What Convene does

Convene is a Paris-based purpose-driven facilitation organization that designs and curates multi-actor dialogue spaces to drive systems change on complex global challenges. The firm specializes in a codified methodology it terms "Deliberate Dialogue," encompassing Listening Sessions, Reflect-Share-Blend written conversations, sensemaking, communities of practice, strategy development, and theory of change co-creation. Convene draws on a global constellation of trained conveners spanning five continents, allowing it to facilitate dialogues across diverse sectors including food systems, biodiversity, climate resilience, sustainable development, and public health.

The company serves institutional clients rather than end consumers, working primarily with think tanks and policy research organizations (IDDRI, CGIAR), food and agriculture alliances (EAT, WBCSD, Netherlands Food Partnership, WorldFish), foundations and development organizations (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Wellcome Trust), and international bodies (WHO, OECD, World Bank, IFPRI, C40 Cities). Convene operates a project-based, fee-for-service consulting model with no publicly disclosed pricing, generating revenue through multi-day convenings, dialogue series, strategic planning processes, and Listening Sessions.

Convene is a privately held, founder-led organization with a small core team headquartered in Paris and operating globally. It has no disclosed external funding rounds, parent company, or acquisition history, and functions as an independent consultancy. Its go-to-market is relationship-driven and event-oriented, leveraging thought leadership content (Convene Circle blog and newsletter, Systems Thinkers video series), participation in major international forums (COPs, Stockholm Food Forum), and a network of long-term institutional partners that commission repeat engagements.

Name

Convene

Legal name

Convene

Website

https://convene.space

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Convene is a Paris-based facilitation consultancy that designs and curates multi-actor "Deliberate Dialogue" processes for institutional clients including think tanks, foundations, and international organizations working on food systems, biodiversity, and sustainable development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dialogue Facilitation Services

NAICS

Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

Keywords

• Dialogue facilitation services
• Multi-stakeholder convening
• Systems change consulting
• Consensus building services
• Stakeholder engagement advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Dialogue Facilitation Services: Convene generates revenue through project-based engagements with institutional clients including think tanks, research institutions, international organizations, foundations, and governments. Engagements include strategy development, convening design and facilitation, dialogue series, and organizational change processes. The organization operates as a fee-for-service consultancy with long-term client relationships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Convene designs and curates multi-actor dialogue spaces for institutional clients, facilitating sustained, facilitated conversations among diverse stakeholders to address complex global challenges in food systems, sustainable development, biodiversity, climate, and public health. The organization delivers project-based dialogue facilitation, strategy development, listening sessions, theory of change co-creation, and convening of communities of practice, working with think tanks, research institutions, foundations, international organizations, and industry alliances.

Product overview

Convene is a purpose-driven facilitation organization offering Deliberate Dialogue as its core service—a methodology for curating multi-actor dialogue spaces where collective intelligence is pooled around complex global challenges. The organization provides specialized dialogue facilitation including Listening Sessions, strategy development, and theory of change support. Convene's work spans thematic initiatives including Nexus Action (Montpellier Process) for science-policy interfaces and Communities for Action for food systems transformation. The organization produces supporting content through its blog (Convene Circle Blog), video series (Systems Thinkers), and newsletter publications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Convene Circle: A blog and newsletter platform featuring thought leadership pieces, interviews, and stories from Convene's work in deliberate dialogue.

Products and services

• Deliberate Dialogue Core service in which Convene designs and curates multi-actor dialogue spaces where diverse stakeholders engage in sustained, facilitated conversations to address complex global challenges. Deliverable to think tanks, research institutions, foundations, international organizations, and industry alliances.
• Listening Sessions Multi-actor consultation processes that create 'risky-safe spaces' for local, regional, and global stakeholders to voice diverse perspectives and inform institutional decision-making. Deliverable to research institutions, governments, and international organizations.
• Strategy Facilitation Organizational strategy development and collaborative roadmapping with research institutions, NGOs, and foundations, including theory of change development, internal alignment, and stress-testing through dialogue.
• Communities for Action (CfAs) Curated dialogue processes mobilizing global coalitions of frontline actors around shared agendas for systems change. Each Community for Action co-develops Action Briefs and Stories of Progress (e.g., 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems with 700 professionals from 350+ organizations).
• Nexus Action (Montpellier Process) A learning collective and community-owned process redefining how Science-Policy-Society Interfaces are modeled across scales (global, national, local), sectors (environment, health, agriculture, food), and knowledge systems. Convene convenes and curates the global community spanning multiple knowledge systems.

