Sustineo
Sustineo is a Canberra-based consulting firm providing research, monitoring and evaluation, and strategic advisory services to government agencies, UN bodies, and NGOs working in the Pacific and Indo-Pacific region.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersDeakin, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Sustineo does
Sustineo Pty Ltd is an Australian privately-held consulting firm founded in 2010 and headquartered in Dickson, Canberra. The firm delivers research, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), strategy and investment design, capacity strengthening, and strategic communications services to international development organisations and government agencies operating in the Pacific and Indo-Pacific region. Sustineo organises its offering into five core services and six specialty areas led by Principal Consultants with deep regional expertise (climate resilience, nature-based solutions and carbon markets, civic engagement, governance and security, economic and private-sector development, and inclusive infrastructure).
Sustineo's go-to-market is direct, project-based B2G consulting, with revenue derived from competitively tendered contracts with anchor clients including the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), UN agencies (UNDP, UN Women, ILO), New Zealand MFAT, APEC, the Pacific Community (SPC), and prime contractors such as Palladium and Tetra Tech. The firm has approximately 15-20 staff and operations spanning 16 countries as of 2024. Pricing is non-public and negotiated per project scope.
The firm's technical approach relies on mixed-methods research, social network analysis, and culturally adapted participatory methodologies (talanoa, tok stori), delivered through a core in-house team in Canberra augmented by an in-country partner network across the Pacific, Southeast Asia and Australia (e.g., Dignity Pasifik, Anglo Pacific Research, NARI, FPDA, Nakau Programme, University of the South Pacific, ANU). Sustineo is ISO9001 certified and is wholly owned by its founders and senior management, with no external investors, parent company, or subsidiaries identified.
Sustineo firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sustineo
- Legal name
- Sustineo Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://sustineo.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Sustineo is a Canberra-based consulting firm providing research, monitoring and evaluation, and strategic advisory services to government agencies, UN bodies, and NGOs working in the Pacific and Indo-Pacific region.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sustineo industry classification
Industry- Product category
- International Development Consulting
- NAICS
- Management Consulting Services (54161), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Management Services (8741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL) (BPAGABAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)
Keywords
Where Sustineo is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Deakin
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sustineo business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Consulting Services: Sustineo generates revenue through project-based consulting engagements with government agencies (DFAT, Australian Government departments), international organizations (UNDP, UN Women, ILO), NGOs (WWF Australia), and research institutions. Revenue is derived from research contracts, evaluations, program design, and strategic advisory services across their core service areas.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Sustineo product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sustineo is a research and consulting firm delivering professional services across the Australia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific region. It offers research, data and analytics, strategy and investment design, monitoring/evaluation and learning (MEL), capacity strengthening and institutional development, and strategic communications to government agencies, UN bodies, NGOs, and academic institutions. Its work is focused on international development, climate resilience, governance, nature-based solutions, and inclusive economic development in Pacific contexts.
Product overview
Sustineo is a research and consulting firm, not a software product company. It offers a portfolio of professional services organized into five core services and six specialty areas. The core services—Research/Data & Analytics, Strategy & Investment Design, Monitoring/Evaluation & Learning (MEL), Capacity Strengthening & Institutional Development, and Strategic & Creative Communications—provide advisory and consulting capabilities. These are complemented by six specialty areas led by Principal Consultants: Climate Resilience & Adaptation, Nature-Based Solutions & Carbon Markets, Civic Engagement & Social Inclusion, Governance/Security & Stability, Economic & Private Sector Development, and Inclusive Infrastructure & Social Systems. Together, these services form an integrated consulting offering focused on international development in the Australia-Pacific region.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Research, Data & Analytics Delivers rigorous, locally grounded research using systems approaches and mixed methods, spanning social research, capacity needs assessments, and large-scale community data collection for development sector clients.
- Strategy & Investment Design Designs sustainable, locally relevant strategies and investments that work in practice through inclusive, participatory approaches aligned with policy and community priorities.
- Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Provides robust evaluations and practical insights for adaptive management, with a focus on learning to assess effectiveness and adjust strategies to improve development outcomes.
- Capacity Strengthening & Institutional Development Builds organisational capacity through training, governance support, and leadership development using strengths-based approaches that embed change and build resilience.
- Strategic & Creative Communications Crafts culturally relevant communications that bring evidence to life, ranging from reports and policy briefs to infographics and illustrations that drive impact.
- Climate Resilience & Adaptation Led by Principal Consultants with decades of experience, this specialty area focuses on helping clients understand and respond to climate change impacts across the Asia-Pacific region.
- Nature-Based Solutions & Carbon Markets
- Civic Engagement & Social Inclusion
- Governance, Security & Stability
- Economic & Private Sector Development
- Inclusive Infrastructure & Social Systems
Companies that use Sustineo
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Sustineo technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Sustineo partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- University of the Sunshine CoastminorCollaboration on pearl-based livelihood development evaluation project, ensuring culturally sensitive and rigorous approach.
