DeHavilland vs Dods vs GovConnex
DeHavilland and Dods are two of the best-known political monitoring services in the UK, and both are built around analysts and consultants. GovConnex takes a different approach: software your team runs itself. Here’s how the three compare, and which suits which team.
The short answer
DeHavilland and Dods are close on the essentials: both pair monitoring with expert analysts or consultants, both quote prices individually, and both hold large stakeholder databases. DeHavilland, now part of Helio Intelligence, is building more AI into its platform and covers the EU from Brussels. Dods leads with its sector consultants and Dods People. GovConnex suits teams who want to work directly with what Parliament is doing as it happens, across all four UK parliaments, with their stakeholder work in the same place.
GovConnex suits teams that
- want real-time alerts that say why each one matters
- want all four UK parliaments in one search
- want monitoring, stakeholders and reporting together
DeHavilland suits teams that
- want in-house analysts to write reports
- need the EU covered from Brussels
- want civil servants and councils in their database
Dods suits teams that
- want a dedicated consultant on their sector
- want Dods People’s profiles of officials
- want EU sources in their monitoring
The three side by side
What each offers, as its own website describes it on 19 October 2026. Where a website doesn’t say, the table says so rather than guess.
| GovConnex | DeHavilland (Helio) | Dods | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it works | |||
| Service model | Software your team runs itself, with onboarding and account support | Monitoring and AI tools, with in-house UK policy analysts | Monitoring with a dedicated sector consultant |
| Free trial | On request | Yes, two weeks | On request |
| Prices | Not published: quoted by team size and coverage | Not published: quoted | Not published: quoted |
| Coverage | |||
| UK Parliament, Commons and Lords | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scottish Parliament, Senedd and NI Assembly | Yes, with their committees, inquiries and bills | Yes | Monitoring across the UK; its website doesn’t list each parliament |
| Committee transcripts | Selected committee sessions, transcribed and searchable, with your organisation flagged | Not listed on its website | Not listed on its website |
| Beyond the UK | Australia and New Zealand | The EU, from Brussels | EU sources |
| Stakeholders | |||
| Directory | Every MP and peer, MSP, Member of the Senedd and MLA, with roles, committees and offices | PeoplePoint: over 50,000 policymakers | Dods People: over 7,000 profiles |
| Engagement and CRM | Stakeholders, meetings, positions and follow-ups, with a report for your board | Engagement tracking, and an API to your own CRM | Groups, Excel export and mail merge |
| AI | |||
| AI assistant | Analyst researches and drafts from GovConnex’s sources and cites each one | AI summaries and stakeholder-finding tools | Dods AI: search over 2 million curated documents |
| In Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot | Yes, through GovConnex’s MCP server | Not listed on its website | Not listed on its website |
Sources
- DeHavilland, home page
- DeHavilland, stakeholder management
- DeHavilland, “Introducing Helio in the UK”, 24 March 2026
- ECI Partners, investment in Helio Intelligence, 2026
- Contracts Finder: General Dental Council, parliamentary monitoring (DeHavilland)
- Dods Political Intelligence, home page
- Dods, UK monitoring
- Dods People
- Dods AI
- Contracts Finder: Food Standards Agency, parliamentary monitoring (Dods)
- Contracts Finder: Historic England, political monitoring (Dods)
- GOV.UK, Dods Group / DeHavilland (OFT), 2012
GovConnex wrote this comparison from each provider’s own website and public contract notices, on the date at the top. Products change: if something here is out of date, tell us and we’ll correct it. DeHavilland, Helio Intelligence and Dods are trade marks of their owners, and GovConnex isn’t affiliated with them. Tell us about a change.
Who’s behind each
The two incumbents have a long and linked history.
- DeHavilland
- Founded in 1998. Its group bought One Policy Place in 2024 and Dods’ EU business in 2025, launched the Helio platform in the UK in March 2026 and now trades as Helio Intelligence, which says it serves over 1,200 clients. ECI Partners announced an investment in 2026, subject to regulatory approval.
- Dods
- Traces its parliamentary reference back to 1832. Dods Political Intelligence is run by Dods Group Limited, part of Merit Group. Its EU business went to DeHavilland’s group in 2025.
