The Public Service Transformation Academy

What The Public Service Transformation Academy does

The Public Service Transformation Academy (PSTA) is a UK-based social enterprise, structured as a company limited by guarantee with 5 employees, that designs and delivers leadership development and capability-building programmes for public sector organisations. Founded in 2016, PSTA took over operation of the Cabinet Office Commissioning Academy and now serves senior commissioners and transformation leaders in UK local government (county, borough, and district councils), NHS organisations and Integrated Care Boards, central government departments (DWP, Ministry of Justice), Police and Crime Commissioners, and the voluntary/community sector.

The product portfolio comprises three flagship strands: the National Commissioning Academy (priced at £2,000 per participant), Regional Transformation Academies delivered across 11 UK areas, and the Academy for Public Entrepreneurship. Adjacent offerings include the Agile Master in Public Services, the Contract Management Development Programme, and a suite of Compass self-assessment tools, namely Commissioning Compass, smartCompass (an AI-powered system analysis tool), and the Strategic Commissioning and Place-Based Systems Design Options Appraisal for adult social care. Programmes are delivered both in person and online via Zoom, with associated content distributed through an 86-page insights archive.

PSTA generates revenue primarily through per-participant programme fees under a professional services model, with pricing tiered by location and group discounts for cohorts of four or more from the same organisation. Go-to-market combines enterprise field sales into public bodies, event-driven lead generation (the State of Transformation Conference, regional academy launches, free and paid webinars), and a community-led motion powered by an alumni network of senior public sector professionals. Distribution is amplified by partnerships with the Cabinet Office, the Local Government Association, the Whitehall and Industry Group, RedQuadrant (co-leader, led by CEO Benjamin Taylor), Connected Places Catapult, and Oxford's Government Outcomes Lab.

Name

The Public Service Transformation Academy

Legal name

THE PUBLIC SERVICE TRANSFORMATION ACADEMY LTD

Website

https://publicservicetransformation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Public Service Transformation Academy is a UK social enterprise delivering commissioning and transformation leadership programmes for local councils, NHS bodies, central government departments, and Police and Crime Commissioners via regional academies, the National Commissioning Academy, and an AI-powered Compass tools suite.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Sector Leadership Development and Training

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Change Management & Transformation Leadership (EDABAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Change Management & Transformation (Org/HR) (BPACAJAD), Organizational Change & Transformation Coaching (EDABANAG), Democratic Governance & Public Administration Reform (BPADAGAJ)

Keywords

• Public sector training
• Leadership development programmes
• Commissioning academy
• Transformation consultancy
• Public service education

Headquarters

HQ city

London, England

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Training Programme Fees: Revenue from participant fees for Commissioning Academy, Transformation Academies, and professional development programmes. Pricing varies by programme location and group bookings.
2. Regional Academy Delivery: Fees from regional Transformation Academies across UK regions including East of England, North East, North West, West Midlands, South West, South East, Yorkshire & Humber, Greater London, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland
3. Event-Based Learning: Some free webinars and events for community building, with select paid programmes including Driving Whole Systems Change at £40 per participant

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Public Service Transformation Academy (PSTA) designs and delivers leadership development programmes to build capacity to transform UK public services. Its core offerings include the Commissioning Academy (including the National Commissioning Academy), Regional Transformation Academies across 11 UK regions, the Academy for Public Entrepreneurship, Agile Master in Public Services, Contract Management Development Programme, and the Compass Tools Suite (smartCompass, Commissioning Compass, Strategic Commissioning Options Appraisal). Programmes are sold on a per-participant basis to public sector organisations including local authorities, NHS bodies, and central government departments.

Product overview

The Public Service Transformation Academy is a social enterprise that designs and delivers leadership development programmes for public sector transformation. The offering consists of three main strands: the Commissioning Academy (including the National Commissioning Academy at £2,000 per participant) for commissioning excellence; the Regional Transformation Academy network spanning 12 UK regions for broader transformation skills; and assessment tools including smartCompass (AI-powered), Commissioning Compass, and Strategic Commissioning tools. Additional programmes include the Academy for Public Entrepreneurship (with Connected Places Catapult), Agile Master in Public Services, and the Contract Management Development Programme. The academy is led by RedQuadrant and the Whitehall and Industry Group.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Commissioning Academy: Government's acclaimed suite of leadership development programmes for commissioners of public services
• Transformation Academy
• Academy for Public Entrepreneurship

Products and services

• Commissioning Academy (National) National leadership development programme for senior commissioners of public services, covering commissioning skills, strategic management, outcomes commissioning, and transformation capabilities. Delivered in London by PSTA's faculty and partner network, targeting senior public sector leaders across UK local government, NHS, and central government departments.
• Regional Transformation Academy Regionally delivered transformation academy programme covering systems transformation, outcomes commissioning, service design, and agile methods, delivered across 11 UK regions including East of England, North East, North West, West Midlands, East Midlands, South West, South East, Yorkshire & Humber, Greater London, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Participants enrol in small groups from each local public sector organisation.
• Academy for Public Entrepreneurship Programme for senior executives from UK public services focused on radical procurement, entrepreneurial approaches, and market engagement, delivered in collaboration with Connected Places Catapult. Targets senior public service executives and includes group pricing for senior managers from public service organisations.
• Agile Master in Public Services Training programme on agile methodologies for public sector change management, offered both online via Zoom and in-person. Covers iterative approaches beyond traditional PRINCE2 project management, targeting public sector transformation managers and programme leads.
• Contract Management Development Programme Skills refresh and development programme for public sector staff involved in contract management. Helps participants refresh existing knowledge and expertise and refamiliarise themselves with key contract management practices for public services.
• smartCompass AI-powered self-assessment tool for community-powered outcomes through commissioning from the edge, using AI for system analysis and next-move recommendations for commissioners and transformation leaders.
• Commissioning Compass Self-assessment framework tool for system assessment for change, helping commissioners evaluate and improve their commissioning approaches. Part of the Compass Tools Suite.
• Strategic Commissioning and Place-Based Systems Design Options Appraisal Self-assessment tool for adult social care commissioners that helps evaluate systems design options at strategic and place-based levels. Tailored specifically for adult social care commissioning decisions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Participants develop practical 100-day plans and transformation projects during programmes
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and supporting.

