What Statistics for Sustainable Development does

Statistics for Sustainable Development (Stats4SD) is a not-for-profit social enterprise founded in 2016 and registered in England & Wales, headquartered in Reading, UK. The organization provides research methods support, data systems, and e-learning for sustainable development projects, serving international development organizations, NGOs, multilateral agencies, government development bodies, and agricultural research institutions across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Its core technology stack combines Open Data Kit (ODK) for mobile data collection, R and RStudio for statistical analysis, R Shiny for interactive dashboards, and Moodle for the e-learning platform; these are assembled into customized end-to-end platforms that integrate ODK data ingestion, central databases, automated R analysis pipelines, and real-time indicator dashboards. Notable digital products include the HOLPA Online Tool (developed with CGIAR's Transformative Agroecology Initiative), the FRN Research Methods Hub, and a multilingual Resources Library supporting English, Spanish, and French content.

Stats4SD's service portfolio spans research design, statistical analysis, monitoring & evaluation (M&E), impact assessment, and capacity building, with a focus on agricultural research, agroecology, food systems transformation, humanitarian M&E, health, and gender programs. The company operates on a project-based consulting model: engagements are delivered through appointed project teams with a flat organizational structure of approximately 15 staff spanning statisticians, data engineers, full-stack developers, and qualitative research specialists. Long-tenured embedded relationships with anchor clients—notably the McKnight Foundation's Global Collaboration for Resilient Food Systems (CRFS) since 2009—coexist with discrete project engagements for GIZ, FAO, ICRAF/CIFOR, IOM, UNICEF, Aga Khan Foundation Canada, and CARE France. The 2023 UK Evaluation Society Innovation in Methodologies Prize (for the IMPACT Study with Itad and IOM) provides third-party validation of methodological rigor.

As a not-for-profit social enterprise, Stats4SD has no shareholders and reinvests any surpluses into the organization or into capacity building in the countries where it operates. Revenue is generated through professional services contracts; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The GTM motion is sales-led and relationship-driven, with content marketing (YouTube, Resources Library, multilingual webinars) supporting top-of-funnel awareness and the e-learning platform enabling mid-funnel engagement with practitioner audiences.

Name

Statistics for Sustainable Development

Legal name

Statistics for Sustainable Development

Website

https://stats4sd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Statistics for Sustainable Development is a not-for-profit social enterprise providing research methods support, data systems, and e-learning for sustainable development projects, serving international development organizations, NGOs, and research institutions across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development Research and M&E Consulting

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Strategy & Governance Services (BPAEAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Development & ICT4D / GovTech Technical Assistance (BPADAEAL), Data Science & Analytics (Data Literacy, SQL, Visualization) (EDAMACAF)

Keywords

• Research methods consulting
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Data collection systems
• Statistical analysis services
• Sustainable development research

Headquarters

HQ city

Reading

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Project-based Consulting Services: Stats4SD operates as a not-for-profit social enterprise providing research methods support, data collection and management, statistical analysis, M&E and impact assessment services on a project basis to partners and clients. Any surpluses are reinvested in the company or used for capacity building in countries where they work.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Stats4SD provides research methods support, end-to-end data collection and management systems, statistical analysis, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), impact assessment, and e-learning for international development organizations, NGOs, research institutions, and government agencies working on sustainable development. Services are delivered through project-based consulting engagements, combining statistical expertise with practical data engineering using ODK, R, R Shiny, and Moodle, and are complemented by a public Resources Library and online courses.

Product overview

Stats4SD is a not-for-profit social enterprise offering a portfolio of interconnected research support services and technology products. The core technology stack consists of data collection and management systems (built on ODK), custom databases and platforms, and R Shiny-based dashboards. These are complemented by an e-learning platform (Moodle-based), a public Resources Library, and specialized tools including the HOLPA Online Tool and FRN Research Methods Hub. Services span research methods support, statistical analysis (using R, Stata, Python, ML), monitoring and evaluation, and AI-assisted analysis. The company operates as a consultancy delivering tailored solutions rather than a SaaS product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Data Collection and Management Systems
• Databases and Platforms
• Dashboards
• E-learning Platform (Moodle)
• Stats4SD Resources Library
• HOLPA Online Tool
• FRN Research Methods Hub
• Research Methods Support
• M&E and Impact Assessment
• Statistical Analysis

Quantifiable outcome

• IMPACT Study won UK Evaluation Society Innovation in Methodologies prize in 2023 for evaluating EU-IOM migrant reintegration programme

