It's been a while since we shared an update. That’s because we’ve been listening to you and reflecting, and we want to tell you about how over the last year we’ve been developing what we do.
Over the past 14 years, we’ve worked alongside some of the most ambitious people in the charity sector and it’s shaped not only the work we do, but how we think about the role we play. We’ve always wanted to challenge the status quo, to invent new ways of thinking, working, and growing with charities who want to make a bigger difference.
Everything seems harder these days. You are being asked to grow income, reach, and impact, often with flat portfolios, overstretched teams, and unclear strategic direction. Many of you have told us that strategies are too often built on what’s already being delivered, not what the world will demand in five or ten years’ time. They can assume predictable conditions, ignore delivery constraints, and end up disconnected from the day-to-day decisions that drive real change.
Your teams are asked to deliver growth but the organisation behind them is often not set up for it with slow, bloated decision-making and governance that is risk-averse. Silos persist, and many promising initiatives hit the same internal blockers. New ideas get talked about but rarely delivered, and innovation teams are often overstretched or underpowered, stuck in the innovation doom loop.
The answer? For many organisations, it lies in a ‘transformation programme’. But what that actually means varies wildly, and it’s not always delivering the impact charities need. You’ve told us these programmes often pin all their hopes on new technology or on a new Target Operating Model focused on fewer people.
While these can play a role, we believe there’s a different approach to transforming for growth. It’s a cliché, but it’s true, real growth only happens when ambition, capability, and creativity come together.
So, for us, transformation means:
A future-focused strategy - We believe strategy shouldn't just be an extension of what you're doing now.
Systems built for change - The best strategy in the world will fail if your organisation isn't set up to deliver it.
Creativity that leads to action - Growth demands more than good ideas. It’s impossible to wait for a "ta-da" moment or a perfect system, so you need an agile system for delivery and learning as you go.
This is why we've been changing.
We still believe in the power of innovation, but we've learned that innovation on its own isn't enough. It's a crucial tool, but it's not the whole answer. Over the last year our thinking and our work has evolved. It’s not just new products or services, but new systems, new strategies, and new models for transforming growth.
Our new focus is built on everything we've learned from hundreds of clients. It’s about what individual organisations need to transform, and the steps they need to take for real change.
Defining Purpose and Vision - We create a future oriented north star and focus.
Rethinking Income and Services Strategies - We build a living, agile strategy that starts with the future, not an extension of the past.
Building the Right Organisation - We develop the culture and capabilities to unlock the potential within teams, by changing how work gets done, not just who does it.
Developing and Delivering New Things to Market - We get new services and income streams to market with speed and confidence, breaking out of the innovation doom loop.