Partners in Public Innovation

What Partners in Public Innovation does

Partners in Public Innovation (PPI) is a private, founder-led consulting firm founded in 2022 and headquartered in Fair Oaks, California, that exclusively serves state, city, county, and special-district government agencies. The firm delivers process improvement, leadership development, and strategic planning services using a blended methodology drawing from Lean, Six Sigma, Design Thinking, and Agile, applied to public-sector pain points such as civil-service hiring, procurement, permitting and licensing, invoicing, and strategic plan execution.

PPI's product portfolio is anchored by the Lean Leaders certification — a 3-month, cohort-based leadership development program priced at $4,500 per individual participant, delivered live over Zoom with 1:1 coaching and a real-workplace improvement project. In 2025, PPI productized this curriculum further through Lean Leaders On-Demand, a self-paced certificate hosted on the Teachable platform. Complementary offerings include free one-hour Zoom seminars (Lean for Executives, Operationalizing Abundance), downloadable toolkits (Huddle Toolkit, Learning and Development Strategy Template), and direct facilitated-improvement consulting engagements delivered side-by-side with agency staff. PPI does not sell software; its proprietary asset is its coaching methodology and the Lean Leaders alumni ecosystem.

PPI's business model is professional services revenue, generated through per-seat cohort tuition and project-based consulting fees. Go-to-market is sales-led and event-driven: discovery calls scheduled via Calendly, conference presence (CALPELRA, MMASC, Abundance Conference), contributions to the MMANC/MMASC/ICMA Credentialed Government Leader program, and content marketing via blog and LinkedIn. Documented customers include SFPUC, SFMTA, City of San Diego, City of Boise, Pierce County Human Services, SFUSD, West St. Paul, West County Wastewater, and the San Francisco Controller's Office. Revenue and funding are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Partners in Public Innovation

Legal name

Partners in Public Innovation

Website

https://publicinnovation.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Partners in Public Innovation is a Fair Oaks, California–based consulting firm founded in 2022 that helps state, city, and county government agencies accelerate hiring, procurement, permitting, and strategic planning through Lean methodology training and facilitated improvement engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Fair Oaks

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. Lean Leaders Cohort Training: Fee-based cohort training program at $4,500 per individual participant, delivered over 3 months with multiple training days and 1:1 coaching. Cohort-based model with enrollment deadlines.
2. Process Improvement Consulting: Direct consulting engagements with government agencies for facilitated improvement projects, hiring transformation, strategic planning, and crisis strategy support. Revenue is project-based.
3. Lean Leaders On-Demand (Self-paced): Self-paced online certificate program under the Lean Leaders brand, accessible via Teachable platform.
4. Seminars / Webinars: Free one-hour seminars such as 'Lean for Executives' delivered via Zoom to generate leads and demonstrate expertise.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Partners in Public Innovation (PPI) is a public sector process improvement consulting firm that helps state, city, county, and special district government agencies streamline operations in hiring, procurement, permitting, and strategic planning. Its flagship offering is the Lean Leaders cohort program — a three-month leadership development and improvement project experience — supplemented by facilitated improvement consulting engagements, free executive seminars, and downloadable toolkits. PPI applies Lean, Six Sigma, Design Thinking, and Agile tools working within existing government constraints (no new IT or budget required) to build internal continuous improvement capability.

Product overview

Partners in Public Innovation (PPI) is a public sector process improvement firm that offers a portfolio of consulting services and training programs. Its core offerings include the Lean Leaders cohort program (an immersive 3-month leadership development and improvement project experience, available in both live cohort and self-paced on-demand formats at $4,500 per individual) and free public seminars such as Lean for Executives and Operationalizing Abundance webinars. PPI also delivers direct consulting engagements with government agencies—applying Lean, Six Sigma, Design Thinking, and Agile tools to real organizational problems in areas such as hiring, procurement, permitting, and strategic planning. Supporting these are downloadable toolkits including a Learning and Development Strategy Template and a Huddle Toolkit. PPI does not offer a software-as-a-service product; its offerings are service- and training-based rather than technology-based.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lean Leaders: A premier leadership development cohort program providing black-belt level training and coaching over three months for emerging leaders in government agencies.
• Lean Leaders On-Demand

Products and services

• Lean Leaders A three-month cohort-based leadership development program for public sector staff at all levels, combining black-belt level training with 1:1 coaching that is immediately applied to solving real organizational problems. Participants learn tools derived from Lean, Six Sigma, Design Thinking, and Agile and complete an improvement project. Enrollment is $4,500 per individual and includes 4 training days, 1:1 coaching, and materials.
• Lean Leaders On-Demand A self-paced online certificate program version of the Lean Leaders curriculum, accessible through a private learning platform on Teachable, designed for public sector employees to build internal problem-solving and process improvement capabilities at their own pace.
• Process Improvement Consulting Direct consulting engagements in which PPI partners work side-by-side with public agencies to analyze, redesign, and transform operational processes such as hiring, procurement, permitting, and strategic planning. Engagements are typically structured around facilitated workshops, process mapping, root cause analysis, and implementation support, working within existing constraints without requiring new IT or budget.
• Lean for Executives A free one-hour Zoom seminar for senior leaders, managers, and executives focused on building a high-performing and empowered team that drives organizational goals through Lean principles and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Operationalizing Abundance A one-hour webinar exploring how frontline staff and agency leaders can fix internal systems to deliver more public services — covering hiring time reduction, faster permitting, and service delivery acceleration for local governments and philanthropic partners.
• Strategic Planning Facilitation A five-phase strategic planning service for government agencies: Listening & Synthesis, Interactive Retreat, Action Design, Prioritization & Project Plans, and Implementation Framework & Toolkit. Designed to build organizational ownership of strategic plans (e.g., West St. Paul, MN adopted a five-year 2025–2030 strategic plan with four priorities, KPIs, and a project portfolio through this process).
• Learning and Development Strategy Template A downloadable strategic planning template for public sector learning and HR leaders, designed to align organizational learning initiatives with agency business objectives through four phases: Assess & Align, Strategy Development, Prioritization, and Communication & Change Management.
• Huddle Toolkit A visual management toolkit providing resources for implementing 15-minute stand-up team meetings (huddles) to drive accountability, align daily work with strategic goals, and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Time-to-hire reduced by up to 50%+ (e.g., San Diego cut vacancy-to-initiation from 109 days to 14 days; SFPUC cut nearly 2 months)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Credentialed Government Leader (CGL) Program Collaboration (MMANC, MMASC, ICMA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPPI contributes to the Credentialed Government Leader (CGL) Program, a self-directed career development program for public sector managers offered through collaboration between the Municipal Management Association of Northern California (MMANC), the Municipal Management Association of Southern California (MMASC), and ICMA. PPI team member Lauren Dodge authored content for the CGL program on topics including leadership development and process improvement.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/publicinnovation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Partners in Public Innovation