GovConnex vs Dods
Dods pairs political monitoring with a dedicated sector consultant and the Dods People directory. GovConnex is software your team runs itself: real-time alerts across all four UK parliaments, committee transcripts, a stakeholder CRM and an AI analyst that cites its sources. Here’s how they compare, and which suits which team.
The short answer
Choose Dods if you want a consultant watching your sector, and Dods People’s profiles of officials and public affairs contacts. Choose GovConnex if your team wants developments as they happen across Westminster and the devolved parliaments, with stakeholders, meetings and reporting in the same place.
GovConnex suits teams that
- want alerts in real time, each saying why it matters to them
- follow Holyrood, the Senedd and Stormont as well as Westminster
- track meetings, positions and follow-ups with each stakeholder
- want AI answers they can check against the source, in GovConnex or in Claude, ChatGPT and Copilot
Dods suits teams that
- want a dedicated consultant who knows their sector
- want civil servants and public affairs professionals in their directory
- want EU sources in their monitoring
GovConnex and Dods, side by side
What each offers, as its own website describes it on 19 October 2026. Where Dods’ website doesn’t say, the table says so rather than guess.
| GovConnex | Dods | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | ||
| Service model | Software your team runs itself, with onboarding and account support | Monitoring with a dedicated sector consultant, from a team of over 20 |
| Free trial | On request | On request |
| Prices | Not published: quoted by team size and coverage | Not published: quoted |
| Coverage | ||
| UK Parliament, Commons and Lords | Yes | Yes |
| Scottish Parliament, Senedd and NI Assembly | Yes, with their committees, inquiries and bills | Monitoring across the UK, from over 16,000 UK and EU sources; its website doesn’t list each parliament |
| Committee transcripts | Selected committee sessions, transcribed and searchable, with your organisation flagged | Not listed on its website |
| Social media | MPs’ posts on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and Bluesky | Dods Signals: over 50,000 social media sources |
| Beyond the UK | Australia and New Zealand | EU sources |
| Monitoring | ||
| Alerts | In real time, the moment there’s a match, and in briefings on your schedule | Personalised alerts, with support from a sector consultant |
| Why it matters | Each item says why it matters to your organisation and links to its source | Your consultant adds the context |
| Stakeholders | ||
| Directory | Every MP and peer, MSP, Member of the Senedd and MLA, with roles, committees and offices | Dods People: over 7,000 political representatives, civil servants and public affairs professionals |
| Engagement and CRM | Stakeholders, meetings, positions and follow-ups, with a report for your board | Groups, Excel export, mail merge and “My People” contact management |
| AI | ||
| AI assistant | Analyst researches and drafts from GovConnex’s sources and cites each one | Dods AI: search over 2 million curated documents, with citations |
| In Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot | Yes, through GovConnex’s MCP server | Not listed on its website |
Sources
- 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)
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.
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 Dods may suit you better
We’d rather you chose the right service. Dods is likely the better fit if any of these matter most.
- You want a consultant on your sector
- Dods gives each subscription a dedicated consultant with expertise in its sector. GovConnex gives your team the tools, support and Analyst for research, but doesn’t assign you a consultant.
- You need officials and public affairs contacts
- Dods People profiles over 7,000 political representatives, civil servants and public affairs professionals. GovConnex’s directory covers members of the four UK legislatures.
- You want EU sources
- Dods monitors over 16,000 sources from the UK and EU. GovConnex covers the UK, Australia and New Zealand, not the EU.
- You track secondary legislation or APPGs
- GovConnex doesn’t yet track statutory instruments, APPG schedules or the London Assembly.
Switching from Dods
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 switching from Dods
Ask us something elseHow much does Dods cost?
Dods doesn’t publish prices; it quotes each client. Public contracts give a guide: the Food Standards Agency’s parliamentary monitoring contract with Dods is £24,600 over two years (May 2025 to April 2027), and Historic England’s political monitoring contract is £37,500 over three years (April 2025 to April 2028). GovConnex also quotes, by team size and coverage.
Is GovConnex an alternative to Dods People?
For parliamentarians, yes: GovConnex’s directory covers every MP and peer, MSP, Member of the Senedd and MLA, with their roles, committees and offices, and its CRM keeps your meetings, positions and follow-ups with each. Dods People also profiles civil servants and public affairs professionals, which GovConnex doesn’t.
Does GovConnex have consultants like Dods?
GovConnex doesn’t assign a consultant. Your team gets onboarding and support, and Analyst, which researches and drafts from GovConnex’s sources and cites each one. If you want a consultant to watch your sector for you, a consultant-led service may suit you better.
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 Dods 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.
Who owns Dods?
Dods Political Intelligence is run by Dods Group Limited, part of Merit Group, and traces its parliamentary reference back to 1832. PoliticsHome and The House, once Dods titles, were sold in 2022.
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