About Us

Insight Agents are the original experts in data storytelling. The consultancy was founded in 2013 by master data storyteller, Sam Knowles.

We help all sorts of organisations – businesses, universities, charities/third-sector bodies, and government departments – make smarter use of data.

Our unique approach

We do this by enabling them to ask smarter questions that surface the data that matter.

We do this by empowering them to move from data to insight and articulate genuine insights. We define insight as “a profound and useful understanding of an issue, market, person, or audience“.

And we do this by giving them the tools, permission, and confidence to put data-driven insights at the heart of their storytelling – with humanity, empathy, and a respect for the data tolerance of those they seek to move to action with their communication.

These are the skills of brilliant data storytelling: questions, insights, and stories.

Stories before visualisation

We’ve got a different starting point compared with most consultants in our space. For Insight Agents, data storytelling comes the step before data visualisation.

If you can’t answer the question “So what?” to understand what your data mean, any amount of whizzy use of Tableau, PowerBI, or any of the AI large language models won’t get you to insight.

And without insight into your data, you can’t address the more useful questions that underpin innovation, namely “Now what? What should we do as a result?”

Our clients

Insight Agents operates in two divisions, both trading under the Insight Agents’ name. Both divisions offer a combination of consultancy, training, coaching, and mentoring. Everything we do is designed to enable our clients to put data at the heart of their communication – communication of the impact they have on the world, what sets them apart, and what makes them different and special.

Insight Agents

Insight Agents works principally with companies, usually global corporates from any and every sector. We are honoured to work for some of the biggest names in pharma, media, and research. Our pharma clients include AstraZeneca, Novartis, and Novo Nordisk. In media, we work with Ebiquity, Ekimetrics, and Publicis Groupe. And in research, we support the Human Instinct, Ipsos, and the Market Research Society. Insight Agents is led by Sam Knowles.

Insights for Impact

Insights for Impact is a specialist research impact consultancy, identifying and developing, evidencing and articulating the real-world impact of research. The division’s purpose is to help researchers and research organisations make best use of their work to improve society – particularly in the context of the UK Government’s seven-yearly Research Excellence Framework (REF) cycle. Insights for Impact is led by Saskia Gent.

Insights for Impact’s clients include many of the UK’s leading universities, including Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Brighton, Cambridge, City, Edinburgh, the Open University, Surrey, Sussex, Ulster, and the University of the Highlands & Islands. We also support impact reporting with overseas universities, including institutions in Australia, Hong Kong, and Ireland.