CIRCLE - The Centre for Innovation, Research, Creativity and Leadership in Education

What CIRCLE - The Centre for Innovation, Research, Creativity and Leadership in Education does

CIRCLE - The Centre for Innovation, Research, Creativity and Leadership in Education (operating publicly under the brand 'a School for tomorrow.') is a private Australian education research and consulting organization founded in 2010 and headquartered in Woollahra, New South Wales. The entity is powered by The CIRCLE Group as its parent organization and operates with a lean team of approximately 10 employees. It targets K-12 schools, teachers, and school leaders globally through three core lines: Strategic Development consulting that translates research findings into school transformation engagements; a Research Network conducting global R&D into excellent education and high-performing schools; and Thriving Tools, a suite of three digital survey products that assess schools against six proprietary global standards. Supporting content assets include three publication series (The Pathway to Excellence, The Way, Game Changers), a podcast, and an active blog.

The organization claims cumulative reach across 500+ schools, 15,000+ teachers, 2,500+ school leaders, and 250,000+ students globally. Revenue is generated through recurring educational programs and services sold via direct enterprise engagement with schools, though specific pricing is not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is community-led, with content marketing (website, blog, publications, podcast) and organic social channels (Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn) functioning as top-of-funnel, complemented by direct sales partnerships for Strategic Development and Thriving Tools deployments.

Name

CIRCLE - The Centre for Innovation, Research, Creativity and Leadership in Education

Website

https://circle.education

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CIRCLE (operating as 'a School for tomorrow.') is a private Australian education research and consulting firm serving K-12 schools, teachers, and school leaders globally through strategic development advisory, a research network, and digital survey assessment tools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Consulting and Research

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Instructional Delivery & Pedagogy (School-Led) (EDAJAFAB)

Keywords

• Educational consulting services
• School strategic development
• Education research network
• School thriving assessment
• Teacher professional development

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Educational Programs and Services: Research-driven personal, professional and public educational programs delivered through strategic development, research network, and thriving tools

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CIRCLE delivers research-driven educational programs and services through three core offerings: Strategic Development consulting that brings first-hand understanding of best-practice schools, a global Research Network for R&D into excellent education and high-performing schools, and Thriving Tools — a suite of three digital survey products that assess school performance across six global standards. The organization engages 250,000+ students, 15,000+ teachers, 2,500+ school leaders, and 500+ schools worldwide.

Product overview

CIRCLE (Centre for Innovation, Research, Creativity and Leadership in Education) operates through a platform of educational research and consulting services, offering Strategic Development consulting for school transformation, a Research Network for global R&D into excellent education, and Thriving Tools—a suite of three digital survey products that assess school performance across six global standards. Supporting content includes Publications, a Podcast, and three reading series (The Pathway to Excellence, The Way, Game Changers). The organization has engaged 250,000+ students, 15,000+ teachers, and 2,500+ school leaders across 500+ schools globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Pathway to Excellence: A reading/resource publication by the organization
• The Way
• Game Changers
• Thriving Survey Tools

Products and services

• Strategic Development

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER): ACER is an Australia-based not-for-profit education research organization conducting studies on school performance and assessments — closely aligned with CIRCLE's research network and thriving standards work in the same home geography.
• EdSurge: EdSurge is an education technology news and research community serving educators and school leaders — overlapping with CIRCLE's community-led GTM and educator network model.
• BrightBytes: BrightBytes provides data analytics and survey frameworks for K-12 school improvement, including the Clarity and T3 frameworks — comparable to CIRCLE's Thriving Tools digital survey suite and research-driven approach.
• Edutopia (George Lucas Educational Foundation): Edutopia is a K-12 thought leadership platform sharing research-informed teaching practice with educators globally — comparable to CIRCLE's content engine (podcasts, publications, blog) targeting the same teacher audience.
• Gallup (Education Practice): Gallup runs widely adopted school climate and engagement surveys (e.g., Gallup Student Poll) — directly comparable to CIRCLE's Thriving Survey Tools in providing diagnostic instruments for K-12 school improvement.

Broad incumbents

• Cambridge Assessment International Education: Cambridge provides internationally recognized assessment and curriculum programs to K-12 schools — a broad incumbent in the same school-improvement and assessment category where CIRCLE's Thriving Tools compete.
• McKinsey & Company (Education Practice): McKinsey operates a global Education Practice advising ministries and school systems on transformation — competing with CIRCLE's Strategic Development consulting at the larger end of the market.
• RAND Corporation (Education Division): RAND conducts large-scale education research and policy evaluation for governments and foundations — comparable to CIRCLE's research network in mission and audience, but at materially greater scale and resourcing.
• Pearson (Education Division): Pearson is a large incumbent offering assessments, research, and school improvement services globally — adjacent competitor to CIRCLE in school evaluation tools and educator professional development.
• OECD Directorate of Education and Skills: OECD publishes globally referenced education benchmarks (PISA, TALIS) and frameworks for school improvement — CIRCLE's 'six global standards' positioning mirrors OECD-style international benchmarking at a smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aSftomorrow
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCDtFHV5ygBo7lRS1nHynFCw?app=desktop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/circle---the-centre-for-innovation-research-creativity-and-leadership-in-education

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 CIRCLE - The Centre for Innovation, Research, Creativity and Leadership in Education