- Australian National University (ANU)coreOngoing collaboration on climate, agriculture and development research. Sustineo works with ANU's Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions (ICEDS) and Crawford School of Public Policy on multiple Pacific research projects including carbon markets, climate smart agriculture, and food systems.
- Nakau ProgrammecorePartnership on carbon markets and conservation in Solomon Islands. Nakau leads watershed PES projects while Sustineo provides social assessment and research support. Also collaborating on coffee carbon trading research.
- Dignity PasifikcoreLong-term partnership with research firm based in Solomon Islands led by Ruth Maetala. Dignity Pasifik's community engagement expertise enables high-quality field data collection in culturally sensitive contexts.
- Live and Learn Solomon IslandsminorPartner on water catchment management project in Solomon Islands, working alongside Nakau and Solomon Water for ADB-funded project.
- WWF AustraliacorePartnership under Australian Government's Climate Resilient by Nature (CRxN) initiative to produce synthesis report on voluntary carbon markets in the Pacific. Sustineo provided expertise on carbon markets, land and resource use as well as social context in Melanesia.
- University of the South PacificminorAcademic partner on pearl research evaluation and other Pacific projects, providing local expertise and institutional knowledge.
- Anglo Pacific ResearchcorePNG-based research partner supporting Sustineo's work on climate smart agriculture, carbon markets, and social network analysis in Papua New Guinea.
- National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI)corePNG government research institute partner on climate smart agriculture projects, managing field trials and farmer engagement activities.
- Fresh Produce Development Agency (FPDA)corePNG government agency partner on agricultural projects, establishing field trials and delivering seasonal climate forecasts to farmers.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Sustineo competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Palladium International: Large international development consulting firm operating Pacific programmes (including Pacific Labour Scheme) where Sustineo has acted as a research partner; both firms deliver M&E, strategy and program design for DFAT and similar donors in the region.
- Adam Smith International: Policy and governance-focused international development consultancy with Pacific programmes; comparable in offering management consulting, M&E and strategy advisory to government and multilateral clients in developing economies.
- Cardno: Australian-headquartered international development and infrastructure consultancy with deep Pacific and Indo-Pacific footprint delivering advisory, M&E and engineering services comparable to Sustineo's core and specialty offerings.
- DT Global: International development consultancy with strong Asia-Pacific presence delivering governance, economic development and infrastructure advisory for DFAT and USAID—closely paralleling Sustineo's specialty areas and donor mix.
Regional players
- International Development Research Centre (IDRC): Canadian government-funded research organisation funding development research in developing regions including the Pacific; tangentially comparable to Sustineo as both sponsor and conduct applied research and MEL for development outcomes.
Broad incumbents
- Tetra Tech: Global engineering and development consulting firm with extensive Pacific and Indo-Pacific aid programme work; Sustineo has partnered with Tetra Tech as a sub-contractor on Pacific development projects, indicating direct overlap in target clients (DFAT, ADB) and service lines.
- Abt Associates: Global research and consulting firm with major international development practice spanning M&E, health, governance and economic growth—directly competitive with Sustineo on large donor tenders for evaluation and research services.
- The Asia Foundation: Large international development organisation with deep Asia-Pacific footprint delivering governance, economic and research programmes that overlap with Sustineo's governance, civic engagement and economic development specialty areas.
Emerging players
- Clear Horizon: Australian M&E and impact consulting firm focused on social and environmental programmes; similar size and specialisation to Sustineo with comparable MEL, capacity building and outcome evaluation offerings for government and NGO clients.
- ThinkPlace: Australian design and innovation consultancy for the social sector delivering strategy, evaluation and capability-building services to government and non-profits—a comparable niche player to Sustineo in the Pacific/Asia development consulting market.
Market position
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sustineo social profiles
Digital presenceSustineo financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sustineo leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Sustineo funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sustineo M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sustineo
What does Sustineo do?
Sustineo is a research and consulting firm delivering professional services across the Australia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific region. It offers research, data and analytics, strategy and investment design, monitoring/evaluation and learning (MEL), capacity strengthening and institutional development, and strategic communications to government agencies, UN bodies, NGOs, and academic institutions. Its work is focused on international development, climate resilience, governance, nature-based solutions, and inclusive economic development in Pacific contexts.
Is Sustineo a public or private company?
Sustineo is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Sustineo founded?
Sustineo was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Sustineo based?
Sustineo is headquartered in Deakin, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Sustineo make money?
One revenue line is on record: consulting Services.
Who are Sustineo's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Palladium International, Adam Smith International, Cardno and DT Global. International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are Tetra Tech, Abt Associates and The Asia Foundation. Emerging players are Clear Horizon and ThinkPlace.
Does Sustineo have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sustineo.
What industry is Sustineo in?
Sustineo's product category is International Development Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGABAO, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL), with a secondary code of BPAHACAK, Sustainability & ESG Consulting. Its NAICS code is 54161 and its SIC code is 8742.