ADEPT

What ADEPT does

ADEPT (The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport) is a membership-based voluntary organisation founded in 1885, representing local authority place directors across England. Its members include county, unitary, metropolitan, and combined authorities as well as sub-national transport bodies, collectively delivering place-based services — highways, waste and recycling, planning, transport, environment, and economy — to more than 42 million people, managing 164,000 miles of road and handling around 65% of England's recycled waste.

ADEPT does not sell technology products. Its core offering is a portfolio of programmes and member services: the Live Labs innovation programmes (Live Labs 1 was a £22.9m Department for Transport-funded smart places initiative running until June 2022; Live Labs 2 is a £30m three-year continuation launched in 2022), the PACE thought leadership programme (a 2023 joint venture with Amey), the Excellence in Place Leadership programme (2021, also with Amey), the Carbon Leadership Programme, the Leadership Development Programme (now in its seventh year with 200+ participants), the Leadership Pathway Programme, the ADEPT Digital Academy, and the Future Highways Research Group. Supporting resources include toolkits (RAPA, Strategic Options Analyser, EiPL Customer Experience), the Climate Change Hub, the Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund, monthly newsletters, and biannual conferences.

Revenue is generated primarily through annual membership subscriptions tiered by member type and population size (£655–£2,444 for local authorities; £1,000–£2,000 for combined authorities; £1,203 for sub-national transport bodies; £59 for honorary private-sector membership), supplemented by corporate partner fees and significant pass-through programme funding from central government (notably the Department for Transport). The go-to-market is community-led, relying on direct engagement with local authority networks, events, and policy advocacy. ADEPT operates from registered offices in London (HQ) and Manchester.

Name

ADEPT

Legal name

The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport

Website

https://adeptnet.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1885

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ADEPT is a 140-year-old UK membership association representing local authority place directors across England, delivering advocacy, leadership development, and innovation programmes — including the £30m Live Labs 2 and PACE — to county, unitary, metropolitan, combined authorities and sub-national transport bodies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Public Administration (92)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Governance & Board Effectiveness Advisory (BPAHAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Asset Management & Infrastructure Resilience Agencies (State of Good Repair, Climate Adaptation) (BPAIALAK)

Keywords

• Local government association
• Membership organisation
• Place leadership programmes
• Public sector advocacy
• Highways and transport policy

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: ADEPT generates revenue primarily through annual membership fees from local authorities, combined authorities, sub-national transport bodies, and corporate partners. Fees are structured based on population size of the member organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

ADEPT is a membership-based voluntary association representing local authority place directors across England. It delivers policy advocacy, leadership development programmes, innovation initiatives (such as Live Labs), and member resources for county, unitary, metropolitan, combined authorities, and sub-national transport bodies covering highways, waste, recycling, planning, environment, economy, and transport services.

Product overview

ADEPT is a membership-based voluntary organization for local authority place directors in England, not a software product company. Its offerings consist of advocacy and policy representation, professional development programmes, innovation initiatives, and member resources. The portfolio includes: Live Labs 1 (£22.9m Department for Transport-funded smart places programme, 2020-2022) and Live Labs 2 (£30m three-year programme, 2022-present) for innovation in place services; the PACE (Place Leaders' Pioneering, Action-orientated, Creative and Entrepreneurial) programme in partnership with Amey (launched 2023); the Excellence in Place Leadership (EiPL) programme (2021); Carbon Leadership Programme; ADEPT Digital Academy; Leadership Development Programme (in seventh year); and Leadership Pathway Programme. Supporting offerings include the Future Highways Research Group (with Strategic Options Analyser toolkit), Climate Change Hub, Resources and Toolkits (including RAPA toolkit and EiPL Customer Experience Toolkit), Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund, monthly newsletters, President's Awards, and Spring and Autumn conferences. These programmes collectively support local authority place directors across highways, waste, recycling, planning, environment, economy, and transport services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Live Labs 2: A three-year, £30 million UK-wide programme focused on innovation in local highways and place services.
• PACE Programme
• Carbon Leadership Programme
• Leadership Development Programme
• Live Labs 1

