What Reos Partners does

Reos Partners is a Geneva-headquartered, privately held professional services consultancy specializing in systems transformation through multi-stakeholder collaboration. Founded in the early 2000s with roots in Adam Kahane's work during South Africa's post-apartheid transition, the firm operates from offices in Geneva, Johannesburg, São Paulo, The Hague, and Sydney and has delivered projects in 80+ countries. Its offering rests on three service lines (Transformative Platforms, Strategic Futures, and Leadership Capabilities) backed by proprietary methodologies including Transformative Scenario Planning, Social Labs/Change Labs, the U-Process, Strategic Mapping, and Mapping Dialogue, codified in books such as 'Collaborating with the Enemy' and 'Power and Love'.

The firm serves governments, foundations, NGOs and civil society, the private sector, and academia on complex societal challenges across climate, food systems, health, justice, energy, and governance. Signature programs include the Leadership and Innovation Network for Children (LINC), the Southern Africa Food Lab, the African Cities Water Adaptation (ACWA) Platform (launched at COP27 with World Resources Institute), and the OAS drug policy scenarios that fed into the UN General Assembly Special Session. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting engagements with institutional clients, typically multi-year, with fees negotiated by scope rather than publicly disclosed.

Reos operates a sales-led, content-marketing-heavy go-to-market: a boutique 51-100 employee practitioner team acquires clients through direct engagement, thought-leadership publications, conferences, and a network of referrals built over more than two decades. The firm is privately held with no disclosed investors or parent company and is managed by founding practitioners.

Name

Reos Partners

Legal name

Reos Partners

Website

https://reospartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Reos Partners is a Geneva-based, privately held consultancy that designs and facilitates multi-stakeholder systems transformation for governments, foundations, NGOs, and companies using proprietary scenario planning and Social Labs methodologies, with operations across 80+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting — Systems Transformation and Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategic Partnerships, Alliances & JVs Advisory (BPAHADAI)

Keywords

• Systems transformation consulting
• Multi-stakeholder facilitation
• Scenario planning services
• Change lab design
• Social innovation consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Consulting Services: Reos Partners generates revenue through consulting engagements with governments, foundations, NGOs, and private sector organizations. These engagements typically involve multi-year projects focused on systems transformation, facilitation, strategy development, and capacity building. The firm works on a project-by-project basis with institutional clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Reos Partners is a professional consulting firm that designs and facilitates multi-stakeholder collaboration to drive systems transformation. Its three service lines are Transformative Platforms (large-scale multi-stakeholder alliances and coalitions), Strategic Futures (stakeholder-oriented strategy development), and Leadership Capabilities (equipping individuals and institutions with collaboration skills), grounded in proprietary methodologies such as Transformative Scenario Planning and Social Labs/Change Labs.

Product overview

Reos Partners is a consulting firm specializing in systems transformation and multi-stakeholder collaboration. Their offering consists of three core service lines (Transformative Platforms, Strategic Futures, and Leadership Capabilities) supported by proprietary methodologies including Transformative Scenario Planning and Social Labs/Change Labs. They supplement their consulting services with published knowledge products including books (Collaborating with the Enemy, Facilitating Breakthrough, Mapping Dialogue, Transformative Scenario Planning, Power and Love), reports (Reos Review), and workshops. They also manage signature programs such as the Leadership and Innovation Network for Children (LINC) and the African Cities Water Adaptation (ACWA) Platform. The firm operates primarily as a professional services consultancy rather than a software product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Transformative Platforms Design and facilitation of large-scale, multi-stakeholder alliances and coalitions that catalyse transitions and advance transformative, scalable solutions within and across sectors. Sold to governments, foundations, NGOs, and private sector clients on a project basis.
• Strategic Futures Helping organisations align around shared purpose, develop stakeholder-oriented and future-fit strategies, and embed them for lasting impact. Sold to institutional clients seeking systemic strategy and stakeholder alignment.
• Leadership Capabilities Equipping individuals, teams, and institutions with the skills and mindsets to collaborate effectively, work systemically, and lead change with confidence. Delivered as a consulting capability-building engagement.
• Transformative Scenario Planning Methodology A collaborative approach to constructing scenarios of possible futures that enables groups working across differences to change the future together. Applied in client engagements and the basis for the book of the same name.
• Social Labs / Change Labs Multi-stakeholder processes that bring together people from a given social system to identify root causes of complex challenges, co-create solutions, test them, and put them into action. Applied in client engagements and offered as a Change Labs Workshop format.
• Change Labs Workshop A workshop format delivering Reos Partners' Change Labs methodology for working on complex social challenges through collaborative laboratory approaches.
• Collaborating with the Enemy (Book) A published book by Adam Kahane on how to work with people you don't agree with, like, or trust, available via the Reos Partners resource library (second edition).
• Facilitating Breakthrough (Book) A published book on how to remove obstacles, bridge differences, and move forward together, available via the Reos Partners resource library.
• Mapping Dialogue (Book) A published book by Mille Bojer outlining transformative dialogue tools and change processes for social change practitioners, available via the Reos Partners resource library.
• Transformative Scenario Planning (Book) A published book by Adam Kahane on working together to change the future through scenario planning methodology, available via the Reos Partners resource library.
• Power and Love (Book) A published book on the theory and practice of social change by Adam Kahane, available via the Reos Partners resource library.
• Reos Review A Reos Partners publication featuring transformative approaches to the Sustainable Development Goals, distributed via the Reos Partners resource library.

