Emergent Learning Community Project
The Emergent Learning Community Project is a virtual non-profit that develops and disseminates the Emergent Learning methodology — a set of principles and practices for collective learning in complex social change — serving 300+ practitioners across foundations, nonprofits, and consulting organizations worldwide through training programs, community membership, publications, and an annual summit.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersVirtual, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Emergent Learning Community Project does
The Emergent Learning Community Project (ELCP) is a virtual 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, operated as a project of Global Philanthropy Partnership, that develops and disseminates the Emergent Learning (EL) methodology — a set of principles and practices for thinking, learning, and adapting together in complex social change environments, grounded in Complex Adaptive Systems theory. Its core products are the Emergent Learning Framework and a portfolio of codified practices (EL Questions, Action Hypotheses, Before and After Action Reviews, EL Table Conversations, Learning Logs, and Learning Agendas), delivered through an annual open-enrollment training program (EL Intensive), customized organizational training, an Advanced Practitioner certification, and a free electronic Guide to the Principles of Emergent Learning. The supporting ecosystem comprises a 300+ member practitioner community (accessed via a Wild Apricot portal), a network of 30+ EL-trained consultants, an annual EL Learning Summit, monthly community calls, and academic publications in venues including Harvard Business Review and Foundation Review.
ELCP serves foundations, nonprofits, and consulting organizations working on issues such as health equity, racial justice, economic opportunity, transportation, childhood literacy, and climate change across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Its revenue model is built on foundation grants and donations from a broad coalition of philanthropic funders (including Barr, Robert Wood Johnson, David & Lucile Packard, Skillman, Blue Shield of California, California Health Care Foundation, California Endowment, Annie E. Casey, Rockefeller, Kresge, Irvine, Colorado Health, California Wellness, Sierra Health, Hopelab, Interact For Health, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, and Omidyar Network) supplemented by training and certification fees (pricing not publicly disclosed) and a free Guide that is monetized only via a print-on-demand Amazon listing priced at $14.55 to cover printing. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: training completers gain community membership, deepening engagement through monthly calls, the annual Summit, and a referral-based alumni-to-faculty pathway.
Emergent Learning Community Project firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Emergent Learning Community Project
- Legal name
- Emergent Learning Community Project
- Website
- https://emergentlearning.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Emergent Learning Community Project is a virtual non-profit that develops and disseminates the Emergent Learning methodology — a set of principles and practices for collective learning in complex social change — serving 300+ practitioners across foundations, nonprofits, and consulting organizations worldwide through training programs, community membership, publications, and an annual summit.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Emergent Learning Community Project industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Social Sector Capacity Building and Organizational Learning
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Online/Hybrid Lifelong Learning Platforms & Open Enrollment Programs (EDAAAEAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Innovation & Design Thinking Programs (EDAMAHAD)
Keywords
Where Emergent Learning Community Project is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Virtual
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Emergent Learning Community Project business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Foundation Grants and Donations: The EL Community Project is funded through grants from philanthropic foundations and individual donations from community members. Core funding supports community programming, training, research, content development, and field outreach. Contributors include foundations such as Barr Foundation, Blue Shield of California Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The David & Lucile Packard Foundation, The Skillman Foundation, and others. The Guide to the Principles of Emergent Learning is provided electronically for free thanks to foundation support.
- Training and Certification Programs: Revenue is generated through EL training programs including the annual open enrollment program and customized training programs for organizations. Individuals who complete ELCP-led programs gain community membership with access to programming and resources. The organization also offers an Advanced Practitioner certification.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free electronic guide |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Print-on-demand guide |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Emergent Learning Community Project product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Emergent Learning Community Project delivers the Emergent Learning (EL) methodology — a set of principles and practices for thinking, learning, and adapting together in complex social change contexts — through paid training programs (open-enrollment and customized), an Advanced Practitioner certification, a gated practitioner community, and free digital publications including the Guide to the Principles of Emergent Learning. It also maintains a global network of EL-trained consultants who deliver EL-integrated services to foundations, nonprofits, and social sector organizations.
Product overview
The Emergent Learning Community Project offers a unified methodology and ecosystem for collaborative learning in social change contexts. The core offering is the Emergent Learning Framework, supported by structured practices (EL Questions, Action Hypotheses, BAR/AAR, EL Tables, Learning Logs, Learning Agendas), EL Training Programs, and EL Community Membership. The project also publishes the Guide to the Principles of Emergent Learning, maintains a network of EL Consultants, and produces academic publications and case studies. The EL Learning Summit serves as an annual community convening. Together, these offerings form an integrated approach to building learning capacity in foundations, nonprofits, and social change organizations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- EL Training Programs Paid training offerings including an annual open enrollment program (EL Intensive) and customized training programs delivered to organizations; completion grants EL Community membership, and an Advanced Practitioner certification is offered for experienced practitioners.
- EL Community Membership Gated membership for individuals who complete ELCP-led programs, providing access to programming, resources, monthly community calls, peer support, faculty opportunities, and the annual EL Learning Summit via the WildApricot community portal.
- Guide to the Principles of Emergent Learning A comprehensive introduction to Emergent Learning principles, written by practicing members of the EL Community and available as a free PDF download (also on Kindle and Apple Books), with a print-on-demand edition via Amazon.
