What The Diffley Partnership does

The Diffley Partnership is an Edinburgh-based research and insights consultancy founded in summer 2017 by Mark Diffley, providing research, consultancy, and communications services on public opinion and behaviour. The firm serves clients across public, private, and third sectors in Scotland and across the UK, with named engagements spanning the Scottish Government, Consumer Scotland, City of Edinburgh Council, Transport Scotland, Health Foundation, Shelter Scotland, Robertson Trust, Scottish Police Authority, Phoenix Group, Keep Scotland Beautiful, Museums Galleries Scotland, and the Scottish Football Association.

The firm's core offering is structured around three interconnected service lines: Research Services (combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies with a dedicated Deliberative Research Unit focused on citizen deliberation), Consultancy & Advice (strategic analysis on political, consumer, and policy matters), and Communications Services (media commentary and stakeholder engagement). Its flagship product is the Understanding Business quarterly survey, conducted in partnership with Charlotte Street Partners, polling more than 500 senior Scottish business decision-makers. Underlying methodology combines traditional survey techniques with deliberative research approaches; the firm is not a software platform and discloses no AI/ML, API, or SDK capabilities.

The company operates a sales-led, professional services business model, generating revenue through commissioned research projects tailored to individual client requirements. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and engagements are quote-based. The firm is founder-owned, with no external investment, parent company, or funding rounds disclosed. Operations are headquartered at 2nd Floor, Prospect House, 5 Thistle Street, Edinburgh, with a team of approximately 9 professionals delivering work across Scotland, the wider UK, and internationally on a project basis.

Name

The Diffley Partnership

Legal name

The Diffley Partnership

Website

https://diffleypartnership.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Diffley Partnership is an Edinburgh-based research and insights consultancy delivering quantitative, qualitative, and deliberative research on public opinion and behaviour to public, private, and third-sector clients across Scotland and the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Consultancy

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Policy, Regulatory & Public Affairs Research (BPAHALAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Sector & Policy Consulting (BPAHACAN), Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

Keywords

• Public opinion research
• Deliberative research
• Market research consultancy
• Social research services
• Political polling

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Research and Consultancy Services: The Diffley Partnership generates revenue through providing research services, consultation analyses, evaluations, and strategic advice to clients across public, private, and third sectors. Projects are typically commissioned engagements tailored to client needs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Diffley Partnership is a research and insights consultancy delivering tailored research, consultation analyses, evaluations, and strategic advice to public, private, and third sector organisations. Core services include quantitative and qualitative research with specialisation in deliberative methods, complemented by strategic consultancy and communications support including media commentary on political developments and public opinion.

Product overview

The Diffley Partnership offers a unified portfolio of research and insights services rather than a modular software product. The core offering consists of three interconnected service lines: Research Services (encompassing quantitative and qualitative methodologies, with a dedicated Deliberative Research Unit), Consultancy & Advice (delivering strategic analysis on political and policy matters), and Communications Services (providing media commentary and stakeholder engagement). The Understanding Business Survey represents their flagship recurring research publication, offering quarterly economic and business sentiment tracking for Scottish organisations. These services are delivered by a team of research professionals in Edinburgh to clients across public, private, and third sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Services Comprehensive research services encompassing quantitative and qualitative methodologies, including public opinion surveys, deliberative research, consultation analysis, evaluations, and social research projects, delivered to organisations in the public, private and third sectors.
• Deliberative Research Unit A dedicated team of expert researchers providing deliberative research capabilities, empowering citizens to listen to experts, consider evidence, deliberate in groups and propose solutions to complex policy issues.
• Consultancy & Advice Strategic consultancy delivering rich insights and comprehensive analyses across political, public policy, and social issues, including consultation analyses and research strategy recommendations for organisations in the public, private and third sectors.
• Communications Services Expert communications services providing impartial insight commentary on political developments and public opinion across broadcast, digital, and print media, as well as at conferences and events.
• Understanding Business Survey A quarterly tracking survey of senior decision-makers at more than 500 Scottish firms covering prospects for their organisations, the wider economy, and topical business and political issues, jointly designed and conducted with Charlotte Street Partners.

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Charlotte Street PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Understanding Business quarterly survey. More than 500 senior decision-makers at Scottish firms are surveyed on prospects for their organizations, wider economy, and topical business and political issues. Both organizations jointly design and conduct the survey.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Survation: UK-based polling and market research firm widely known for political polling and public opinion work for media, parties, and public sector clients. Closely comparable to Diffley on polling, political analysis, and bespoke public sector research, with a similar mid-sized consultancy profile.
• ScotCen Social Research: Scotland-focused social research charity producing major studies on social attitudes, public health and poverty in Scotland. Closely comparable to Diffley on social and policy research for Scottish public sector and NGO clients, with shared methodology stack (quant + qual + deliberative).
• BMG Research: UK independent research and polling agency serving public, private and third sectors with quant and qual methods. Comparable to Diffley on bespoke public sector research, social research, and political polling, with similar mid-sized independent positioning.
• Progressive Partnership: UK-based research and communications consultancy working with charities, public sector and purpose-led organisations. Comparable to Diffley on third-sector and public-sector research plus communications advice, with a similar boutique, methodology-led positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Ipsos UK: Global research and consulting firm with deep UK public sector and polling credentials. Directly comparable on social research, public opinion, and policy evaluation work, but offers full-service capabilities and international scale well beyond Diffley's boutique footprint.
• YouGov: Large UK-headquartered public opinion and survey research firm with panel-based polling and consumer research across multiple sectors. Comparable to Diffley on the public opinion polling side, but operates at vastly greater scale with proprietary panel assets and broader geographic reach.
• Savanta: UK research and insights agency covering public sector, charity, and B2B research with both quantitative and qualitative methods. Comparable on the research services side and on public/third-sector clients, though Savanta operates at significantly larger scale and broader geographic scope.

Emerging players

• What Scotland Thinks: Scottish social attitudes data platform associated with ScotCen, curating public opinion polling and survey data for Scotland. Comparable to Diffley on the public opinion/Scottish political research axis, though operating as a data/repository resource rather than a commissioned-research consultancy.
• Hopkins Van Mil: UK consultancy specialising in deliberative engagement, dialogue and consultation for public sector and infrastructure projects. The closest comparable to Diffley's Deliberative Research Unit on methodology, although HVM is more narrowly focused on engagement rather than broader research services.

Regional players

• Charlotte Street Partners: Edinburgh-headquartered public affairs and research consultancy active in Scottish policy and business. Diffley's explicit partner on the Understanding Business quarterly survey, making it the most directly commercially-linked comparable for benchmarking on Scottish political and business research.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/diffley-partnership

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 The Diffley Partnership