Hired help

An FOI request by the Guardian has produced the annual list of the BBC's spend on consultants.  The full roster is here - I've picked out a few of the less well-known.

Avenue Associates: £1,250
 A "full-service research marketing and strategic advising firm" with offices in San Francisco; "Avenue Principals spoke about Transit-oriented Development, Green Trends and Socially Responsible Investing at national conferences this year".
Digital Public: £3,000
Part of Transform ("We are change architects") of Great Portland St
The Janus Partnership: £900
Workplace mediation, dispute resolution and grievance investigation.
The Virtuous Circle: £8,388
specialising in reputation and risk, and operating in the fields of CSR, Carbon Footprinting, Non Financials, Risk Management and Communications.
Just Add Water: £1,380
Bathroom design solutions
Blazie: £845
Supplies computer access and note-taking solutions for blind and visually-impaired people.
Digital Vision: £150,000
I may have got the wrong company here - aerial repair in Hetton-le-Hole, Tyne and Wear ?
iBuildings: £5,250
"Enterprise web development by the PHP experts"
Mediasmiths: £10,000
"providing independent and objective advice on problem solving and system selection, and an agile approach to system implementation"
SU53: £52,845
"provides governance, risk management, compliance and security services to companies that run SAP"
3 Reasons: £16,500
"Three Reasons is a dynamic company that specialises in the design, marketing and management of events and projects"
Analysys Mason: £25,000
"a trusted adviser on telecoms, technology and media" 
Bain & Co: £245,000
"the consulting firm the world's business leaders come to when they want enduring results, and a partner who cares as much as they do about getting them" 
Unwork.com Ltd: £12,000
The Future of Work (no comment - Ed)