The UK is one of the major centres of the global expert-network industry, particularly because of demand from private equity, consulting, asset management and corporate strategy teams.
The best provider depends on the type of expert required, the speed of the project, research format, pricing model and geographic coverage.
Editorial note: This guide is published by The Insights Desk. TID is presented first to explain our own model clearly; the remaining companies are included based on their established market presence and publicly available service information.
The Insights Desk is a global expert network built around custom recruitment and tailored primary research. Its proposition includes custom-recruited and verified professionals, rapid expert delivery and pay-as-you-go pricing without a compulsory platform subscription, retainer or minimum commitment.
Best for: teams that want targeted sourcing, flexible commercial terms and both qualitative and quantitative research support.
Founded in 2008, AlphaSights has a major London presence and describes custom search as a central part of its model. Its services include expert calls, transcripts, surveys, moderated research and longer-term expert engagements.
Best for: high-volume consulting and investment teams that want a managed sourcing workflow.
Third Bridge is headquartered in London and combines custom-sourced expert consultations with a substantial library of expert interview content. The company operates globally and custom-sources experts across sectors and geographies.
Best for: investment and diligence teams wanting both live calls and existing expert research.
GLG operates a London office and reports an expert network of approximately 1.2 million professionals. It offers expert calls, surveys and a range of additional primary-research services.
Best for: firms that prioritise scale and broad global coverage.
Guidepoint operates a London office alongside a large international footprint across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. Its presence includes New York, London, Tokyo, Sydney and other major business centres.
Best for: organisations conducting research across multiple regions.
proSapient is headquartered in London and combines expert-network services with technology for scheduling, transcripts and research workflow management. It supports expert consultations and surveys and has developed AI-enabled research capabilities.
Best for: research teams that value technology-enabled project management.
Dialectica began with offices in London and Athens and has expanded internationally. It provides insight and research services to business professionals and has expanded into B2B surveys alongside expert sourcing.
Best for: consulting and investment research requiring hands-on project support.
Atheneum has a London office as part of its international network. Its offering includes expert sourcing, research support and expert placements, as well as transcripts and related research services.
Best for: projects that may extend beyond a standard one-hour expert call.
Silverlight Research is headquartered in London and positions itself around institutional investors, consultants and corporate strategy teams. Its model centres on structured access to industry practitioners.
Best for: institutional research workflows looking for a UK-headquartered provider.
VISASQ/COLEMAN operates internationally and has a UK presence alongside offices in the US and Asia. Its global model combines VISASQ's Japanese heritage with Coleman's international expert-network operation.
Best for: projects linking UK teams with international, particularly US and Asian, expertise.
Look beyond the number of experts advertised. Consider:
The best expert network is ultimately the one that can find the right person for the specific question you are trying to answer.
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Japan is one of the most distinctive expert-network markets because international providers operate alongside a growing group of domestic networks with strong Japanese-language and local sourcing capabilities.
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The United States is the largest and most mature expert-network market, driven by demand from private equity, hedge funds, consulting firms, corporations and market-research teams.
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Australia has both major global expert networks and specialist providers built specifically around Australia and New Zealand.
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