Quantifiable outcome

• Accelerated energy transition by potentially a decade
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

43 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• World Resources Institute (WRI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022WRI and Reos Partners embarked on a scoping process for the development of the 2030 Joint Agenda for Urban Water Resilience in Africa. From this initiative came the African Cities Water Adaptation (ACWA) Platform, co-led by WRI Africa, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, and WRI's Water Program. The ACWA Platform was successfully launched at COP27 with a target of leveraging $5 billion to scale urban water resilience solutions to 100 African cities by 2032.
• HiiL (The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHiiL and Reos Partners co-pioneered a new approach called 'justice transformation' to contribute to the realization of SDG16 (access to justice for all). Reos helped organize and facilitate deep conversations between justice leaders for deep transformation, not shallow change.
• Rocky Mountain InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReos Partners worked with Rocky Mountain Institute on electricity industry collaboration, bringing together a broad spectrum of thought leaders to accelerate energy transition.
• Engineering Change Lab CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReos Partners' work helped inspire and was critical to the success of the Engineering Change Lab Canada. Reos leverages best practices from cutting-edge systems change efforts and customizes approaches for specific contexts.
• RINGO Project (Reimagining International NGOs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReos Partners designed the process and supported RINGO Lab members throughout in Europe, US, Ghana, and Kenya. Systems change processes are emergent, and Reos was exemplary in providing flexible support guided by members' needs throughout the project.
• SynergoscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSynergos co-initiated the Leadership and Innovation Network for Children (LINC) with Reos Partners. In 2011, management of LINC passed from Convene to Synergos. Synergos is a long-term strategic partner in social change initiatives.
• African Centre for CitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing expertise on urban and city-level water resilience in Africa.
• ICLEI AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, providing local government engagement and sustainability expertise.
• Resilient Cities NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing urban resilience expertise and global network connections.
• Stockholm International Water InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing water sector expertise.
• WaterAidcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing water and sanitation expertise.
• Organization of American States (OAS)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOAS engaged Reos Partners and Center for Leadership and Management to lead a transformative scenarios process on drug policy in the Americas. The resulting 2013 report was hailed as a breakthrough and contributed to unprecedented international drug policy discussions, including a UN General Assembly Special Session.
• Center for Leadership and Management (CLG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBogotá-based partner that collaborated with Reos Partners to lead the OAS drug policy scenarios process in the Americas.
• City of JohannesburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, serving as a pilot city partner for urban water resilience initiatives.
• City of KigalicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, serving as a pilot city partner for urban water resilience initiatives.
• ArupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing engineering and infrastructure expertise.
• ZutaricoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing engineering and consulting expertise.
• Development Bank of Southern AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Southern Africa Food Lab initiatives focused on food security challenges and measurement.
• Human Sciences Research CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Southern Africa Food Lab, focusing on challenges of measuring and monitoring food security.
• Food Security Initiative at Stellenbosch UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrent convener of the Southern Africa Food Lab, received funding from National Research Foundation for social learning research.
• Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies at University of the Western CapecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner with SAFL on action research and social dialogue project for smallholder farming support, with support from Ford and Mellon Foundations.
• South African Human Rights CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in taking forward the National Conversation on Food initiative, piloting Lab methodology for a more action-oriented approach.
• Akiba Mashinani TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing Kenyan urban resilience expertise.
• Cap-Net UNDPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing UNDP water network expertise.
• CDPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing environmental disclosure and data expertise.
• GSMAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing mobile technology and connectivity expertise.
• Practical ActioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing practical technology solutions for development.
• South African Cities NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing urban network expertise.
• Water Integrity NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing water governance and integrity expertise.
• Social Housing Organisations (Netherlands)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners in Pluk cooperative in the Netherlands, working on sustainable housing and energy efficiency initiatives.
• Universities (Netherlands)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners in Pluk cooperative, researching social change processes and providing academic rigor to initiatives.
• Systems Thinking in Schools ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Partnerships for the Future initiative and Camp Snowball, with over 20 years of experience in systems thinking curricula.
• Creative Learning ExchangecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Camp Snowball and K-12 education transformation initiatives focused on systems thinking.
• SoL Education PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in education transformation initiatives, bringing systems thinking to schools.
• Cloud InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in education transformation initiatives focused on sustainability education.
• Aboriginal Health and Medical Research CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner with Centre for Aboriginal Health in developing the 10-year Aboriginal health plan for New South Wales, representing the Aboriginal community-controlled health sector.
• Future Water Institute at UCTcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing African water research expertise.
• Haramaya UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing Ethiopian academic expertise.
• Musanze DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing Rwandan local government expertise.
• Rwanda Young Water ProfessionalscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing youth water professional expertise.
• Water Partnership RwandacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing Rwandan water sector partnerships.
• Western Cape EDPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing Western Cape economic development expertise.
• EiABC (Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead of the ACWA Platform, contributing Ethiopian architecture and urban development expertise.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FSG: Mission-driven consulting firm advising foundations and corporations on social impact strategy, collective impact, and systems change. Closely mirrors Reos' foundation- and government-oriented clientele and systems-change framing.
• Dalberg Advisors: Global strategy consultancy working at the intersection of international development, climate, and social impact. Comparable in serving foundations, multilaterals, and governments with bespoke multi-stakeholder transformation engagements.
• Presencing Institute: Founded by Otto Scharmer, originator of Theory U and the U-Process methodology that Reos also uses. Overlapping methodology stack and similar multi-stakeholder systems transformation engagements across governments and foundations.
• The Partnering Initiative: Specialist consultancy advising on cross-sector partnership design and facilitation for sustainable development. Direct peer in the niche of designing and brokering multi-stakeholder alliances and coalitions.
• Volans: London-based foresight and innovation consultancy focused on sustainable transformation with corporates and investors. Comparable in its scenario-based, multi-stakeholder change work and thought-leadership content model.
• Forum for the Future: UK-based sustainability nonprofit working with businesses and governments on systemic change in climate, food, and energy. Comparable to Reos in its focus on multi-stakeholder transformation labs and futures/scenario work.
• Synergos: Global nonprofit focused on bridging philanthropy, government, and business to address poverty and inequity. Direct peer: long-term Reos partner on LINC and co-initiator of multi-stakeholder social change labs, operating with comparable facilitation methodologies.

Broad incumbents

• McKinsey & Company: Global strategy consulting incumbent with a Sustainability and Organization practices that compete for the same multi-stakeholder transformation mandates, though at significantly larger scale and with a broader portfolio.

Emerging players

• Rocky Mountain Institute: Independent energy transformation nonprofit and named Reos client/partner on electricity industry collaboration. Overlaps with Reos on multi-stakeholder energy/climate facilitation but operates its own deep technical energy practice.
• Shaping Tomorrow: Smaller foresight and scenario planning firm providing scenario-based strategy advisory. Adjacent competitor to Reos' Transformative Scenario Planning service line, though with more software-enabled delivery.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/reospartners
• Facebookfacebook.com/reospartners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/reospartners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Reos Partners