Matrix Knowledge

Matrix Knowledge

File:Matrix logo.jpg
Type	Private Limited Company
Industry	Healthcare, social care, crime and justice, education
Founded	2005 (following a management buyout of MHA est. 1992)
Headquarters	London, UK (with offices in Brussels and North America)
Key people	Jacque Mallender, Chief Executive
Services	Health informatics, research and consultancy, Virtual Patient Record technology
Number of employees	30-40 (2012)
Slogan	Better Decisions, Better World
Website	www.matrixknowledge.com

Matrix Knowledge was acquired in 2014 by Optimity Matrix, a specialized management consulting and advisory firm that combines deep industry expertise and integrated solutions to help companies enhance stakeholder value, improve operations, and address performance and risk related challenges.

Matrix Knowledge (TMKG Ltd) is a group of software and consultancy companies supporting the health, pharmaceutical, social justice and public policy sectors. The group operates out of offices in London, Brussels and Washington DC.

Its principal consultancy subsidiaries are Matrix Evidence and Matrix Insight which provide strategic and operational advice to governments, public sector bodies and private sector organisations in the UK, North America and for the European Commission. These companies have particular expertise in health, general economics, informatics and policy impact assessment.

Matrix Decisions, it's software subsidiary, owns the Aspira platform. This platform enables messy and unstructured data held in disparate sources to be structured and presented in a meaningful manner. It is designed to be easily used by non IT professionals whilst still providing the rigour required of a business critical software solution. Aspira is currently in use in a range of public and private sector organisations including the management of highly sensitive data for governmental departments.

History

Matrix Knowledge was founded in 2005, following a management buyout of MHA (est. 1992) and initially specialised in healthcare consultancy. It has since expanded its work to provide research and consulting, evidence assessments and software services - primarily to the public sector. Their principal markets include health and social care and crime and justice. It works primarily with national governments, international organisations as well as charities and foundations.

In April 2007, Matrix purchased Aspira Communications Ltd and acquired their software 'AspiraHub', which helps gather data for annual reports, CSR reports, Health & Safety data and other purposes. According to advertisements, its prime selling point is its "simple interface for non-IT staff, enabling effective data capture, anaysis and reporting". Although designed primarily for use by private companies, it has now been applied to public sector and charity work. It is currently in use by the City of London Corporation - Fairtrade Steering Group, as fair trade accreditation scheme and by CESMB (Centre for Environment and Safety Management for Business), for their web-based training program.

In 2008, Matrix founded Matrix Knowledge Group International, a US subsidiary with an office near Washington DC in Rockville, Maryland, USA. The US business is focused on developing informatics, analytics and business intelligence tools for public and private sector organisations. Key sectors include: education and healthcare.

In March 2012, R Capital, one of the country's specialist investment firms, made a growth investment in Matrix Knowledge, enabling it to develop and grow its advisory, research and technology businesses in UK, continental Europe and USA.

Notable Research and Media Coverage

In October 2010, Matrix Knowledge Group International launched a website in partnership with the American Institutes for Research focused on reporting key outcome measures for nearly 1600 four-year public and private colleges in the US. The website makes it simple to strategically evaluate the performance of colleges and state systems in order to identify areas for further analysis and focus. Scenario modelling tools are included which make it easy to set targets using comparative data and conduct “what if” analyses in order to see the impacts of potential changes in performance.

The economic case for and against prison: In 2007, Matrix was commissioned by The Monument Trust, Lankelly Chase Foundation and The Bromley Trust to provide independent research into prison sentences. This research concluded that prison sentences often do not make economic sense: compared with seven alternative punishment systems, prison costs between £16,260 and £202,775 more per offender. The report received significant media coverage, especially in the Guardian which ran favorable reports, and also in the Telegraph. An update to the research was published November, 2008.

The illicit drug trade in the United Kingdom: In partnership with the LSE, Matrix interviewed 222 drug dealers and traffickers in prisons across England. Their work was notable for understanding the drug trade as any other business, though they also looked at the social organisation of the drug trade. The report was commissioned by the UK Home Office, and received significant international media coverage.

Health England Leading Prioritisation Tool: Matrix and Health England launched H.E.L.P (Health England Leading Prioritisation), an interactive on line tool supporting public health professionals and purchasers and an accompanying report 'Prioritising investments in preventative health' published September 2009.

Partnerships

Matrix Knowledge has partnerships with universities in the UK and USA, including the University of Cambridge, King's College London, London School of Economics and Political Science and several US academic institutions, including the American Institutes for Research.

Matrix Knowledge is also a UK partner of dbMotion, a leading provider of Virtual Patient Record technology, which affords access to one of the health information exchange technologies in the world and is an enabler of integrated care.