What LEANLAB Education does

LEANLAB Education is a Kansas City-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization founded in 2013 that studies and grows education innovations using a proprietary 'codesign' methodology. The organization operates as a three-sided intermediary: it matches edtech companies (research clients) with districts, charter schools, and learning environments (research sites) and engages educators (via the Codesign Collective) to co-design studies inside real classrooms. Core service offerings include Codesign Product Research for edtech vendors, the Codesign Collective community for educators, the AGILE Network (American Group of Innovative Learning Environments) for schools, and certification programs — the Codesign Product Badge and the ESSA Tier IV Building Evidence Badge — that monetize research outcomes as standardized credentials. The codesign methodology is Leanlab's central intellectual property, framing students, teachers, and parents as co-researchers alongside technical researchers and product developers. Its go-to-market is community-led: the organization cultivates school and educator relationships through conferences (ISTELive, ASCD, SXSW EDU), content marketing (blog, Groundshifts newsletter), and direct partnership outreach by Directors of Edtech Partnerships and School Partnerships. Revenue is generated through research contracts with edtech companies, foundation grants (notably Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Learning Commons), and certification fees, rather than transactional pricing — supporting a small (1-10 employee) but nationally scaled operation that has touched over 4 million students through alumni ventures since inception.

Name

LEANLAB Education

Legal name

LEANLAB Education

Website

https://leanlabeducation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

LEANLAB Education is a Kansas City-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that uses a proprietary codesign research methodology to evaluate and certify edtech products in real K-12 classrooms, serving edtech companies, educators, and school districts through research partnerships and a national learning-environment network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Research Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Study Habits & Homework Systems Workshops (EDAMAIAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

K–12 Core Curriculum Small-Group Tutoring Centers (Math/ELA/Science/Social Studies) (EDANAHAA)

Keywords

• Edtech research services
• Education product evaluation
• K-12 codesign research
• Classroom efficacy studies
• Education innovation partnership

Headquarters

HQ city

Kansas City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: LEANLAB Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funded primarily through grants from foundations including Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Revenue comes from research partnerships with edtech companies and foundation funding.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

LEANLAB Education is a nonprofit research organization that conducts codesign-based research to validate and improve K-12 education technology products. It connects edtech companies with real classrooms, educators, students, and parents through its Codesign Product Research service, the Codesign Collective educator community, the AGILE Network and School Network of districts and learning environments, and certification programs that award the Codesign Product Badge and the ESSA Tier IV Building Evidence Badge.

Product overview

LEANLAB Education is a nonprofit research organization offering a portfolio of codesign-based research services focused on education technology evaluation. The core offerings include Codesign Product Research (for edtech companies), The Codesign Collective (for educators), and the AGILE Network (for school districts). The organization also offers certification programs including the Codesign Product Badge and ESSA Tier IV Building Evidence Badge. These services work together to connect educators, students, and parents with edtech developers through collaborative research that informs product development and validates effectiveness.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Codesign Product Research Research service for edtech companies that connects product developers with educators, students, and parents in real classrooms to validate and improve education technology through a collaborative codesign process.
• The Codesign Collective Community of innovative educators that creates resources and elevates educator voices in the development of education technology products.
• AGILE Network (American Group of Innovative Learning Environments) Network of districts, charter schools, and learning environments that partner to study promising education innovations and accelerate the pace of education R&D.
• School Network Program Program matching innovative schools with aligned edtech companies to conduct product development and evaluation research, providing grant funding and professional development for participating educators.
• Codesign Product Certification Certification program that verifies education technology companies iterate their products based on authentic school-community recommendations and feedback from Leanlab's codesign research process.
• ESSA Tier IV Building Evidence Badge Badge recognizing edtech companies that have completed a logic model or theory of change based on rigorous research, with plans to study their tool's effects under ESSA evidence tiers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 67 learners improved English proficiency with 94-97% reporting increased fluency and confidence after completing Preply tutoring program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Align R&DcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2026Strategic partnership to strengthen research infrastructure, expand access to evidence, and ensure insights from emerging tools reach educators and innovators.
• PreplycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 January 2025Research partnership to study the effectiveness of Preply's one-on-one online tutoring program for English language learners. Leanlab conducted a 12-week impact study involving 67 Spanish-speaking adults, measuring language proficiency gains and learner confidence outcomes.
• Quill.orgcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Research partnership to examine Quill's impact on student writing skill development through a large-scale post-hoc study tracking outcomes for over 100,000 students across 2,600 schools during the 2023-2024 school year.
• NewSchools Venture FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Research and evaluation partnership for GenAI math tutoring solutions initiative. Leanlab serves as research partner alongside seven selected ventures including Thinkverse, Snorkl, Goblins, ALTER-Math, Talk Trees, Step Up Tutoring, and CitySchools Collaborative. The partnership includes classroom pilots planned for spring 2026.
• Adobe for EducationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Research partnership to explore how generative AI tools can foster creativity in K-12 classrooms with teachers across the country.
• The Learning AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Research partner for GenAI math tutoring initiative, providing additional expertise alongside Leanlab's research capabilities.
• Edtech RechargeminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2025Third-party researcher that analyzed 14 studies of seven edtech products conducted in partnership with American public schools in 2021.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• American Institutes for Research (AIR): Large behavioral and social science research organization with a major education evaluation practice. Comparable in delivering rigorous edtech and program effectiveness research, with substantially larger scale.
• RAND Corporation (Education Division): Major research institution with substantial K-12 and education technology evaluation work. Comparable as a rigorous third-party education researcher, though broader in scope and larger in scale than LEANLAB.
• WestEd: Nonprofit education research and development organization serving districts, states, and federal agencies. Comparable as a K-12 research and evaluation provider.
• SRI International (Education Division): Research institute with an active education evaluation practice including RCTs and edtech efficacy studies. Comparable as a third-party education researcher producing ESSA-tier evidence.
• Mathematica Policy Research: Large policy research firm conducting rigorous education program evaluations and randomized trials for districts and federal agencies. Comparable in delivering ESSA-aligned evidence, with much larger capacity.

Others

• NewSchools Venture Fund: Nonprofit education venture philanthropy that funds edtech entrepreneurs and portfolio research initiatives — overlapping with LEANLAB as a research commissioner and K-12 edtech accelerator. Functions as both peer in ecosystem and current partner.

Direct peers

• Common Sense Education: Nonprofit program that rates and reviews edtech tools for classroom use and publishes privacy/quality evaluations. Comparable as an edtech rating organization serving districts and schools.
• EdReports: Independent nonprofit that provides free reviews of K-12 instructional materials to support evidence-based purchasing. Comparable as an edtech/instructional content evaluator serving districts.
• CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology): Nonprofit research and development organization that originated Universal Design for Learning and conducts edtech efficacy work. Comparable as a mission-driven edtech research nonprofit with deep educator-engagement methodology.
• Digital Promise: Nonprofit that works with educators, researchers, and edtech developers to build evidence on edtech products and inclusive innovation. Closely comparable to LEANLAB's Codesign research model and edtech validation mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LEANLABed

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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

M&A

Investments16 records

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

Frequently asked questions about LEANLAB Education