- The two together
- In 2012 Dods agreed to buy DeHavilland’s political intelligence business. The Office of Fair Trading referred the deal for a full investigation, and the two stayed separate.
- GovConnex
- Political intelligence and public affairs software, built in Australia and used in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. ISO 27001 certified.
Why teams move to GovConnex
Teams moving from consultant-led monitoring most often ask us for these.
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Alerts with the reason attached
Alerts are filtered to your issues and each says why it matters to your organisation, with a link to the source, so you can brief someone without rereading the debate.
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As it happens
An alert the moment GovConnex picks up a match, and your organisation flagged in transcripts of selected committee sessions, so you can act on a mention while it still matters.
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All four parliaments in one search
The Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly sit alongside Westminster and UK Government departments, in the same search, alerts and briefings.
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Monitoring and stakeholders together
Your stakeholders, meetings, positions and follow-ups live next to what Parliament is doing, and turn into a report for your board.
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AI you can check
Analyst answers from GovConnex’s sources and cites each one. Our MCP server gives Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot the same sources, inside the tools your team already uses.
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Your team sets it up
Add an issue, change an alert or move a briefing yourself, whenever your priorities change.
Where DeHavilland or Dods may suit you better
We’d rather you chose the right service. One of the incumbents is likely the better fit if any of these matter most.
- You want someone to do the reading
- DeHavilland’s in-house analysts and Dods’ sector consultants read and report for you. GovConnex gives your team the tools, support and Analyst for research, but doesn’t assign you a consultant.
- You need the EU
- DeHavilland monitors EU institutions from Brussels, and Dods includes EU sources. GovConnex covers the UK, Australia and New Zealand, not the EU.
- You need officials in your database
- PeoplePoint lists over 50,000 policymakers and Dods People over 7,000 profiles, both including civil servants. GovConnex’s directory covers members of the four UK legislatures.
- You track secondary legislation or APPGs
- GovConnex doesn’t yet track statutory instruments, APPG schedules or the London Assembly.
Switching to GovConnex
Most of the work is timing. Here’s how teams move without a gap.
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Find your notice date
Monitoring contracts often renew automatically and ask for notice weeks or months ahead. Check yours and put the date in the diary.
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Run a trial on your own issues
We set GovConnex up on your issues and parliaments, so you can compare it with what you receive now, on the same days’ news.
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Bring your stakeholders
We set up your issues, stakeholders and briefings with you and bring across your existing contacts.
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Start before you stop
Plan to start before your current contract ends, so nothing falls between the two. Ask us about timing.
Questions about DeHavilland, Dods and GovConnex
Ask us something elseAre DeHavilland and Dods the same company?
No. Dods agreed to buy DeHavilland’s political intelligence business in 2012, but the Office of Fair Trading referred the deal for a full investigation and the two stayed separate. DeHavilland’s group did buy Dods’ EU business in 2025.
Which is cheaper, DeHavilland or Dods?
Neither publishes prices. Public contracts give a guide: the General Dental Council pays DeHavilland £30,000 over three years, and the Food Standards Agency pays Dods £24,600 over two years. What you pay depends on your topics, users and term. GovConnex also quotes, by team size and coverage.
Is DeHavilland now Helio?
DeHavilland launched its Helio platform in the UK in March 2026, and its group now trades as Helio Intelligence. Its UK services still use the DeHavilland name.
Do DeHavilland and Dods use AI?
Both now do. DeHavilland’s Helio platform adds AI summaries, and Dods AI searches over 2 million curated documents. GovConnex’s Analyst researches and drafts from GovConnex’s sources and cites each one, and our MCP server brings the same sources into Claude, ChatGPT and Copilot.
Does GovConnex cover the devolved parliaments?
Yes. The Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly, with their committees and inquiries, alongside the UK Parliament, UK Government departments and consultations, and the devolved governments.
Can we try GovConnex before our contract ends?
Yes. We set up a trial on your own issues and parliaments, so you can compare GovConnex with your current service before you give notice.
Know first. Prove the impact. Book a time with our team. Request a demo