OpenCities
OpenCities is a UK-based boutique management consultancy founded in 2006 that provides strategy, evaluation, research, and organizational design services to international development agencies, governments, UN agencies, and NGOs working on sustainable development.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersPotters Bar, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What OpenCities does
OpenCities (legal entity: Open Cities Ltd) is a UK-based strategic management consultancy founded in 2006 by Dr Marc Stephens, specializing in sustainable development and organizational change at the nexus of environment and development. The firm operates four integrated service lines — Strategy and Communication, Organisation, Evaluation, and Research and Analysis — delivered to international development agencies (World Bank, African Development Bank, GGGI), governments (UK FCDO/DFID, ICAI, London boroughs), UN agencies (IMO, UNESCO-IOC), and NGOs/foundations (WRI, P4G, Global Resilience Partnership, CARE International UK). Instead of a software product, OpenCities' 'technology' is its proprietary analytical methodologies — hypothesis-driven strategy development, MICE sub-question structuring, OVID reflective framework, Gibbs' Reflective Cycle, and outcome harvesting — along with a cautious, principled approach to AI integration (transcription via Otter.ai, coding via MaxQDA, draft synthesis via large language models) treated as scaffolding for human judgment.
The firm operates on a fee-for-service professional services model with project-based, negotiated engagements, typically multi-year and often delivered in consortium with specialist partners (Agulhas Applied Knowledge, Athena Infonomics, PEI, C12 Consultants, CAF Consulting, Adam Smith International). It maintains a small core team led by Dr Stephens with five named senior associates across London, Berlin, Malawi, and a wider global associate network spanning Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Revenue is generated through direct engagement and consortium bidding — no public pricing, no self-serve channels, and no product licensing. The firm's GTM is relationship-driven, leveraging the founder's senior-level network across the World Bank, UK government, and multilateral institutions, supplemented by thought leadership content (insight articles, video briefs) and selective conference participation (e.g., the June 2024 Abu Dhabi workshop co-convened with COP28 Presidency, ADB, GCF, GEF, and the World Bank). Quantifiable track record includes shaping over US$8 billion of World Bank development spending through Country Partnership Frameworks, designing an AUD50 million Australia–World Bank partnership trust fund, evaluating 75 P4G public-private partnerships, and contributing to six IMO evaluations.
OpenCities firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OpenCities
- Legal name
- Open Cities Ltd
- Website
- https://opencities.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- OpenCities is a UK-based boutique management consultancy founded in 2006 that provides strategy, evaluation, research, and organizational design services to international development agencies, governments, UN agencies, and NGOs working on sustainable development.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OpenCities industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Management Consulting
- NAICS
- Management Consulting Services (54161)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)
Keywords
Where OpenCities is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Potters Bar
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
OpenCities business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Strategic Management Consulting: OpenCities generates revenue through fee-for-service consulting engagements, including strategy development, organizational assessment, evaluation, and research and analysis. Assignments are typically commissioned by governments, development banks, UN agencies, and NGOs. Revenue is project-based and one-time per engagement, with some clients providing recurring assignments over time. The firm also operates in consortium with partners (Agulhas, Athena, C12) on larger multi-partner bids.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom consulting engagements — no published pricing tiers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
OpenCities product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OpenCities is a boutique strategic management consultancy that sells fee-for-service consulting engagements across four service lines: Strategy and Communication, Organisation, Evaluation, and Research and Analysis. Engagements are commissioned by international development agencies, governments, multilateral bodies, and NGOs to develop strategies, evaluate programmes, strengthen organisational performance, and produce evidence-based analysis on sustainable development, climate change, cities, oceans, and food systems.
Product overview
OpenCities is a strategic management consultancy offering four integrated service lines: Strategy and Communication, Organisation, Evaluation, and Research and Analysis. These services work together as a unified consultancy offering, with Strategy providing directional guidance, Organisation ensuring effective implementation structures, Evaluation measuring outcomes and generating learning, and Research providing the analytical foundation. The firm specializes in sustainable development and organizational change, with particular expertise in climate change, cities, oceans, food systems, and international development. The company was founded in 2006 and serves clients including international development agencies, governments, corporations, local authorities, and NGOs across the UK and internationally.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Shaped over US$8 billion of development spending through World Bank Country Partnership Frameworks and Completion and Learning Reviews
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use OpenCities
Customer profileNamed customers17 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
OpenCities technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
OpenCities partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Athena Infonomics (India)coreAthena Infonomics, based in India, joined the OpenCities-led consortium for the external strategic review of ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) together with Agulhas and PEI. Athena brings expertise in data analytics and economics to the partnership.
- PEI (Nepal)corePEI (Nepal) joined the OpenCities-led consortium for the external strategic review of ICIMOD alongside Agulhas and Athena Infonomics. PEI contributes regional expertise from the Hindu Kush Himalayan region covered by ICIMOD.
