The Atlas

What The Atlas does

The Atlas is a free online community platform serving state and local government leaders across the United States, headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 2013 by three former government officials (two of whom are military spouses) after they worked with eight cities on a philanthropic infrastructure initiative, the company set out to give municipal, county, water utility, and special improvement district staff a safe, peer-to-peer place to learn from one another rather than be sold to. The platform centers on a searchable case study database of 500+ member-submitted projects covering topics such as flooding, transportation, digital government, citizen engagement, and economic development, filterable by challenge, motivation, budget, funding/financing type, and project type. It is augmented by Peer Networking Roundtables (virtual and in-person), the Navigators interview series, a Resources Hub of handbooks, toolkits, white papers, and roundtable takeaways, a dedicated community helpline, and a Help Writing Case Studies service in which Atlas writers help officials publish their projects. The product is delivered as a standard web application with no public API and no mobile app, and government users access it for free with no commitment and no per-seat limits.

The business model is sponsorship-led on the private-sector side and free on the government side. Revenue is generated through sponsored content and events with private-sector partners such as government technology firms, design consultants, and engineering companies, with all sponsored material clearly marked; founding partners include Carahsoft, GTY Technology Holdings, Grant Thornton, Verizon, and AT&T. Distribution is amplified through partnerships with the premier U.S. local-government associations — ICMA, NACO, NLC, NAPA, Waternow Alliance, Alliance for Innovation, and others — and through events such as Smart City Expo USA. Since December 2020, The Atlas has operated as a portfolio company of GovExec, a diversified government-focused media group that also owns Government Executive, Defense One, Nextgov/FCW, Route Fifty, and City & State, and the platform is deeply integrated with Route Fifty for audience development. The team numbers at least 16 across content, community, growth marketing, client success, research, and engineering, and the company has won multiple innovation and civic-tech awards, including recognition as a 500 Startups portfolio company and a U.S. Conference of Mayors Civic Tech Competition finalist.

Name

The Atlas

Legal name

The Atlas

Website

https://the-atlas.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Atlas is a free online community platform that helps U.S. state and local government officials share case studies, attend peer roundtables, and access curated resources, monetized through private-sector sponsorships as a GovExec portfolio company.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Technology / Government Community Platform

NAICS

Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (519290), Business Associations (813910), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Q&A and Knowledge Discovery Platforms (BPAMAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technical & Scientific Expert Networks (BPAHALAH)

Keywords

• Local government community
• Civic technology platform
• Government peer networking
• Public sector knowledge sharing
• Government case studies

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Private Sector Collaboration: The Atlas collaborates with private sector entities like government technology firms, design consultants, and engineering companies to engage with and learn from state and local governments. This may involve transforming traditional marketing materials into informative examples of collaboration. Companies can also sponsor content or events requested by the community, with all sponsored content clearly marked.
2. Content Sponsorship: Companies can sponsor content or events on the platform, with all sponsored content clearly marked with the partner company's logo.
3. Parent Company Integration: Acquired by GovExec in December 2020, operating alongside other market-leading media brands including Government Executive, Defense One, Nextgov/FCW, Route Fifty, and City & State.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Atlas is a free, web-based online community platform for state and local government leaders, offering a searchable database of 500+ member-submitted case studies, peer networking roundtables (virtual and in-person), a Resources Hub with handbooks and toolkits, the Navigators interview series, a dedicated community helpline, and case study writing assistance. The platform enables municipalities, counties, water utilities, and special districts to learn from one another and access resources, while private sector partners sponsor content and events to engage with government decision-makers.