Products and services

• ADEPT Membership Annual paid membership for local authorities, combined authorities, sub-national transport bodies, and corporate partners providing access to policy influence, networking, leadership programmes, and innovation initiatives.
• Live Labs 1 (ADEPT SMART Places Live Labs Programme) Smart places innovation programme for local authorities with trials of electric scooters, EV charging, kinetic and thermal energy, air quality sensors, living walls, drone technology, and data analytics across eight local authority Live Labs.
• Live Labs 2 Three-year, £30 million UK-wide innovation programme for place directors to trial and develop innovative solutions across local authority services.
• PACE Programme (Place Leaders' Pioneering, Action-orientated, Creative and Entrepreneurial) Thought leadership development programme for place directors and senior leadership through facilitated sessions exploring strategic solutions to wicked issues facing the public sector, created in partnership with Amey.
• Excellence in Place Leadership (EiPL) Leadership programme developed by ADEPT and Amey focusing on procurement, green finance, customer-centric service, and leadership in a climate emergency.
• Carbon Leadership Programme Climate action programme supporting local authorities in developing and implementing carbon reduction strategies and climate leadership.
• Leadership Development Programme Leadership development programme for place directors in its seventh year, supporting over 200 participants in their leadership journeys.
• Leadership Pathway Programme Leadership pathway programme for ADEPT members focusing on career progression and development for place leaders.
• ADEPT Digital Academy Digital skills training programme for ADEPT members to build digital capabilities across local authority place services.
• Future Highways Research Group (FHRG) Research group providing local authorities with research, resources, and tools including the Strategic Options Analyser toolkit for highways and transport planning.
• Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund Programme supporting local authorities in accelerating woodland creation projects for environmental and climate benefits.
• Corporate Partner Membership Paid membership programme for private sector organizations to engage with ADEPT networks, support local government transformation, and gain market access.
• ADEPT Spring and Autumn Conferences Annual conferences bringing together ADEPT members for networking, learning, workshops, and the President's Awards ceremony.

Quantifiable outcome

• Members provide services for more than 42 million people
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AmeycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmey is ADEPT's key strategic partner for leadership development programmes including PACE (Place Leaders' Pioneering, Action-orientated, Creative and Entrepreneurial) programme. The partnership creates space for senior place leaders to find strategic solutions to wicked issues facing the public sector. Amey provides programme facilitation and contributes thought leadership content.
• Environment AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Environment Agency on climate adaptation and resilience, including Adaptation Pathways work and RAPA (Rapid Adaptation Planning) toolkit development.
• Blueprint Coalition PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerADEPT is part of the Blueprint Coalition with Ashden, Friends of the Earth, Grantham Institute (Imperial College London), Greenpeace UK, Green Alliance, LEDNet, PCAN (LSE), and Solace. The coalition works on accelerating climate action and green recovery at local level.
• WSPminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWSP partners with ADEPT for Lunch & Learn events and collaborative sessions on topics like active travel and future mobility.
• ArcadisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerArcadis collaborates with ADEPT on webinars including 'Going Dutch' Active Travel sessions.
• CIPFAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCIPFA partners with ADEPT for joint webinars such as 'Building the business case for renewable energy'.
• Corporate PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorADEPT has a Corporate Partner Membership programme allowing private sector organizations to engage with and support local authority members. Corporate partners gain access to ADEPT networks and contribute to programmes.
• Proving ServicesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProving Services undertook the independent evaluation review for Live Labs programme.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Core Cities UK: Core Cities is a membership organisation of the UK's largest city authorities, focused on devolution, economic growth and infrastructure advocacy — overlapping directly with ADEPT's combined-authority and metropolitan-authority member base.
• Local Government Association (LGA): The LGA is the national membership body for English local authorities, providing policy influence, lobbying, and member services — directly comparable to ADEPT's collective-voice role for place directors, with broader remit across all council functions.
• Socitm: Socitm is a membership body for digital and IT leaders in UK local public services, including the ADEPT Digital Academy's peer offerings. Comparable as an adjacent profession-based association within the same council-officer ecosystem.
• District Councils Network (DCN): DCN represents district councils in England, advocating on shared policy and funding issues. Comparable as a peer-tier local-authority membership association with similar dues-funded, advocacy-driven model.
• Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE): SOLACE represents chief executives of local authorities in the UK, focusing on leadership development, peer support and policy engagement — directly comparable to ADEPT's PACE and leadership development programmes targeting senior council officers.
• UK100: UK100 is a network of UK local government leaders committed to clean energy and climate action — directly comparable to ADEPT's Carbon Leadership Programme and Blueprint Coalition climate work.
• Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA): SIGOMA represents larger English councils (mostly metropolitan/ unitary), lobbying on fair funding and devolution. Directly comparable membership model and policy-advocacy remit, although narrower than ADEPT's place-director scope.

Regional players

• Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA): WLGA represents Welsh councils' interests to Welsh Government and beyond — directly comparable membership-based advocacy body but operating in Wales, which ADEPT does not cover.
• Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA): COSLA is the national membership body for Scottish councils, paralleling ADEPT's role but restricted to Scotland — ADEPT explicitly excludes Scotland from its membership geography.

Others

• Connected Places Catapult: Connected Places Catapult is an innovation accelerator partnered with ADEPT on Live Labs projects, supporting SME engagement in transport and place tech. Comparable as a partner/adjacent in the same innovation programme ecosystem rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/adeptla.bsky.social
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UClHEyw4vH5K9AyZGAj7GUhw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/adeptla

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 ADEPT