Innovation Network

What Innovation Network does

Innovation Network is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit evaluation and learning organization founded in 1992 by Allison Fine. It serves philanthropic foundations, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, and social movement organizations by providing evaluation consulting, training, and capacity-building services focused on advocacy, social movements, health equity, and systems change. The organization is recognized as a pioneer in advocacy evaluation, having effectively helped establish the field, and is known for its participatory, equity-centered, and decolonizing evaluation methodologies.

The organization's service portfolio spans fee-based evaluation planning, data collection, analysis, and reporting, supplemented by tailored training and coaching. Its product surface includes the Point K Learning Center (an online platform hosting free interactive tools such as the Logic Model Builder and Evaluation Plan Builder), workbooks, assessment tools, research reports, and proprietary frameworks. Notable proprietary methodologies and frameworks include the Pathfinder Series for advocacy evaluation (commissioned by Atlantic Philanthropies), the Power Building Framework developed in partnership with Community Change, and the Liberatory Learning-First Evaluation approach. All published resources are made available at no cost, with the consulting practice serving as the primary revenue-generating activity.

The business model is hybrid: fee-based professional services contracts with foundations and nonprofits represent the core revenue stream, supplemented by tax-deductible donations. Innovation Network operates as a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, a nonprofit that provides administrative and tax-exempt infrastructure. The organization maintains a small team of fewer than ten staff, including Co-Director Linda Lu (Strategy and Partnership) and Director Alissa Marchant. Notable clients and funders include Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Colorado Health Foundation, Community Change, Public Welfare Foundation, Missouri Foundation for Health, Interact for Health, and Atlantic Philanthropies.

Name

Innovation Network

Legal name

Innovation Network, Inc.

Website

https://innonet.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Innovation Network is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit founded in 1992 that provides evaluation consulting, training, and free frameworks to foundations, nonprofits, and social movement organizations, with a specialization in advocacy, equity-centered, and participatory evaluation methodologies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

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

Revenue model

1. Evaluation Consulting Services: Fee-based evaluation planning, data collection, analysis, and reporting services tailored to foundations and nonprofits
2. Training and Capacity Building: Tailored evaluation training, coaching, and technical assistance to funders and nonprofits on evaluation topics
3. Donations: Tax-exempt nonprofit accepting donations to support projects building evaluation capacity of the nonprofit sector; all website content available for free

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Innovation Network is a nonprofit evaluation and learning organization that provides fee-based evaluation consulting, training, and capacity-building services to foundations and nonprofit organizations working on advocacy, social movements, health equity, and systems change. The organization also publishes free frameworks, workbooks, assessment tools, and reports, and operates the Point K online learning platform with interactive evaluation planning tools.

Product overview

Innovation Network is a nonprofit evaluation and learning organization that offers a portfolio of evaluation frameworks, workbooks, assessment tools, and online platforms. The core offerings include the Logic Model Workbook and Evaluation Plan Workbook for foundational evaluation planning, supplemented by the Point K Learning Center online platform with interactive tools. Their specialized offerings include advocacy evaluation guides (Pathfinder Series), power-building frameworks (Power Building Framework, Milestones for Collective Power), and participatory evaluation methodologies. The organization produces State of Evaluation reports examining nonprofit sector capacity, along with case studies and research reports on health equity, social justice, and systems change. All resources are available for free, reflecting the organization's commitment to building evaluation capacity in the nonprofit sector.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Evaluation Consulting Services

Quantifiable outcome

• State of Evaluation reports based on surveys of 1,125+ US nonprofits
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Interact for HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Commissioned health policy and advocacy landscape study in Greater Cincinnati and Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky; nearly 100 organizations surveyed
• Community InitiativescoreOthersFiscal sponsor of Innovation Network; Innovation Network is a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, providing tax-exempt status and administrative support
• Community ChangecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partnership on power building learning projects including Power in Places cohort evaluation and power building framework development
• The Colorado Health FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLearning partner for Amplifying Advocacy Initiative supporting equitable health equity advocacy ecosystem in Colorado; conducted advocacy ecosystem survey
• OneAmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on workforce equity metrics research scan for Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council to track racial, gender, immigration, and language equity
• Kansas Health FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Kansas Health Foundation's Integrated Voter Engagement Initiative; explored learning circles as tool for participant-owned evaluation
• Clark UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLearning team partnership with Clark University on Resident Organizing Networks evaluation project
• Grassroots SolutionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLearning team partnership on Resident Organizing Networks evaluation project with Community Change's Housing Justice Team

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Equal Measure: Equal Measure is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit evaluation and philanthropic advisory firm serving foundations and nonprofits on impact measurement and capacity building. Highly comparable in mission, client base (US foundations), and equity-centered evaluation practice.
• TCC Group: TCC Group is a New York-based consulting firm serving nonprofits and foundations on strategy, evaluation, and capacity building. Overlapping service portfolio (evaluation, capacity building, foundation advisory) makes it a close peer.
• Harder+Company Community Research: Harder+Company is a national evaluation and research consulting firm working with foundations and nonprofits to assess social programs and advocacy. Direct competitor in social-sector evaluation with overlapping client profile and slightly larger scale.
• Spark Policy Institute: Spark Policy Institute is a Denver-based evaluation and learning consulting firm serving foundations, nonprofits, and government on policy and systems change. Comparable in evaluating advocacy and systems-change initiatives for philanthropic clients.
• Center for Evaluation Innovation: The Center for Evaluation Innovation is the most direct peer: an established nonprofit evaluation firm focused on advocacy, policy change, and philanthropic strategy, explicitly identified as Innovation Network's long-standing partner. Both organizations operate in the same advocacy-evaluation niche with similar foundation clients.
• OMG Center for Collaborative Learning: OMG Center is a Philadelphia-based evaluation and learning firm serving nonprofits, foundations, and public agencies with a similar emphasis on participatory, equity-focused evaluation approaches. Comparable team size, client profile, and methodological orientation to Innovation Network.

Broad incumbents

• MDRC: MDRC is a New York-based nonprofit social policy research and evaluation organization serving foundations and government on workforce, education, and social programs. Larger incumbent with overlapping evaluation practice.
• Mathematica Policy Research: Mathematica is a large, established policy research and evaluation firm serving federal agencies and major foundations. Adjacent competitor with vastly greater scale and broader service lines; competes for foundation evaluation work but at much larger engagements.
• NORC at the University of Chicago: NORC is a large independent research institution conducting social science research and program evaluation for government, foundations, and nonprofits. Comparable in evaluation methodology though vastly larger and more diversified.

Regional players

• The Forbes Funds: Forbes Funds is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit capacity-building and evaluation intermediary serving regional foundations and nonprofits. Comparable mission around strengthening nonprofit evaluation capacity, though concentrated in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/innovation-network
• Xx.com/innonet_eval

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Innovation Network