- EL Learning Summit An annual gathering of EL practitioners for learning, networking, and community building, included as part of EL Community membership.
- EL Consultant Network A publicly listed directory of 30+ EL-trained independent consultants and consulting firms offering EL-integrated equity-driven research, evaluation, learning facilitation, coaching, and strategy support to nonprofits and foundations globally.
Quantifiable outcome
- Emergent initiatives produce non-linear results — results greater than the sum of inputs — and results that are more fit to their diverse and changing environments.
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Emergent Learning Community Project
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Emergent Learning Community Project technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Emergent Learning Community Project partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and notable.
- Global Philanthropy PartnershipcoreThe Emergent Learning Community Project is a project of Global Philanthropy Partnership, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Global Philanthropy Partnership serves as the fiscal sponsor and parent organization for the EL Community Project, providing institutional structure and administrative support.
- Community Foundations of Texas (CFT)notableCFT created a data-rich online platform and encouraged frequent interactions between social agencies in the Working Families Success initiative, serving as a leading example of 'returning learning to the system' that produced emergent results and new partnerships among local agencies.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Emergent Learning Community Project competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- FSG: Broad incumbent consulting firm advising foundations and nonprofits on strategy and evaluation. Overlaps with ELCP's target audience (social-sector foundations, nonprofits) and competes for the same philanthropic advisory dollars, though at much larger scale.
- The Bridgespan Group: Broad incumbent nonprofit and foundation consulting firm. Serves many of the same foundations and large nonprofits as ELCP, with strategy and learning offerings that overlap ELCP's adaptive strategy positioning.
Direct peers
- Engage R+D: Direct peer research and evaluation consultancy for foundations and nonprofits. Clare Nolan leads the firm and is listed in the ELCP consultant directory, embedding EL practices into client engagements.
- La Piana Consulting: Direct peer strategy consulting for nonprofits, foundations, and associations. Operates in the same capacity-building niche as ELCP, advising clients on adaptive strategy and organizational effectiveness.
- TCC Group: Direct peer consulting firm serving foundations and nonprofits on strategy, evaluation, and capacity building. Competes in the same RFP landscape and serves overlapping segments including community foundations.
- Center for Evaluation Innovation: Direct peer focused on evaluation and learning innovation in philanthropy. ELCP advisory panel member Hanh Cao Yu is its Executive Director, signaling close collaboration — both organizations train and convene foundation staff and evaluators around adaptive practice.
- ORS Impact: Direct peer evaluation and learning firm advising foundations and nonprofits on strategy and impact assessment. Listed as one of ELCP's 30+ EL-trained consultants; functions as a channel partner delivering EL-integrated services.
- Innovation Network (Innonet): Direct peer evaluation capacity-building organization for nonprofits. Counts several Innonet alumni as EL consultants, and ELCP advisory member Veena Pankaj served as its Co-Director for 10+ years — a tightly overlapping talent network.
Others
- Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR): Adjacent publishing and convening platform for the social sector. SSIR amplifies ideas including adaptive and emergent practice similar to ELCP, and is a venue where foundation strategy thought leadership circulates to overlapping audiences.
- Society for Organizational Learning (SoL): Foundational peer organization that birthed the EL methodology. Marilyn Darling is a founding member; Heidi Sparkes Guber is Founding Chair of the Global Association of SoL Communities. Shares intellectual lineage and a learning-systems orientation.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Emergent Learning Community Project social profiles
Digital presenceEmergent Learning Community Project financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Emergent Learning Community Project leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Emergent Learning Community Project funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Emergent Learning Community Project 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 Emergent Learning Community Project
What does Emergent Learning Community Project do?
The Emergent Learning Community Project delivers the Emergent Learning (EL) methodology — a set of principles and practices for thinking, learning, and adapting together in complex social change contexts — through paid training programs (open-enrollment and customized), an Advanced Practitioner certification, a gated practitioner community, and free digital publications including the Guide to the Principles of Emergent Learning. It also maintains a global network of EL-trained consultants who deliver EL-integrated services to foundations, nonprofits, and social sector organizations.
Is Emergent Learning Community Project a public or private company?
Emergent Learning Community Project is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Emergent Learning Community Project founded?
Emergent Learning Community Project was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Emergent Learning Community Project based?
Emergent Learning Community Project is headquartered in Virtual, United States, in the North America region.
How does Emergent Learning Community Project make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Foundation Grants and Donations are the primary driver. The others are training and Certification Programs.
Who are Emergent Learning Community Project's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are FSG and The Bridgespan Group. Direct peers are Engage R+D, La Piana Consulting, TCC Group, Center for Evaluation Innovation, ORS Impact and Innovation Network (Innonet). Others are Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) and Society for Organizational Learning (SoL).
Does Emergent Learning Community Project have an API?
No public API is recorded for Emergent Learning Community Project.
What industry is Emergent Learning Community Project in?
Emergent Learning Community Project's product category is Social Sector Capacity Building and Organizational Learning. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAAAEAL, Online/Hybrid Lifelong Learning Platforms & Open Enrollment Programs, with a secondary code of EDAMAHAD, Innovation & Design Thinking Programs. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.