Public First is an independent research consultancy. We are headquartered in London and operate internationally, including across North America, Europe and Asia. We combine economic modelling, opinion research, and communications expertise to help organizations communicate their impact and navigate changing policy environments
Economics
Quantifying businesses’ economic and social impact, including industry standard estimate of contribution to GDP and jobs footprint.
Sophisticated modelling to estimate the economic impact of policies or business decisions as well as predict service demand.
Bespoke forecasting models to predict future trends
Opinion Research & Insights
Bespoke polling of the public, organisations and employees to understand awareness, preferences, and attitudes. We can conduct segmentation analysis and build MRPs for more localised insights.
Structured conversations with target groups to for in-depth message and ideas testing
Researchers spend longer periods interviewing people in their own environments to reach the majority who are not captured via traditional research methods.
Policy Communications
Develop impactful narratives that will cut through with key stakeholders.
Design and deliver impactful communications strategies.
Our team of comms experts and ex-senior journalists can support with media outreach and training.
Sustainability Services
Enabling best-practice sustainability through tailored, actionable strategies, plans and reports.
Facilitating effective stakeholder engagement to build trust, defuse tensions and co-create solutions
Empowering businesses with communications that clarify strategy, inspire teams, and handle crises.
Public First has worked to support brands and institutions across the globe.
– Google and Korea, 2025
In a major new project commissioned by Google, Public First is conducting an in-depth examination of the opportunities AI presents for the Asia-Pacific region — and the steps governments can take to maximise them.
– TikTok and Economic Growth in the EU: Discovery, Creativity & Entrepreneurship, 2025
TikTok commissioned Public First to independently assess TikTok’s role in delivering growth across the 27 member states in the European Union (EU). The research included consumer and business surveys alongside economic modelling.
US Economic Impact Report
– DoorDash U.S. Economic Impact Report, 2024
To better understand its impact in local communities across the country, DoorDash commissioned this report from Public First with independent and anonymous surveys carried out by Quadrant Strategies.
CANADA Economic Impact Report
– DoorDash Canada Community Impact Report, 2023
To gain insight into the impact that the DoorDash platform has for Dashers, merchants, consumers, and communities in Canada, DoorDash commissioned independent analysts Pollara and Public First to conduct new research.
Testing Social Security Reform Options
“Social Security is at a crossroads, and policymakers should listen to the American people and act sooner rather than later”
– Jonathan Burks, Testing Social Security Reform Options
Public First worked with the Bipartisan Policy Center explore American attitudes towards social security reform through a nationally representative poll and a focus group with swing state voters.
93% of Americans consider Social Security to be a valuable federal program
of Democrats and 61% of Republicans agree on the need for bipartisan cooperation to strengthen the program.
Most significant driver of opposition to aid
Remaking the Case for International Development
Public First was commissioned by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation to conduct polling and focus groups across France, Italy, Japan and Brazil to understand the drivers of support and opposition to international development cooperation and multilateralism.
Understanding the experience and opportunity of digital nomads through immersive research.
To research the digital nomad trend – workers using digital technology to work remotely while living abroad – Public First conducted polling, economic modelling, and immersive research. To hear from digital nomads firsthand, Public First researchers travelled to Bali, a major hub for digital nomadism, and conducted nearly 40 in-depth interviews with digital nomads from the UK, Europe, US and other developed nations.
– Male, 25, Germany, startup founder – online training
– Male, 20s, Germany, freelancer – digital services
– Male, 30s, USA, business owner – property and cyber security
Jet Zero Council
We worked with the Jet Zero Council – a high-level partnership focused on driving sustainable aviation – to develop a compelling narrative and clear policy asks to help the industry achieve their net zero ambition by 2050. Our work delivered a unified industry voice and robust policy platform, enabling the Jet Zero Council to engage more effectively with the government and stakeholders. Our work helped set the stage for a coordinated policy campaign to deliver the UK’s sustainable aviation ambitions.
Securing approval for a large-scale Nuclear power project
Sizewell C – a major UK nuclear power project – commissioned us to build sustained political support for new nuclear in the UK, paving the way for Government approval of Sizewell C. We modelled a clear economic case for nuclear — centered on jobs, domestic supply chains, energy security and long-term growth and convened a consortium of more than 250 businesses across the UK to back the project. We also developed a clear, engaging ESG brochure to help them showcase their sustainability efforts and climate commitments. This combined policy, sustainability, coalition-building and grassroots campaigning strategy secured consent approval for the nuclear power station (run by EDF) and underpinned passage of the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Act embedding nuclear at the heart of the UK’s long-term energy strategy.
Pioneering ESG strategy and reporting in the music industry
We supported Warner Music Group in developing and launching its ESG impact reports for 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. This included aligning with GRI and SASB metrics, collecting data and crafting a narrative for each report. To strengthen communications, we also launched a dedicated sustainability website to house key stories and provide stakeholders to easy access to ongoing progress. This project led WMG to become the first major music company to publish annual ESG reports, establishing a strong sustainability framework and furthering its influence through strategic, targeted initiatives on key industry challenges.
The Politico Poll
Public First is the official research partner of POLITICO. Through this partnership, we have launched The POLITICO POLL, to deliver in-depth, data-driven insights into politics and public opinion across major democracies. We conduct monthly polls in the United States and quarterly polls across the US, UK, Canada, France and Germany to measure political attitudes and policy preferences on an international scale.
