States of Change

What States of Change does

States of Change is a global learning collective for public sector innovation, formally operating as States of Change Learning Ltd, an Australian-registered charity (ABN 47638095324) founded in Paris in November 2017. The organization designs and delivers multi-month learning programmes and develops educational resources that help government institutions and public servants build capabilities for experimental, participatory, and agile problem solving. Its product portfolio centers on content artifacts rather than software: the Playbook for Innovation Learning (35 learning design patterns), Competency Framework for Experimental Problem Solving, Landscape of Innovation Approaches (mapping 111+ methods), Skills/Attitudes/Behaviours Guide, a Practice Guide for Innovation Teams and Labs, DIY Toolkit (30 tools), Collective Intelligence Design Playbook, Wheel of Trade-offs, and Impact Framework for Cultural Change. These are distributed partly freely via the website (states-of-change.org) and partly through commissioned programmes.

Its business model is commissioned, relationship-driven learning services paid for by government partners, supplemented by an always-on content-marketing layer (weekly newsletter, blog, free toolkits and webinars such as the "Field work" series). Programmes are multi-month and team-based, combining face-to-face intensives (e.g., 9-month pilots with 21 days of in-person training; 6-month cohort programmes) with in-practice application, and draw on a global faculty of experienced practitioners. The Australia and New Zealand programme operates on a self-pay model where teams pay for their own participation rather than being sponsored by another government entity; specific fees are not publicly disclosed. Serving federal, state, and national government agencies across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Colombia, and the UK, the organization employs 1-10 staff and is led by co-founders Brenton Caffin (former Nesta global innovation lead and founding CEO of The Australian Centre for Social Innovation) and Jesper Christiansen (former MindLab Denmark staff member, now Executive Director), with Nicole Barling-Luke as Head of Learning.

Name

States of Change

Legal name

States of Change Learning Ltd

Website

https://states-of-change.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

States of Change is a global learning collective that builds innovation capabilities in government institutions through multi-month learning programmes, competency frameworks, and practice guides. They serve public sector agencies across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Colombia, the UK, and other jurisdictions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Sector Innovation Learning

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Change Management & Transformation Consulting (BPAHAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Organizational Change & Transformation Coaching (EDABANAG), Change Management & Transformation (Org/HR) (BPACAJAD), Change Management for Operations Transformations (EDABAKAM)

Keywords

• Public sector innovation learning
• Government capacity building
• Innovation frameworks toolkits
• Civic education programmes
• Public innovation competencies

Headquarters

HQ city

Aldgate

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

States of Change designs and runs multi-month learning programmes for government teams, supported by a portfolio of educational frameworks, toolkits, and playbooks (such as the Playbook for Innovation Learning, Competency Framework for Experimental Problem Solving, and Landscape of Innovation Approaches). It also provides coaching, mentoring, and advisory services aimed at helping public sector institutions and civil servants become more experimental, participatory, and agile. Programs are delivered globally across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Colombia, the UK, and other regions in partnership with government and multilateral organizations.

Product overview

States of Change is a global learning collective focused on public sector innovation, offering a portfolio of educational resources, frameworks, and programmes. Their core offerings include the Playbook for Innovation Learning (a foundational guide with 35 learning design patterns), the Competency Framework for Experimental Problem Solving (with its accompanying Skills, Attitudes and Behaviours Guide), the Landscape of Innovation Approaches (a visual map of 111+ innovation methods), and practice guides for innovation teams and labs. Additional tools include the DIY Toolkit, Collective Intelligence Design Playbook, Wheel of Trade-offs tool, and Impact Framework for cultural change. The States of Change Learning Programme provides hands-on training for public servant teams. Together, these products support governments in building experimental, participatory, and agile capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• States of Change Learning Programme A multi-month learning programme supporting public servant teams to build innovation capabilities through working on real-world public sector challenges, combining face-to-face intensives with in-practice application and featuring global guest faculty.
• Playbook for Innovation Learning A practitioner's guide providing 35 diagrams and learning design patterns for creating innovation learning experiences, identifying learning needs, and connecting innovation strategy with development. Aimed at innovation practitioners who want to spread innovation skills, methods, and tools.
• Competency Framework for Experimental Problem Solving A framework identifying core skills needed by public servants to experiment and adopt innovative practices, organized around three categories: accelerating learning, working together, and leading change. Developed with input from 30+ leading public sector innovation practitioners.
• Skills, Attitudes and Behaviours that Fuel Public Innovation (Competency Framework Guide) A guide to Nesta's Competency Framework for Experimenting and Public Problem Solving that helps identify and develop the skills, attitudes, and behaviours of innovative public sector teams.
• Landscape of Innovation Approaches A visual overview mapping 111+ innovation methods and approaches across four spaces (intelligence, solution, technology, and talent) that help public sector practitioners make sense of reality and develop solutions to create change.
• A Practice Guide for Innovation Teams and Labs A practical guide from Nesta outlining what innovation teams and labs do, with an introduction to establishing and running new teams or labs in government contexts.
• DIY Toolkit A collection of 30 practical innovation tools for inventing, adopting, or adapting ideas to deliver better results.
• Collective Intelligence Design Playbook Tools, tactics, and methods to harness the power of people, data, and technology to solve global challenges through collective intelligence approaches.
• Wheel of Trade-offs A strategic tool for innovation labs to identify focus areas, strengthen mission, and develop tactics for operating in uncertainty.
• Impact Framework for Cultural Change in Government A framework for measuring culture change in government, moving from measuring outputs to assessing outcomes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully delivered learning programmes in multiple countries including Australia, Canada, and Colombia
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Nesta: UK innovation foundation and the originator of the Competency Framework and many of the playbooks that States of Change distributes. Direct overlap on public-sector innovation content and faculty, and States of Change's IP and faculty are shared with Nesta.
• Bloomberg Philanthropies Government Innovation: Large philanthropic programme that funds and runs city-level government innovation capacity building globally. Overlaps with States of Change's public-sector innovation mission but operates at substantially greater scale and geographic breadth.

Direct peers

• MindLab: Danish government innovation lab that pioneered public-sector design and innovation training. Co-founder Jesper Christiansen is a MindLab alumnus, and the two organisations share the same target buyer (public servants) and learning-programme delivery model.
• The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI): Australian social innovation organisation founded by Brenton Caffin. Operates in the same geography and target segment (government and mission-driven institutions) with comparable human-centred, capability-building offerings.
• The Policy Lab (UK Government): In-house UK government team that trains and supports civil servants in policy innovation, experimentation, and design. Same buyer (public servants) and a closely overlapping learning-curriculum focus.
• The Young Foundation: UK-based centre for social innovation that combines research, programmes, and capability building for public and mission-driven organisations — closely comparable model to States of Change in audience, content, and learning design.
• InWithForward: Social innovation organisation that coaches public and mission-driven teams in new practices for complex problems. Direct overlap in methodology (coaching + applied project work) and buyer (government and public-serving teams).
• Code for America: US non-profit that builds capacity inside government to deliver better public services through technology and practice change. Same target buyer (government) and capability-building mission, with overlapping frameworks on experimentation and service design.
• MaRS Discovery District: Canadian innovation hub that runs public-sector and social-innovation programmes, including capability building for government teams — closely comparable to States of Change's learning programmes in Canada and the federal government context.
• The Behavioral Insights Team (BIT): Social purpose company that applies behavioural science to public policy and trains governments in experimentation and programme design. Direct peer in mission (government capability building) and in the use of experimental problem-solving methods.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/states_change

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 States of Change