Collaborative Learning Network

What Collaborative Learning Network does

Collaborative Learning Network (CLN) is a founder-led educational consulting firm structured as a U.S. LLC and based in Missoula, Montana. The firm helps K-12 schools, communities, and educational organizations transform teaching and learning through vision development, facility planning, professional development coaching, and project-based learning (PBL) implementation. Service delivery is centered on founder Nick Salmon, a self-described 9th generation educator who directly manages client relationships and conducts deep-dive workshops covering team formation, design thinking, schedule redesign, and the firm's proprietary "5 Principles of Furniture Whispering" framework. The firm has delivered engagements to over 100 schools and organizations across 15+ countries including the United States, Australia, Colombia, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, India, and Malaysia.

The firm supplements its consulting work with a portfolio of eight custom-built online assessment and survey tools (LT2.1 Learning & Teaching, LE2.2 Learning Environments, PD2.3 Professional Development, Visual Preference, Range of Options, How/Where I Learn Best, and Collaborative Learning Observation Form) that standardize data collection during engagements. It also publishes thought leadership including the co-authored teamED book and articles in Learning By Design, and operates or sponsors adjacent initiatives including USTAWI Global (a non-profit targeting 30 million young people in partnership with Fundacion Paraguaya and Teach A Man to Fish), the "Three 4 Community" service-year concept, and the Center for Regenerative Living & Learning. Long-standing collaborations with Harvard's Learning Environments For Tomorrow Institute/Project Zero (since 2013) and partner organizations (Equity Schools, VS Furniture, Inspired Classroom, Georgia Conservancy, Ameresco) reinforce its positioning in the educational design ecosystem.

CLN's business model is professional-services based with quote-based, bespoke engagements rather than disclosed pricing tiers. Revenue streams include direct consulting engagements, fee-based workshops, and pro bono sister-school services for communities with limited resources. The go-to-market is sales-led and founder-driven, relying on the website, professional publications, speaking engagements at conferences such as the Revolution in Education Congress, and partner-network referrals. No funding rounds, external investors, or institutional backing are disclosed, and the firm operates as a privately held, founder-controlled LLC with no publicly stated financial metrics.

Name

Collaborative Learning Network

Legal name

Collaborative Learning Network, LLC

Website

https://collaborativelearningnetwork.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Collaborative Learning Network is a founder-led U.S. educational consulting firm that helps K-12 schools and communities worldwide transform teaching and learning through visioning, facility planning, professional development coaching, and project-based learning workshops, supplemented by custom-built online assessment tools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Consulting Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Community Engagement & Service-Learning Partnerships (EDALAOAI)

Keywords

• Educational consulting services
• Professional development coaching
• Project-based learning workshops
• School facility planning
• Learning environment design

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Educational Consulting Services: Direct consulting engagements with schools and communities including facility planning, professional development coaching, visioning workshops, and educational design consulting. Services are tailored to each client's specific needs through long-term collaborative relationships.
2. Workshop Facilitation: Fee-based workshops covering team formation, design thinking strategies, project-based learning tools, improvisation training, and schedule redesign for supporting learning and collaboration.
3. Pro Bono Services: Facility planning, professional learning and design team feedback provided to sister-school partnerships in communities with limited resources, focusing on expanding impact of service projects and long-term relationships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Collaborative Learning Network is an educational consulting firm that helps K-12 schools and communities identify current and desired educational practices, develop teams of educators, design future-flexible learning environments, and implement project-based learning. Core paid offerings include school visioning and planning services, PBL coaching and teamwork workshops, and custom-built online assessment and survey instruments. The firm also delivers pro bono facility planning and design feedback to sister-school partnerships in communities with limited resources.

Product overview

Collaborative Learning Network is an educational consulting organization that offers a portfolio of custom-built online assessment and survey tools, professional development services, and community engagement programs. The core offerings include collaborative learning assessments (LT2.1 for Learning & Teaching, LE2.2 for Learning Environments, PD2.3 for Professional Development), visual preference and range of options surveys, observation forms, and PBL coaching workshops. The company also operates USTAWI Global as a non-profit arm and has published the teamED book on team-building in education. The firm specializes in helping schools and communities transform their educational practices through visioning, planning, and implementation support services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• School Visioning & Planning Services Consulting engagement in which CLN works with school leadership, educators, and community stakeholders to clarify values, vision, and mission, and to develop future-flexible facility and learning environment plans tailored to the school's needs.
• PBL Coaching & Teamwork Workshops Fee-based workshop programs designed to build a culture of trust and supportive communication among educators and to introduce project-based learning, design thinking, and team-based teaching practices in schools.
• Collaborative Learning Assessment LT2.1 (Learning & Teaching) Custom-built online assessment instrument used by CLN to evaluate learning and teaching practices within schools as part of its consulting engagements.
• Collaborative Learning Assessment LE2.2 (Learning Environments) Custom-built online assessment tool used by CLN to evaluate the condition and utilization of learning environments across time, space, furniture, and technology dimensions.
• Collaborative Learning Assessment PD2.3 (Professional Development) Custom-built online survey used by CLN to assess professional development needs and practices in educational institutions as part of consulting engagements.
• Visual Preference Surveys Custom-built online survey tool that enables community members to express preferences for visual design elements in learning environments.
• How I Learn Best Survey Custom-built online survey that gathers student input on individual learning preferences and styles for use in school transformation work.
• Where I Learn Best Survey Custom-built online community engagement survey used to identify preferred learning spaces and environments.
• Collaborative Learning Observation Form Custom-built online form used by CLN to observe and document how time, space, furniture, and technology are used in learning settings.
• teamED Book Published book co-authored by Nick Salmon, Mar Cano, and Erin O'Reilly on building more effective teams for education, projects, and community, serving as both a content offering and marketing vehicle for CLN's teamED methodology.