Product overview

The Atlas is a free online community platform for state and local government leaders, built as a unified knowledge-sharing platform comprising a Case Study Database (500+ member-submitted project examples), Navigators (interview profiles of government leaders), a Resources Hub (free guides, toolkits, white papers, and articles), Peer Networking Roundtables, a Resources & Dedicated Helpline, and Help Writing Case Studies services. The platform facilitates peer learning and collaboration without traditional software product architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Case Study Database A searchable database featuring 500+ member-submitted case studies documenting local government projects, filterable by challenge category (flooding, essential services, transportation, digital government, etc.), motivation (smart city, resilient city, sustainable city, equitable city), budget, funding type, and project type. Designed for state and local government leaders to find proven solutions to similar challenges.
• Navigators
• Resources Hub A free resource library for state and local government leaders featuring interviews, tools, surveys, guides, white papers, roundtable takeaways, articles, and studies on topics including infrastructure funding, AI in government, digital government, climate action, and procurement.
• Peer Networking Roundtables Virtual and in-person peer networking roundtables that connect state and local government leaders to discover best practices, exchange insights, and address emerging challenges collaboratively across diverse perspectives nationwide.
• Resources & Dedicated Helpline Handbooks, toolkits, and guides crafted by and for state and local government leaders, supported by a community helpline team to help leaders find right information for quicker, better-informed decisions.
• Help Writing Case Studies Collaboration service where The Atlas team of writers helps local government leaders expand the community case study database by transforming their standout projects into shareable case studies for other leaders.

Quantifiable outcome

• Case study database with 500+ member-submitted examples
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ICMA (International City/County Management Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with ICMA, a premier organization for local government management professionals, to support and engage with local government leaders across the country.
• NACO (National Association of Counties)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with NACO to connect county government leaders with peer networking and resources.
• NLC (National League of Cities)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with NLC to support city officials with resources and peer connections.
• Smart City Expo USAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Smart City Expo USA for event engagement and marketing.
• Waternow AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Waternow Alliance to support water utilities and sustainable water management initiatives.
• Alliance for InnovationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Alliance for Innovation to advance innovation in local government.
• Centre for Public ImpactminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Centre for Public Impact to support public sector innovation.
• Climate Collaborative San Diego RegionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Climate Collaborative San Diego Region for climate action initiatives.
• GMIS InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with GMIS International for government management information systems.
• Green Infrastructure Leadership ExchangeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange for sustainable infrastructure.
• National Academy of Public AdministrationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with NAPA to support public administration excellence.
• CarahsoftcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner - government technology solutions provider.
• GTY Technology HoldingscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner - government technology holding company.
• Grant ThorntoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner - professional services firm.
• VerizoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner - telecommunications and technology company supporting government initiatives.
• AT&TcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner - telecommunications company supporting public sector.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GovLoop: Online community for government employees with learning resources, forums, and training — directly comparable to The Atlas in serving public-sector professionals with peer-networking and content, although GovLoop skews more to federal employees while The Atlas focuses on state/local.
• Route Fifty: GovExec's own state and local government media brand and The Atlas's sibling — provides editorial coverage while The Atlas provides the community layer, so they share audience and topic coverage and are effectively co-distribution partners.
• City & State: GovExec-owned media brand covering state and local government — operates adjacent to The Atlas's audience and content categories and shares sponsorship and audience economics.
• Government Executive: GovExec's flagship federal government media brand — serves a similar content-and-community role for government decision-makers, albeit skewed federal rather than state/local like The Atlas.

Broad incumbents

• Granicus: Major govtech vendor providing digital services, records-request, and communications software to state and local governments — same buyer persona as The Atlas and a likely sponsor/competitor that could add community features.
• CivicPlus: Provider of civic engagement, content management, and records software to municipalities — same target market and listed as a featured case study partner on The Atlas, with resources to build adjacent community tools.
• NEOGOV: HR, recruiting, and workforce-management software vendor for the public sector — targets the same local-government buyer and is referenced in The Atlas case studies, with potential to expand into community/knowledge offerings.
• e.Republic: Parent company of GovExec, Route Fifty, and Government Executive — operates Governing magazine and Government Technology media, and is The Atlas's corporate parent, providing comparable government-media reach and audience infrastructure.

Others

• Carahsoft: Government IT solutions aggregator and The Atlas founding partner — comparable because it serves as a channel connecting govtech vendors with state/local buyers, paralleling how The Atlas monetizes vendor sponsorship.

Emerging players

• Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities: Bloomberg-funded program that helps mid-size U.S. cities use data and evidence to improve services — overlaps The Atlas's mission of helping local-government leaders learn proven practices, though it operates as a philanthropic program rather than a community platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/_the_atlas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Atlas