Altarum Institute

Altarum Institute, a nonprofit health systems research and consulting organization based in Novi, Michigan, operates as a prime contractor on federal health research, program evaluation, and technical assistance work across 98 distinct customer agencies, competing exclusively on unrestricted vehicles and full-and-open procurements with no SBA set-aside certifications. The organization holds a multi-billion-dollar ceiling OASIS+ Unrestricted GWAC awarded December 2024, a $344.7 million HRSA Evaluations and Evidence Building single-award IDIQ (through September 2027), and a $75 million HHS Administration for Community Living IDIQ (through January 2029), placing it among the largest federal research and evaluation service providers in the health and human services space.

Customer concentration is extreme and skewed toward defense healthcare rather than civilian health agencies despite the nonprofit's primary mission profile. The Defense Health Agency anchors 99% of combined potential value across all awards ($35.14 billion across 33 awards), a concentration signal that reflects Altarum's seat on the TRICARE Evaluation Analysis and Management Support vehicle and positions on multiple DLA and military branch supply schedules. The top five customers by potential value account for that 99% threshold: behind DHA, HRSA Headquarters carries $786 million (44 awards), HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration holds $634.7 million (23 awards), CDC Pittsburgh carries $609.7 million (10 awards), and GSA Federal Acquisition Service adds $228.3 million (18 awards). By award count, the Air Force leads with 220 awards ($374 thousand combined potential value—a signal of volume of micro-purchases or small studies), followed by the Defense Logistics Agency (174 awards, $24.6 million), the Army (165 awards), and the Navy (132 awards). The divergence between count-heavy and value-heavy customers reflects the distinction between routine operational support and large-dollar evaluation and evidence-building vehicles; military branches place many small orders while DHA and HHS place fewer, larger strategic studies.

Altarum operates almost entirely as a prime (99% of awards), with minimal subcontractor footprint—only 16 sub-awards documented in recent activity, predominantly serving as a sub-recipient on federal grants managed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Association of Public Health Laboratories, state health departments, and other nonprofit intermediaries. Representative grant sub-work includes evaluation and performance measurement support for the SAMHSA Center of Excellence on Social Media and Mental Wellbeing (prime grantee AAP), data analysis and learning collaborative evaluation for the National Center for a System of Services for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (prime AAP), and informatics technical assistance on behalf of the Association of Public Health Laboratories. Across SCI-reportable prime contracts, Altarum engages subcontractors for an average of 16% of contractor hours across 21 named subcontractors, indicating a model that builds internal delivery teams for core research and evaluation capability while outsourcing discrete technical or specialized support functions.

Activity has been volatile in recent years—six awards in 2022, five in 2023, then eighteen in 2024 (driven largely by the September 2024 HRSA IDIQ award and multiple TRICARE task orders), then six in 2025 and one so far in 2026. Combined potential value across all awards stands at $37.91 billion, though only $945.5 million (2% of potential) has been obligated, reflecting the structure of large IDIQs with ceilings but minimal initial funding. The recompete cliff shows only five awards (combined potential value $22.2 million) reaching ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating stable vehicle posture through 2027–2029.

The vendor's contract vehicle footprint is broad and varied. The Federal Supply Schedule GS35F4912H (Professional Services Schedule) carries 195 task orders with $42.4 million combined potential value. The Professional Services Schedule itself supports 106 task orders worth $187.9 million. DLA's Indefinite Delivery Contract DLA90088D0392 holds 48 task orders. The TRICARE Evaluation Analysis and Management Support vehicle anchors 17 task orders valued at $108.1 million. GSA's OASIS+ Unrestricted GWAC, while newly awarded (December 2024), is positioned to be a major ordering vehicle; the HRSA IDIQ and HHS ACL IDIQ are similarly configured for substantial task-order activity.

Named federal contracts illustrate Altarum's evaluation and research service footprint. A $15.7 million cost-plus-award-fee delivery order from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (May 2023 through May 2028) supports the National Training and Technical Assistance Center for 988 and Crisis Services, with SCI data showing $2.3 million invoiced in FY2024 across 7.2 FTEs (with one subcontractor performing 32% of hours) at a derived rate of $153.25/hour. A $6.076 million HRSA delivery order (September 2023 through September 2027) provides strategic support services to the Regional Pandemic Network, with FY2024 SCI invoicing of $1 million across 2.5 FTEs and FY2025 invoicing of $626 thousand across 1.2 FTEs. A $1.505 million HRSA delivery order supports the National Hypertension Control Initiative, with Arbor Research Collaborative for Health as a named subcontractor contributing data analysis and technical assistance expertise. Research delivery orders to Veterans Integrated Service Network 1 total $2.05 million in potential value across five delivery orders from a $700,000 single-award IDIQ (performance in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts). A $133,110.83 USDA Food and Nutrition Service delivery order addresses SNAP household survey work.

SCI-reported service-contract invoicing across prime contracts totaled $26.7 million from FY2022 through FY2025, with government-paid hourly rates on federal services contracts ranging from a 10th percentile of $113.40/hour to a median of $147.80/hour and a 90th percentile of $257.40/hour. FTE scale on SCI-reportable work peaked in FY2024 at 18.6 FTEs (11 prime records) and declined to 9.0 FTEs in FY2025 (8 prime records), reflecting the episodic nature of federal evaluation and research contracts tied to specific studies and evidence-building cycles. The SCI dataset captures only contracts above the $150,000 reporting threshold and excludes grant work, classified contracts, and non-federal revenue; it is a subset of Altarum's federal footprint.

Altarum's GSA Schedule labor portfolio spans 26 categories from Research Assistant ($59.74/hour for high-school-educated entry-level staff) through Institute Manager ($391.43/hour for bachelor's-degree holders with twenty years of experience). Mid-range pricing for core consulting and program-evaluation roles clusters around Program Consultant ($208.76/hour) and Program Specialist ($240.08/hour), reflecting the vendor's positioning in professional services consulting rather than IT or engineering. No security-cleared labor categories are offered on GSA Schedule. The corporate structure includes two named subsidiaries: Altarum Medicare-Medicaid Services For States (nonprofit organization) and Palladian Partners, Inc. (for-profit), though the source material does not specify their operational roles or revenue contribution.

Altarum competes on open and unrestricted contract vehicles exclusively, reflecting its nonprofit status and lack of SBA certifications. The organization's federal footprint is best understood through its large-dollar civilian health-agency IDIQs (HRSA, HHS, SAMHSA) and its unexpectedly substantial presence on defense healthcare and logistics vehicles where evaluation, research, and technical-assistance services are procured at scale. The concentration in DHA dollars masks a more diverse customer base by count, with the nonprofit serving as a research and evaluation contractor across HHS, VA, USDA, DoD, and other agencies through both large vehicles and smaller, specialized task orders.