M. Davis & Company, Inc. (MDAC) was started by Morris Davis in 1985 in a small business incubator in Philadelphia, PA. Over the years, the company has moved to various locations in Philadelphia – University City, Spring Garden, Center City – expanding in both office size and service offerings along the way.  Today, the company has grown to over 60 employees and 5,000 square feet of space in Center City.

Prior to founding MDAC, Mr. Davis, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, was a Vice President at The Wellington Group, a leading consumer market research firm.  As a result, MDAC began with a primary focus on providing consumer market research services to Fortune 500 companies like Burger King, Chrysler, Denny’s, Exxon Mobil, General Motors, etc. These services included awareness, attitude and usage studies, advertising and promotion research, program evaluation, and customer satisfaction studies. MDAC’s work in both the government and non-profit sectors was limited at this stage.

Beginning in the mid-1990’s, MDAC made a strategic shift and began to focus not only on government sector clients, but also primarily within the healthcare, housing and transportation industry sectors.  Today, 60% of MDAC’s work continues to be in these three industries, with its other efforts being focused on veteran affairs, disability issues, and emergency preparedness.

With a staff of former private sector executives, government administrators, and academics, MDAC now has broad expertise in market research, program development and evaluation, and strategic planning and implementation of policy initiatives. Marshalling this expertise, MDAC has served a broad array of federal and state government agencies, businesses, industries, institutions of higher learning, and social service organizations, using a variety of data collection methodologies.

In 2000, MDAC became 8a certified and acquired its GSA schedule. These contract acquisition vehicles (8a and GSA) helped MDAC win contracts as a prime contractor for almost 95% of its contracts.  During the period of time MDAC was 8a certified, the firm obtained contracts with a number of federal agencies, including DOT (BTS, FTA and NHTSA), the Bureau of Census, DoD, GAO, HUD, HHS, IRS, VA, etc.

In 2009, MDAC successfully graduated from the 8a program but continued to acquire contracts as a small business (90% as a prime, 10% as a sub-contractor).

In 2020, MDAC underwent a significant shift in response to the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. MDAC swiftly embraced remote work as a cornerstone of its operational strategy, while still maintaining its central headquarters in Center City Philadelphia. This pivotal decision not only ensured the safety and wellbeing of our dedicated workforce, but also opened up new horizons for the company. By dismantling geographic barriers, MDAC has cultivated a workforce that spans the entire country, fostering diversity and collaboration among employees from various regions. This newfound flexibility has not only enhanced the work-life balance of our employees but has also empowered MDAC to tap into a broader talent pool, driving innovation and efficiency in our endeavors.

MDAC employs qualitative techniques (cognitive interviews, focus groups, in-depth interviews, etc.) and quantitative data collection modes (in-person, online, mail, telephone, mixed-mode) to gather required data.  MDAC also operates its own call center complete with omnichannel capabilities, including, talk, text and email for inbound and outbound calling projects. MDAC has a dedicated team of fully bilingual interviewers who are fluent in English, Spanish, and a variety of other languages. MDAC CATI stations utilize the Voxco Multi-Channel Survey Software Platform.  MDAC call centers have been successfully used for longitudinal studies, customer satisfaction tracking, quality assurance monitoring, performance evaluations, help desk operations, and many other functions.

MDAC’s overall goal is to produce the highest quality research, translated into meaningful intelligence and actionable recommendations, to enable our clients to make informed decisions, enhance the effectiveness and productivity of their organizations, and achieve desired results.