- Agulhas Applied KnowledgecoreOpenCities operates in consortium with Agulhas Applied Knowledge on major evaluations and strategic reviews. Notable joint assignments include: mid-term strategic review of GGGI Strategy 2030 (2024-2025), strategic assessment of World Resources Institute's 2018-2022 Strategic Plan (2021), and the Global Resilience Partnership formative evaluation (2022). Agulhas is a specialist consultancy focused on international development evaluation and strategy.
- Adam Smith InternationalminorOpenCities collaborated with Adam Smith International on an independent review of the UK Government's Aid for Trade programme portfolio, commissioned through FCDO's EACDS Framework. OpenCities led the development of a comprehensive Data Tool for the review.
- C12 Consultants (Malawi)coreOpenCities partnered with C12 Consultants, a Malawi-based consultancy, to undertake the formative evaluation of the Global Resilience Partnership's 2020-2024 Programme Cycle. Elizabeth Molloy, a senior associate of OpenCities and C12 director, led components of the evaluation.
- CAF ConsultingminorOpenCities worked with CAF Consulting (directed by OpenCities senior associate Claudette Forbes) to develop the COVID-19 Employment and Skills Plan for the London Borough of Kingston. CAF Consulting specializes in city development, economic development, and local area regeneration.
- Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP)coreOpenCities director Dr Marc Stephens served as a trustee and board member of WRAP from 2016 to 2024, chaired its Audit and Risk Committee from 2022 to 2024, and helped oversee a multi-year organisational turnaround. WRAP is the UK's leading circular economy organisation. Dr Stephens also brokered potential joint programmatic opportunities between the Global Resilience Partnership and WRAP in areas such as circular economy and waste reduction.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
OpenCities competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Coffey International Development (a Tetra Tech company): International development division of Tetra Tech delivering governance, economic growth and evaluation programmes for FCDO, USAID and DFAT. Comparable client base and evaluation methodology, but operates at much larger scale across a broader portfolio.
- Palladium: International development firm operating across economic growth, climate, health and governance, including evaluation and strategy advisory. Overlaps with OpenCities on multilateral climate, FCV and resilience mandates, but with substantially larger delivery capacity.
- DAI (Development Alternatives, Inc.): Global development consultancy with deep presence in fragile states, governance and inclusive economic growth. Competes for the same World Bank, FCDO and USAID evaluation and strategy mandates as OpenCities, but at meaningfully larger scale.
- NIRAS International Consulting: European development consultancy delivering evaluations, policy advisory and programme management for EU, UN and bilateral donors. Comparable in evaluation methodology and donor client base, operating at significantly larger scale across the EU development ecosystem.
Direct peers
- Oxford Policy Management: International development consultancy working with governments, multilaterals and foundations on policy advice, evaluation and rigorous research. Closely comparable client base, methodology emphasis, and engagement types to OpenCities.
- Adam Smith International: UK-headquartered international development consultancy operating across policy reform, economic governance and evaluation. Both a consortium partner (Aid for Trade review) and direct competitor on FCDO framework mandates.
- Agulhas Applied Knowledge: UK-based consultancy specialising in international development evaluation, strategy and organisational review. Direct consortium partner on GGGI, WRI, GRP and ICIMOD engagements and the closest functional peer in OpenCities' core service lines.
- Itad: UK-based consultancy dedicated to monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) across international development. Directly comparable on evaluation-led mandates for bilaterals and multilaterals such as FCDO, World Bank and UN agencies.
- Athena Infonomics: India-based research, data analytics and economics consultancy serving international development clients. Direct consortium partner on the ICIMOD review and a peer on data-driven evaluation and policy assignments.
Emerging players
- Castalia Strategic Advisors: Strategic consultancy advising governments, multilaterals and donors on policy, regulation and finance in water, energy and infrastructure. Comparable on rigorous, technically grounded strategy work for development clients, though focused on infrastructure finance rather than OpenCities' broader evaluation portfolio.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
OpenCities social profiles
Digital presenceOpenCities financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OpenCities leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
OpenCities funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OpenCities 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 OpenCities
What does OpenCities do?
OpenCities is a boutique strategic management consultancy that sells fee-for-service consulting engagements across four service lines: Strategy and Communication, Organisation, Evaluation, and Research and Analysis. Engagements are commissioned by international development agencies, governments, multilateral bodies, and NGOs to develop strategies, evaluate programmes, strengthen organisational performance, and produce evidence-based analysis on sustainable development, climate change, cities, oceans, and food systems.
Is OpenCities a public or private company?
OpenCities is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was OpenCities founded?
OpenCities was founded in 2006. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is OpenCities based?
OpenCities is headquartered in Potters Bar, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does OpenCities make money?
One revenue line is on record: strategic Management Consulting.
Who are OpenCities's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Coffey International Development (a Tetra Tech company), Palladium, DAI (Development Alternatives, Inc.) and NIRAS International Consulting. Direct peers are Oxford Policy Management, Adam Smith International, Agulhas Applied Knowledge, Itad and Athena Infonomics. Castalia Strategic Advisors is listed as an emerging player.
Does OpenCities have an API?
No public API is recorded for OpenCities.
What industry is OpenCities in?
OpenCities's product category is Management Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAEAK, Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming. Its NAICS code is 54161 and its SIC code is 8742.