Company lists · Data refreshed September 2026

Top 25 Independent research organizations worldwide

Name: Independent research organizations worldwide
Creator: RevenueBase
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Compiled by the RevenueBase Data Team Data refreshed Sep 20, 2026 5,460 companies tracked

RevenueBase identified 5,460 independent research organizations worldwide as of September 2026 and tracks 156,909 professional contacts across them, including 45,146 with verified work emails. The United States is the largest market and London the largest hub.

This list covers independent research organizations worldwide, matched on what each company actually does as described in its own words. Ranked by team size, largest first. Every row shows the company's own description, its RevenueBase Smart Search rating, and when it was last checked. Data refreshed September 20, 2026. Country and city lists for independent research organizations follow the table.

Published by RevenueBase, a B2B data infrastructure company. This list was built with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search RevenueBase customers use to build their own targeted lists and unlock verified emails and direct dials at the companies on them. How these lists are built and judged.

How to read this list HQ checked on every row RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row Refreshed Sep 20, 2026 86% judged on-target in blind review

5,460Companies

156,909Contacts tracked

45,146Verified emails

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The 25 largest independent research organizations worldwide

Ranked by team size

Top 25 of 5,460 independent research organizations worldwide, ranked by team size, largest first. Data refreshed Sep 20, 2026. RevenueBase Smart Search rates how each company's information relates to independent research organizations: strong evidence (its own description names it), partial (names part of it), indirect (matched on the rest of its profile rather than the description shown). Click a contact count to view that company's people.
#	Company	RevenueBase Smart Search	Headquarters	Employees	Contacts
1	Icon PLC	Indirect evidence	Dublin, JapanHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	10001+	26,555 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “Since our foundation in Dublin, Ireland in 1990, our mission has been to help our clients to accelerate the development of drugs and devices that save lives and improve quality of…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
2	MITRE	Partial evidence	Mclean, VA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	5,001-10,000	8,490 contacts →
	Partial evidence “MITRE is a nonprofit systems engineering, applied research, and advanced technology organization.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
3	Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche	Partial evidence	Rome, ItalyHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	5,001-10,000	5,757 contacts →
	Partial evidence “The National Research Council of Italy (CNR) is a public organization; its duty is to carry out, promote, spread, transfer and improve research activities in the main sectors of…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
4	Westat	Indirect evidence	Bethesda, MD, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	3,248 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “Westat offers innovative professional services to help clients improve outcomes in health, education, and social policy.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
5	Southwest Research Institute	Strong evidence	San Antonio, TX, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	3,025 contacts →
	Strong evidence “Southwest Research Institute is an independent, nonprofit, applied research and development organization.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
6	RAND	Partial evidence	Santa Monica, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	2,660 contacts →
	Partial evidence “RAND is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that provides leaders with the information they need to make evidence-based decisions.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
7	Draper	Partial evidence	Cambridge, MA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	2,502 contacts →
	Partial evidence “We Engineer Solutions for the Nation’s Toughest Problems As an independent nonprofit engineering innovation company, Draper provides engineering services directly to government…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
8	SRI	Strong evidence	Menlo Park, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	2,205 contacts →
	Strong evidence “An independent non-profit institute headquartered in Silicon Valley, SRI is a global leader in research and development.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
9	SRC	Partial evidence	North Syracuse, NY, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	1,494 contacts →
	Partial evidence “SRC, Inc, a not-for-profit research and development company, combines information, science, technology and ingenuity to solve “impossible” problems in the areas of defense…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
10	Institute For Defense Analyses	Partial evidence	Alexandria, VA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	1,343 contacts →
	Partial evidence “IDA (Institute for Defense Analyses) – a not-for-profit corporation headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia just outside Washington, DC – operates three Federally Funded Research…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
11	Kist Korea Institute Of Science And Technology	Partial evidence	Seoul, South KoreaHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	1,282 contacts →
	Partial evidence “The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) was founded in 1966 as the premier multi-disciplinary research institute in Korea.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
12	Noblis	Indirect evidence	Reston, VA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	1,261 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “Noblis is a nonprofit science, technology, and strategy organization that brings the best of scientific thought, management, and engineering expertise in an environment of…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