Quantifiable outcome

• 700 professionals from 350+ organizations engaged across all world regions in the EAT Communities for Action 2025
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IDDRI (Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIDDRI is a long-term institutional convening partner for Convene. Convene worked alongside IDDRI from July 2024 to December 2025 to develop the IDDRI Strategy 2026-2030, designing an inclusive process that included internal and external engagements, co-creating an organizational Theory of Change, and strengthening IDDRI's capacity as an honest broker in the France-Europe-Global sustainable development space. IDDRI Director Sébastien Treyer has appeared in Convene's Systems Thinkers interview series, discussing the role and impact of dialogue.
• Netherlands Food PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConvene is working alongside the Netherlands Food Partnership (NFP) and their Biodiversity and Food Systems Community of Practice to co-create shared messages articulating interlinkages between biodiversity and food systems. This multi-stakeholder co-creation process responds to a call from CoP members for common language, evidence, and narratives to support coherent engagement across policy, practice, and advocacy toward CBD COP17.
• EATcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEAT is a key partner in Convene's flagship food systems work. Convene worked with EAT and global partners to mobilize ten Communities for Action (CfAs) for the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission. Each CfA brought together frontline actors who co-developed Action Briefs and Stories of Progress, culminating in participation at the 2025 Stockholm Food Forum. Convene continues to curate and connect the CfAs as they expand their collaboration.
• Nexus Action (Montpellier Process)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNexus Action is a learning collective and community-owned process convened and curated by an alliance of partners redefining Science-Policy-Society Interfaces across scales, sectors, and knowledge systems. Convene plays a key role in this collective, and the CfAs are connecting into Nexus Action and its vision to transform science-policy-society interfaces for food system transformation.
• C40 CitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerC40 Cities is a co-host of the Cities Community for Action under the EAT-Lancet Commission 2025, working with Convene and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact to bring together urban food system actors.
• Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMUFPP is a co-host of the Cities Community for Action under the EAT-Lancet Commission 2025. MUFPP also hosted the Cities CfA reconvening at their Global Forum in Milan in October 2025.
• International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFPRI is a co-host of the AgriFood Finance and Trade Community for Action under the EAT-Lancet Commission 2025, alongside OECD, IDDRI, and the World Bank.
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOECD is a co-host of the AgriFood Finance and Trade Community for Action under the EAT-Lancet Commission 2025, alongside IFPRI, IDDRI, and the World Bank.
• World BankminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe World Bank is a co-host of the AgriFood Finance and Trade Community for Action under the EAT-Lancet Commission 2025, alongside IFPRI, OECD, and IDDRI.
• Culinary Institute of America (CIA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIA is a co-host of the Chefs, Restaurants and Food Service Community for Action under the EAT-Lancet Commission 2025, alongside WBCSD and SDG2 Advocacy Hub.
• Consumer Goods Forum (CGF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGF is a co-host of the Food Retail and Manufacturers Community for Action under the EAT-Lancet Commission 2025, alongside WBCSD.
• CGIARcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGIAR is a long-term institutional convening partner for Convene. Projects include CGIAR Portfolio25 Listening Sessions across 27 countries, CGIAR Environmental Health and Biodiversity Workshop, CGIAR Partnership Dialogues, Fish Program completion events, and multiple other convening engagements. CGIAR also hosted the CGIAR Portfolio25 Listening Sessions and other collaborative initiatives.
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWBCSD is a long-term partner for Convene, having co-designed and co-curated multiple dialogue series including the EAT-WBCSD Sciences-to-Solutions Dialogues (2018), WBCSD Food & Nature Science-to-Policy Dialogues (2020-2021), and the Future of Processed Food Dialogue Series (2022). WBCSD is also a co-host of multiple EAT Communities for Action.
• WorldFishminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConvene designed and curated a 3-day leadership retreat for WorldFish in Penang, Malaysia, helping align the organization on a common narrative and Theory of Change for their 2030 Strategy, in the context of the One CGIAR Research & Innovation Strategy.
• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBMGF is a key funding and convening partner. Convene co-designed a 3-day Grantee Convening in London with 170 BMGF grantees working on nutritious food systems and agriculture transformation. The engagement informed investor strategies and explored collaboration models.
• NL-CGIAR (Netherlands-CGIAR Partnership)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConvene co-designed and co-hosted a two-day virtual conference celebrating the NL-CGIAR research programme with the Netherlands Food Partnership, showcasing outcomes and highlighting the essentiality of collaboration for global food security.
• CGIAR National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGIAR Listening Sessions engaged with 27 CGIAR countries across the Global South (including Peru, Ethiopia, and 25 additional countries) through in-country teams including academia, public sector, and private sector stakeholders.
• Wellcome TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWellcome Trust is supporting Convene's work on the Sustainable Food Systems in Europe: Scoping Study (2025/2026), focused on generating evidence and pathways for healthier, more sustainable, and equitable food systems in Europe.
• Rockefeller FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRockefeller Foundation supported the Unlocking Financing for Regenerative School Meals in Low-and Middle-Income Countries Bellagio Convening hosted by Convene in June 2025.
• CGIAR Environmental Health & Biodiversity Impact PlatformminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConvene co-created a 3-day workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, to establish a Community of Practice for CGIAR's Environmental Health & Biodiversity Impact Platform, identifying priority areas and developing theory of change and impact pathways.
• CGIAR People & CultureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConvene worked with CGIAR's Culture Task Team to advance cultural change processes for One CGIAR transition, developing the One CGIAR Culture Framework and Action Plan through curated retreats in Addis Ababa and Rome.
• World Health Organization (WHO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConvene supported WHO's reINVENT & reBUILD Webinar Series focused on rebuilding stronger, fairer, more inclusive physical activity and sport systems post-COVID-19, in celebration of the UN International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.
• CGIARminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConvene held a one-day dialogue on Climate-Induced Migration and Social Transformation in West Africa alongside CGIAR, with participants from UNESCO, IOM, EUGAP, University of Ghana, and others.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FSG: FSG (now Foundations for Equity and Opportunity) advises foundations and nonprofits on strategy and collective impact, frequently using multi-stakeholder convening and shared measurement — closely overlapping Convene's services to foundations like BMGF and Wellcome.
• GlobeScan: GlobeScan combines sustainability research with multi-stakeholder convening (e.g., the GlobeScan/SustainAbility Leaders Survey), making it a peer in convening for food and sustainability topics.
• Forum for the Future: Forum for the Future runs multi-stakeholder programs (e.g., Climate Champions, Protein Challenge) on sustainable food and climate, closely paralleling Convene's Communities for Action model.
• Presencing Institute: The Presencing Institute (Otto Scharmer, MIT) convenes global communities around systems change and Theory U; it competes in the same niche of systems-change dialogue facilitation Convene occupies.
• Reos Partners: Reos Partners is a social innovation consultancy that designs and facilitates multi-stakeholder processes for systems change — directly comparable to Convene's deliberate dialogue methodology and food/sustainability focus.

Broad incumbents

• AccountAbility: AccountAbility is a sustainability and ESG consulting firm advising corporates and multilaterals on strategy and stakeholder engagement, comparable to Convene's institutional convening model.
• SustainAbility: SustainAbility is a long-standing sustainability strategy and research consultancy with a convening orientation, overlapping Convene's ESG/food systems work but operating at larger scale.
• BSD Consulting: BSD Consulting provides sustainability strategy and stakeholder engagement services to corporates and multilaterals, overlapping with Convene's science-policy dialogue work at a larger enterprise scale.
• The B Team: The B Team is a global leadership coalition convening CEOs and civil society on sustainability and just-transition agendas — overlapping with Convene's convening of food systems leaders around EAT-Lancet.

Emerging players

• International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED): IIED convenes researchers, policymakers, and civil society on sustainable development and climate — similar institutional convening focus and donor base as Convene's partnerships with IDDRI and NFP.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeconvene.space/videos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/convenespace

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 Convene