• Connected Places CatapultcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Delivers the Academy for Public Entrepreneurship in collaboration with Connected Places Catapult. Catapult convenes public and private sectors, local government and transport authorities to unlock new markets and drive growth within complex systems. Hosted in London.
• RedQuadrantcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic service consultancy that leads the PSTA alongside Whitehall and Industry Group. RedQuadrant provides the core consulting expertise, frameworks, and methodologies including systems transformation approaches, outcomes commissioning, and collaborative working. CEO Benjamin Taylor is a key figure in public service transformation.
• Whitehall and Industry Group (WIG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-sector leadership charity bringing together public sector, private sector, and not-for-profit organisations. Co-leads PSTA alongside RedQuadrant, providing access to senior public sector leaders and cross-sector collaboration networks.
• Cabinet OfficeflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPSTA has taken over running of the Cabinet Office's Commissioning Academy, the government's acclaimed suite of leadership development programmes for commissioners of public services. This provides government-level endorsement and access to central government networks.
• Local Government Association (LGA) and East of England LGAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished the East of England Transformation Academy in collaboration with LGA and EELGA. LGA supports local government transformation across England, providing access to councils and directors across the sector.
• BasissupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDelivers PSTA-accredited Master Classes covering core methods like service design, agile, and LEAN in an experiential way. Focus on practical application in public sector work settings.
• Goldratt UKsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner for PSTA Special Webinar on Systems Thinking. Goldratt UK provides Theory of Constraints and systems thinking expertise.
• SCiO and Cherith SimmonssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloped the Apprenticeship in Systems Thinking Practice, a Level 7 qualification for systems thinking practitioners in England and Wales.
• Browne JacobsonsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLaw firm partner for events including Art of the Possible in Public Procurement. Provides legal expertise on public contracts regulations and commissioning innovation.
• Policy in PracticesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent collaboration for tackling financial hardship to safeguard children, aligning public service transformation with welfare policy.
• Government Outcomes Lab (GO Lab)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for social outcomes conference and relational contracting research, connecting PSTA with Oxford University's public policy research.
• OECD Observatory of Public Sector InnovationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Government After Shock event and international public sector innovation learning, providing global perspective on transformation.
• Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSharing governance risk and resilience frameworks for public sector organisations, supporting PSTA's governance and accountability content.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• New Philanthropy Capital (NPC): UK charity think tank focused on the social sector, including commissioning and outcomes — adjacent enabler in the VCSE/public service commissioning ecosystem where PSTA operates, with comparable non-profit/charity structure.
• Reform (think tank): UK think tank researching public service reform and workforce — adjacent rather than directly competing, but operating in the same public service transformation conversation and often a partner or speaker source for PSTA programmes.

Direct peers

• Local Government Association (LGA): The national membership body for English local authorities, running capability-building, leadership, and councillor development programmes — directly overlapping with PSTA's Regional Transformation Academy offering and serving the same local authority buyers.
• Solace: The UK membership network for senior public sector leaders, providing leadership development, peer learning, and events. Comparable as a UK public sector leadership development organization targeting the same senior buyer cohort as PSTA's academies.
• Centre for Public Impact: Global non-profit supporting governments to deliver better public services through capability programmes, learning networks, and coaching — a near-direct peer in public sector transformation training with a comparable academy/community model.
• Collaborate CIC: UK social enterprise focused on place-based public service reform and cross-sector commissioning — listed as a PSTA event partner and operating in the same outcomes-commissioning and systems-change niche with comparable UK local authority clients.
• NHS Leadership Academy: Provides leadership development programmes for senior leaders in NHS England — the same target buyer (senior healthcare commissioners and public sector leaders) PSTA serves, with similar cohort-based academy delivery and a national footprint. Directly comparable as a public sector leadership training provider.

Broad incumbents

• Government Skills and Curriculum Unit (UK): UK government unit responsible for cross-government learning, skills, and curriculum design for civil servants. A broader incumbent in public sector capability building that sets the agenda PSTA's programmes must align to.
• CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy): Major UK professional body delivering training, qualifications, and networks for public finance and governance professionals — overlaps with PSTA's commissioning/contract management/finance transformation programmes and serves the same local government buyers.

Regional players

• Institute of Public Administration (IPA): Ireland's leading public sector training and development body, offering diplomas and short courses to civil and public servants. Closely comparable model (academy-based, public service capacity building), operating in a different national market.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ServiceReform
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-public-service-transformation-academy

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 The Public Service Transformation Academy