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• ItadmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Stats4SD was part of a consortium led by Itad for the IMPACT Study evaluating EU-IOM migrant reintegration programme in the Horn of Africa. Stats4SD provided quantitative evaluation design, analysis and interpretation.
• McKnight Foundation Global Collaboration for Resilient Food Systems (CRFS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Long-term strategic partnership since 2009 providing research methods support to CRFS grantees across Africa and South America. Stats4SD is a member of the CRFS Leadership Team and provides comprehensive support from research conceptualization through data collection, management, and analysis. CRFS works with approximately 70 teams in 10 countries.
• GIZ (German development agency)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnd-to-end data collection and analysis support for ProSoil Global Soil Conservation and Rehabilitation Programme survey of 800 farm households across Kenya, Ethiopia, Benin, and Madagascar.
• UNICEFmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMixed methods baseline study for Supporting Girls to Thrive programme in West Papua, Indonesia, commissioned by UNICEF with support from the David Beckham 7 Fund.
• IOM (International Organization for Migration)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMPACT Study evaluating EU-IOM joint programme supporting migrant reintegration in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan. Award-winning evaluation methodology.
• Aga Khan Foundation CanadamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEndline assessment for Foundations for Health and Empowerment (F4HE) project in Central Asia (Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan), funded by Global Affairs Canada.
• CIFOR-ICRAF (World Agroforestry Centre)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerData collection and management systems for pan-African fall armyworm research and Transformative Land Investments (TLI) project dashboard. Also collaborated on Agroecology TPP study across 9 African countries.
• Agroecology TPP (Transformative Partnership Platform)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-country study of socio-economic viability of agroecology practices launched in 2022, involving 12 teams in 9 African countries. Stats4SD provided data collection, management, statistical analysis, and data platform support.
• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUse of FAO's TAPE (Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation) framework as basis for data collection tools in multiple projects including ProSoil survey and farmer research assessments.
• CARE FranceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEvaluation support for menstrual health and hygiene project in Ethiopia, funded by French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and AFD, implemented by CARE France consortium.
• Burnet InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on menstrual health research evaluation in Ethiopia, using Burnet's Menstrual Practice Needs Scale (MPNS) measurement tools.
• EmpatikaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint implementation of mixed methods baseline study for UNICEF's Supporting Girls to Thrive programme in Indonesia.
• Agroecology FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Grassroots Evidence for Agroecology course available on Stats4SD Moodle platform.
• University of ReadingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Dare to Discover Data Assimilation course and historical connection through Statistical Services Centre where founders previously worked for 21 years.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT: CGIAR research center working on agricultural biodiversity and food systems. Collaborator alongside Stats4SD on Agroecology TPP and HOLPA tooling; relevant adjacency as a research partner and ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor.
• CARE International: International development NGO operating programmes that Stats4SD evaluates. Engaged as a client (CARE France menstrual health project) and therefore an adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a competitor.
• IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute): CGIAR policy research institute producing data and analysis on food systems and agricultural development. Comparable in survey-based research and use of ODK/R pipelines for large multi-country studies in the same donor ecosystem.

Direct peers

• Itad: Specialist monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) consultancy for international development, with deep methodologies in impact evaluation. Stats4SD partnered with Itad as a consortium member on the award-winning IMPACT Study for EU-IOM, making them directly comparable on M&E service lines and client base.
• Oxford Policy Management: Policy-focused development research and evaluation firm serving governments, multilaterals, and foundations. Overlaps with Stats4SD on M&E, survey design, and statistical analysis for development programmes, though at significantly larger scale.
• IDInsight: Data-driven decision-making consultancy serving development organizations across Africa and Asia. Comparable in headcount profile, sector focus, and emphasis on rigorous research methods and M&E for funders and implementers.

Broad incumbents

• Palladium: Large international development consultancy delivering policy, M&E, and program implementation. Comparable on M&E and impact assessment services to the same donor client base, though as a broad incumbent across many sectors and geographies.
• Mathematica: Large policy research and evaluation firm with deep quantitative methods expertise. Overlaps with Stats4SD on survey design, statistical analysis (R), and program evaluation, though primarily serving U.S. social policy clients.

Emerging players

• Busara Center for Behavioral Economics: Research and advisory organization applying behavioral science and rigorous methods to development challenges in low-income contexts. Comparable in methodological rigor and use of R for analysis, though more focused on behavioral than agroecological/development research.
• 60 Decibels: Impact measurement company benchmarking social performance for development enterprises and investors. Comparable on data collection methods, lightweight survey tooling, and M&E service delivery, though more software/SaaS-enabled than Stats4SD.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCs7EU95YMjhvNozJKCD92xQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/statistics-for-sustainable-development

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 Statistics for Sustainable Development