of NCI; HSRI conducts applied research on intellectual/developmental disabilities, aging, and behavioral health systems and provides the ODESA data infrastructure that powers NCI. Directly comparable in mission and customer base.
• National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS): Co-founding partner of NCI-IDD representing state DD directors; NASDDDS provides the state-level member relationships and policy expertise that enable NCI data collection, making it the closest institutional peer.

Broad incumbents

• American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR): National association representing private IDD service providers; ANCOR complements NCI's state-agency measurement by aggregating provider-side perspectives on system performance and quality.
• Mathematica Policy Research: Large policy research and evaluation firm frequently contracted by federal and state agencies for HCBS, disability, and aging services evaluations; comparable in research methodology, customer base, and data rigor.
• The Arc of the United States: National disability advocacy organization that also conducts research and policy work on intellectual and developmental disabilities services; comparable in stakeholder ecosystem and subject domain though different in primary activity.
• Westat: Employee-owned research firm conducting large-scale survey, evaluation, and data collection work for federal and state health and human services agencies; comparable in survey-based measurement work.

Emerging players

• National Quality Forum: Multistakeholder organization that endorses healthcare quality measures, including those adopted by CMS; partially comparable as a quality-measure standards body intersecting with NCI's HCBS measure set inclusion.

Others

• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) HCBS Quality Measurement: Federal regulator that consumes NCI measures via the HCBS Quality Measure Set; included as an ecosystem participant whose measure-set decisions directly shape NCI's regulatory positioning and demand environment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/nationalcoreindicators

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Core Indicators