Quantifiable outcome

• Cultural shift achieved in 18 months that was expected to take 20 years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Equity SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEquity Schools is a partner organization focused on developing great learners, educators and communities. The partnership involves collaborative work on educational equity and transformation initiatives.
• VS FurnituresupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerVS Furniture is a furniture manufacturer partner that collaborates on learning environment design and facility planning projects.
• Inspired ClassroomsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization focused on classroom design and educational environment transformation.
• Brightways LearningsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrightways Learning is an educational partner focused on learning solutions and development.
• Georgia ConservancycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeorgia Conservancy's Sustainable Growth program brings educational training, technical development expertise, and community engagement services. Katherine Moore serves as Director of this program and is part of the CLN team.
• Rewind Reset Forward Card DecksupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCreative tools partner providing design thinking resources used in workshops and educational programs.
• USTAWI GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSTAWI Global is a non-profit organization formed by CLN to achieve the vision of expanding financially sufficient learning communities to serve 30,000,000 young people and their communities around the world. Works with Fundacion Paraguaya and Teach A Man to Fish.
• Harvard Learning Environments For Tomorrow Institute / Project ZerocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration since 2013 with Harvard's Project Zero and Learning Environments For Tomorrow Institute on educational design and transformation.
• Fundacion ParaguayacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the USTAWI Global initiative to expand the financially sufficient learning community model to serve millions of young people globally.
• Teach A Man to FishcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational organization partner in the USTAWI Global initiative to expand financially sufficient learning communities worldwide.
• AmerescosupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnergy efficiency and sustainability partner that has collaborated on school facility projects including Anaconda Public Schools.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Transcend: Non-profit consulting organization that supports schools and districts in designing innovative learning models. Comparable to CLN because both work with K-12 communities on whole-school redesign, visioning, and community engagement rather than selling a software product.
• 2Revolutions: Education design firm that works with schools, districts, and states to build future-ready learning models. Comparable to CLN because both operate as consulting/professional services firms focused on K-12 transformation, with methodologies rooted in design thinking and learner-centered design.
• Fielding Nair International: Educational architecture and design firm specializing in innovative learning environments for K-12 schools worldwide. Closely comparable to CLN because both deliver facility planning, visioning, and learning environment design services to schools, and both use design-thinking and PBL-adjacent frameworks.
• Education Elements: K-12 transformation consulting firm that partners with districts on personalized learning, professional development, and school redesign. Directly comparable to CLN in target customer (school districts), consulting-led delivery model, and focus on vision-to-implementation educational change.
• LEADing Lights / Brightways Learning: Education consulting partner already in CLN's network that focuses on learning solutions and educator development. Comparable to CLN because both deliver professional development and learning-improvement services to K-12 communities, often via similar partner channels.
• The Third Teacher+ (Cannon Design): Consulting group within Cannon Design that advises schools on learning environment design, drawing on the 'Third Teacher' book framework. Comparable to CLN because both focus on how physical space, furniture, and pedagogy intersect in K-12 learning environments.

Broad incumbents

• Steelcase Education: Furniture manufacturer's education division that combines learning space research, consulting, and product sales for K-12 and higher education. Comparable to CLN's furniture and learning-environment work but with far greater resources and a hardware-led business model.
• IDEO (Education practice): Global design consultancy with an education practice that applies design thinking to K-12 learning challenges. Comparable to CLN in design-thinking methodology and K-12 clientele, though IDEO operates at much greater scale and breadth.

Others

• Harvard Project Zero: Harvard Graduate School of Education research center on learning, thinking, and education design — already a CLN partner via the Learning Environments For Tomorrow Institute. Listed as a peer because the same frameworks CLN applies to schools originate here, and Harvard's research brand is a direct substitute for the kind of thought-leadership CLN sells.

Emerging players

• DesignShare: Resource hub and consulting network for innovative learning space design in K-12 schools. Comparable to CLN because both serve educators seeking forward-looking facility and pedagogical guidance, though DesignShare leans more editorial/community-driven.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CollaborativeLearningNetwork

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Collaborative Learning Network