Keisler Social & Behavioral Research

What Keisler Social & Behavioral Research does

Keisler Social & Behavioral Research (Keisler SBR) is a Washington DC-based behavioral science research firm founded in 2019 by Aysha Keisler, PhD, a cognitive neuroscientist with prior positions at the National Institutes of Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and as Vice President leading the Behavioral Science Practice at Ipsos. The firm applies neuroscience, psychology, and sociology methodologies to conduct custom research for federal, state, and local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and select corporate clients. Core offerings span three integrated service lines — Research Design, Formative Research, and Evaluative Research — that together cover the full research lifecycle from study design through data collection, analysis, and digestible reporting. Service areas include health behaviors, COVID-19 behaviors and norms, community safety, population and public health, food safety and nutrition, parenting and prenatal care, and prescription drug perceptions.

The firm's distinguishing technical asset is the CUBES Behavioral Science Model, a proprietary framework used to map the ecological factors surrounding target behaviors and identify drivers of and barriers to behavior change. Research methods combine quantitative approaches (surveys, experimental designs, discrete choice) with qualitative approaches (interviews, focus groups, ethnography, in-person mobile tablet surveys), supplemented by machine learning and cluster analysis for population segmentation. Notable engagements include a national COVID-19 social distancing study of 2,500 Americans conducted with Surgo Foundation using Ipsos's Knowledge Panel, and an in-person survey of 400+ residents for the DC Office of the Attorney General's Cure the Streets Violence Interruption program. NOAA-funded coral reef valuation research is delivered as a subcontractor to Ipsos Public Affairs.

Revenue is generated through project-based professional services contracts awarded via RFPs, direct quote requests, and relationship-based outreach. The firm is set-aside eligible across an unusually broad public-sector procurement stack — SBA WOSB, SBA Minority Owned (with HUBZone pending), DC Certified Business Enterprise (LBE/SBE/ROB/DEZ/DBE), GSA MOBIS Supply Schedule, SAM registration, and certified government vendor status in Virginia and Maryland — positioning it for federal, state, and local contract awards. The team of approximately six professionals includes the founder and five research associates holding advanced degrees from UVA, University of Chicago, Oxford, Catholic University, and other institutions.

Name

Keisler Social & Behavioral Research

Legal name

Keisler Social & Behavioral Research

Website

https://keislersbr.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Keisler Social & Behavioral Research is a Washington DC-based behavioral science research firm founded in 2019 that provides custom research design, formative research, and evaluative research to federal, state, and local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and corporate clients using neuroscience-infused methodologies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social and Behavioral Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Policy, Regulatory & Public Affairs Research (BPAHALAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

Keywords

• Social behavioral research
• Behavioral science consulting
• Formative research services
• Program evaluation research
• Policy research consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research Services Contracts: Provides custom research services including research design, formative research, and evaluative research for government agencies, nonprofits, and corporate clients. Revenue comes from project-based contracts and government procurement vehicles.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Keisler Social & Behavioral Research provides custom social and behavioral science research services, delivering research design, formative research (surveys, interviews, focus groups, message testing), and evaluative research (program and policy impact assessment). The firm serves government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and corporate clients to inform programs, policies, and behavior change initiatives across health, environmental, and social issues.

Product overview

Keisler Social & Behavioral Research is a Washington DC-based research firm that offers a unified portfolio of social and behavioral research services. The three core offerings—Research Design, Formative Research, and Evaluative Research—work together to support the full research lifecycle: from initial study design and data collection through analysis and digestible reporting. The company applies behavioral science, decision science, and behavioral economics methodologies to address health, environmental, and social issues for government, nonprofit, and corporate clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Design Customized research design services that allow leaders to make informed, data-driven decisions for building programs, evaluating initiatives, or understanding issues and populations. Research plans are developed to produce concrete insights for action, covering the full research lifecycle from design through analysis and reporting.
• Formative Research Research services conducted during program, policy, or communications development to identify drivers of audience behaviors and attitudes, how drivers vary within populations, and barriers to target behavior adoption. Includes surveys, interviews, focus groups, message testing, and environmental scans.
• Evaluative Research Evaluation services to understand program, policy, intervention, or communications campaign impact. Helps operationalize impact goals and develop observable metrics to assess progress, understand how well programs work, how population segments differ, and identify success drivers and barriers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Conducted national survey of 2,500 Americans using Ipsos Knowledge Panel during COVID-19 pandemic with rapid turnaround
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Surgo Foundation / Surgo VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 April 2020Partnered with Surgo Foundation to conduct a rigorous national study during COVID-19 using Ipsos's Knowledge Panel to survey 2,500 Americans about social distancing behaviors. Applied CUBES behavioral science model and used machine learning and cluster analysis to identify four distinct population segments with different social distancing beliefs and behaviors.
• Ipsos Public AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs a subcontractor for Ipsos Public Affairs, conducting research for NOAA on the nonmarket value of coral reefs in Southeast Florida and the Florida Keys. Developing surveys with discrete choice design for Florida residents and tourists.
• UberminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Uber for the Rides for Moms program evaluation, a partnership between Uber and local health clinics providing transportation to prenatal care appointments for low-income, expectant mothers free-of-cost. Designed and operationalized custom evaluation plan.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• RTI International: Nonprofit research institute providing social, behavioral, and health research services to government clients. Overlaps with Keisler in survey research, program evaluation, and behavioral science applications.
• Abt Associates: Global research and consulting firm with substantial federal health and social program evaluation practice. Competes for many of the same federal evaluation contracts Keisler targets.
• Westat: Large employee-owned research firm providing survey, evaluation, and statistical research to federal agencies. Competes for the same government evaluation RFPs as Keisler but at significantly greater scale and capacity.
• Mathematica: Major policy research and evaluation consultancy serving federal and state agencies on health, education, and social programs. Overlaps with Keisler's evaluative and policy research offerings as a much larger incumbent.
• NORC at the University of Chicago: University-affiliated social science research organization conducting survey, evaluation, and behavioral research for government clients. Overlaps directly with Keisler's social and behavioral research mandate.
• Ipsos Public Affairs: Global market and social research firm where Keisler's founder previously led the Behavioral Science Practice. Currently both a partner (subcontractor relationship) and a potential competitor on federal behavioral research contracts.

Direct peers

• Eureka Facts: A DC-area minority-owned small business research firm specializing in custom research for government and nonprofit clients using mixed methods. Closely comparable in size, federal contracting posture, and customer base to Keisler.
• Insight Policy Research: DC-based policy and social science research firm delivering evaluation and behavioral research to federal agencies. Directly comparable in target customers, research methods, and government contracting model.
• Equal Measure: Philadelphia-based nonprofit research and evaluation firm serving philanthropic and public-sector clients on social and behavioral program evaluation. Comparable in custom qualitative and quantitative evaluation focus.

Emerging players

• Sentience: Small research consultancy focused on social and behavioral science evaluation for public-interest clients. Comparable in size and methodological approach, with overlap in qualitative research and policy evaluation services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/keisler-social-behavioral-research

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Keisler Social & Behavioral Research