13	GD Research Center Pvt. LTD	Partial evidence	Hyderabad, IndiaHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	1,260 contacts →
	Partial evidence “GD Research Center Pvt.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
14	The Research Foundation For Suny	Partial evidence	Albany, NY, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	10001+	1,157 contacts →
	Partial evidence “The Research Foundation for the State University of New York (RF) is the largest, most comprehensive university-connected research foundation in the country.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
15	Concurrent Technologies Corporation	Strong evidence	Johnstown, PA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	201-500	1,149 contacts →
	Strong evidence “Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) is an independent, nonprofit, applied scientific research and development professional services organization.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
16	WCG	Partial evidence	Cary, NC, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	1,103 contacts →
	Partial evidence “WCG is a true partner to research sponsors, CROs, sites and participants in navigating the clinical research journey.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
17	National Research Centre NRC	Partial evidence	Dokki, EgyptHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	10001+	1,010 contacts →
	Partial evidence “NRC Is the largest multidisciplinary R&D centre in Egypt devoted to basic and applied research within the major fields of interest.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
18	Fraunhofer IIS	Partial evidence	Erlangen, GermanyHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	983 contacts →
	Partial evidence “As the largest Fraunhofer Institute, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, headquartered in Erlangen, is a global leader in applied research, driving innovation for…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
19	Sintef	Partial evidence	Trondheim, NorwayHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	886 contacts →
	Partial evidence “SINTEF is one of Europe's largest research organisations, with multidisciplinary expertise in the fields of technology, the natural sciences and the social sciences.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
20	Institute Of Marine Research IMR , Norway	Partial evidence	Bergen, NorwayHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	783 contacts →
	Partial evidence “The Institute of Marine Research (IMR) is one of the biggest research institute of its kind in Europe, with over employees.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
21	Norstat	Partial evidence	Oslo, NorwayHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	501-1,000	764 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Norstat is one of the leading data collectors for market research and insight in Europe and the Americas.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
22	Caidya	Partial evidence	Raleigh, NC, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	758 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Caidya is a multi-therapeutic clinical research organization (CRO) serving innovators worldwide.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
23	Hansa Research Group	Partial evidence	Mumbai, IndiaHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	501-1,000	741 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Hansa Research is a full-service global market research agency conducting research in over 100 countries.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
24	Salsoft Technologies PVT LTD	Indirect evidence	Karachi, PakistanHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	1,001-5,000	683 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “Salsoft is a team.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
25	Health Management Associates	Strong evidence	Okemos, MI, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026	501-1,000	658 contacts →
	Strong evidence “Health Management Associates is an independent national research and consulting firm specializing in complex health care program and policy issues.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026

RevenueBase Smart Search

RevenueBase Smart Search assesses information from a company’s LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website, and other publicly available sources. It uses that information to rate how closely the company relates to this list’s category: independent research organizations. Every row carries its rating and the description the rating was read from, so each one can be checked rather than taken on trust.

Strong evidence: The company's own public description of its business names independent research organizations.
Partial evidence: Its own public description names part of independent research organizations, so it works in or next to the category without describing itself that way.
Indirect evidence: The description shown does not name independent research organizations. The match rests on the rest of the company's public profile rather than the one sentence quoted here, so this is the rating to check first.

RevenueBase Smart Search is how these lists are built: RevenueBase's data engine and AI assemble the companies that match a category defined in a user's own words, so a list can be about what companies actually do rather than about whichever industry code they were filed under.

Showing 25 of 5,460 independent research organizations worldwide

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Independent research organizations worldwide at a glance

As of Sep 20, 2026

28.8%Verified-email coverage

28.7Average contacts per company

1-10Median size (employees)

1.8%Largest-city concentration · London

Sep 20, 2026Page data refreshed

Companies by employee count

1-10

2,780

11-50

1,797

51-200

563

201-500

163

501-1,000

1,001-5,000

5,001-10,000

10001+

Email recency is reported on each country list linked below.

How this list was built

Company categories are rarely black and white. RevenueBase reads each company's own description of its business to decide whether it belongs among independent research organizations, so some rows will be adjacent to the category rather than pure plays. The description and RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row are there so you can check each match yourself.

Source: The RevenueBase company graph: 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts resolved from primary sources, queried with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search available to every RevenueBase user.
Coverage: Every country. Country and city lists for independent research organizations are linked below.
What qualifies: Companies worldwide whose own description of what they do matches “independent research organizations”. Matching reads each company's description, not its industry code or its name.
RevenueBase Smart Search: RevenueBase Smart Search is how this list is assembled and how each row is rated. RevenueBase's data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to a category defined in a user's own words. Each row is rated strong evidence (its own description names independent research organizations), partial evidence (it names part of the category) or indirect evidence (the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile). The description supporting each rating is quoted on the row.
What we exclude: Companies whose own description does not clearly place them among independent research organizations, and records with no verified work email.
Match quality: In blind human judging of this matching method, 86% of matched companies were on target. Expect roughly 1 in 7 rows to be adjacent to the category rather than a pure play. Every row shows the company's own description and its RevenueBase Smart Search rating so you can judge each match yourself. Read the full methodology: how the lists are built, how the judging worked, and what the figure means.
Ranking: Team size, largest first: companies are ordered by the number of professionals RevenueBase tracks at each one. Employee ranges shown are reported bands, for context.
Verification: Every listed company carries at least one verified work email, 45,146 across the full list. Contacts re-verify on a rolling cadence, and each contact's own verification date is shown inside RevenueBase.
Refresh: This page's figures were pulled from the company graph on September 20, 2026. Lists refresh periodically as the graph is re-checked.
Corrections: Wrong category, wrong headquarters, or a company that has closed? Use “Report an issue” on any row. Reports go to the RevenueBase Data Team and feed back into the company graph.

Independent research organizations by location

26 lists · largest first

Every Independent research organizations list RevenueBase publishes, by country and city. Counts are matching companies in each list as of its own refresh date.

Countries

Cities

Frequently asked

What is RevenueBase Smart Search?

RevenueBase Smart Search is how RevenueBase decides which companies belong on this list and how strongly each one fits. Its data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to the category the list is about. Each row is rated strong evidence when the company's own description names independent research organizations, partial evidence when it names part of the category, and indirect evidence when the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile.

How many independent research organizations are there worldwide?

RevenueBase identified 5,460 independent research organizations worldwide as of September 2026, matched on each company's own description of what it does rather than its industry code.

What is the largest company on this list?

Icon PLC, headquartered in Worldwide, tops this list with the largest team on record.

Which country has the most independent research organizations?

The United States leads with 951 companies, followed by India (508) and the United Kingdom (292). Every independent research organizations list by country and city is linked on this page.

Which city has the most independent research organizations?

London leads with 96 headquartered companies, followed by New Delhi (82) and Nairobi (56).

How do I get contact information for these companies?

A free RevenueBase account lets you run this exact search and work the top results, verified emails and direct dials included. Upgrading unlocks all 45,146 verified decision-maker contacts tracked across these 5,460 companies.

How current is this list?

The list refreshes periodically as the company graph is re-checked. This page's figures were pulled on September 20, 2026.

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About this data

RevenueBase is a B2B data infrastructure company. Its company graph covers 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts, with emails verified on a rolling cadence rather than scraped once and left to decay. These company lists are generated directly from that graph with RevenueBase Smart Search, the same natural-language company search every RevenueBase user has: describe a market in plain words, get the companies that match, and add verified emails and direct dials for the people at them. It is the same data that powers RevenueBase's B2B data products, and a free account includes 500 credits to start. How these lists are built and judged.