What Regen Melbourne does

Regen Melbourne is a private non-profit collaboration platform founded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Summer bushfires to drive systemic urban regeneration across Greater Melbourne. The organization convenes cross-sector partners spanning local and state government, community organizations, research institutions, and business/capital holders around three Earthshots (transformative declarations of intent): Swimmable Birrarung (river restoration), 300,000 Streets (participatory street transformation), and Nourished Neighbourhoods (local food economies). Each Earthshot is supported by a dedicated Stewards Board and nested projects, with overall coordination through a Systems Lab operating across five enabling areas: New Narratives of Place, Measuring What Matters, New Urban Governance, Systemic Investment, and Collaborative Research Ecosystems.

The technical core is the Greater Melbourne City Portrait, a digital platform launched in October 2023 on Global Doughnut Day, which applies Doughnut Economics to measure Melbourne's social foundation and ecological ceiling across 24 dimensions. The City Portrait includes an Impact Visualiser tool that maps projects onto the Doughnut framework, and is supported by planetary accounting methodology developed with research partners including Open Corridor, Arup, and the University of Melbourne. Additional product lines include the MIST capital coordination platform, the Capital Orchestration research project with TransCap Initiative, The Gazette publication, and the Country Centred Doughnut Economy model co-developed with Indigenous partners.

Regen Melbourne generates no commercial revenue from its core services. It is funded through grants and philanthropic support (Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation among named funders), collaborative research partnerships (RMIT University, TransCap Initiative, international capital institutions), and incubation support from Small Giants Academy. The organization was founded in Victoria, Australia, where it remains headquartered at Level 4/454 Queen St, Melbourne VIC 3000, operating exclusively across Greater Melbourne and Victoria with no disclosed commercial pricing model.

Name

Regen Melbourne

Legal name

Regen Melbourne

Website

https://regen.melbourne

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Regen Melbourne is a non-profit collaboration platform driving systemic urban regeneration across Greater Melbourne using Doughnut Economics. It convenes government, community, research, and business partners around three Earthshots (river restoration, participatory streets, local food economies) supported by the City Portrait measurement platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Regeneration Collaboration Platform

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

akta.pro primary industry

Urban Renewal, Brownfield Redevelopment & Land Reuse (BPAIANAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Climate Resilience & Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) (BPAGABAK), Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)

Keywords

• Urban regeneration
• Doughnut Economics
• Cross-sector collaboration
• Climate resilience
• Systemic investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

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. Grant Funding & Philanthropic Support: Regen Melbourne operates as a non-profit collaboration platform funded through grants and philanthropic partnerships. The organization receives support from various foundations and partners to drive systemic urban regeneration projects.
2. Collaborative Research Partnerships: Revenue generated through collaborative research projects with partners such as TransCap Initiative, RMIT University, and other academic and policy institutions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Regen Melbourne is a non-profit cross-sector collaboration platform driving systemic change for a resilient and regenerative Greater Melbourne. It operationalises this through three Earthshots (Swimmable Birrarung, 300,000 Streets, Nourished Neighbourhoods) supported by Steward Boards, a Systems Lab action-research platform, and the Greater Melbourne City Portrait — a Doughnut Economics digital platform measuring the city's social foundation and ecological ceiling across 24 dimensions.

Product overview

Regen Melbourne is a platform for cross-sector collaboration driving systemic change for a resilient and regenerative Melbourne. The organization operates a three-part Earthshots portfolio (Swimmable Birrarung, 300,000 Streets, and Nourished Neighbourhoods), each supported by dedicated Steward Boards and multiple nested projects. The Systems Lab serves as an enabling action-research platform with five enablers (New Narratives of Place, Measuring What Matters, New Urban Governance, Systemic Investment, and Collaborative Research Ecosystems). The flagship product is the Greater Melbourne City Portrait—a digital Doughnut Economics platform measuring the city's social foundation and ecological ceiling. Supporting products include the Impact Visualiser tool, MIST capital coordination platform, The Gazette publication, and various projects addressing democracy, capital orchestration, and earthshot stewardship. The architecture is organized as a platform-plus-portfolio model where Earthshots serve as the core organizing structure, supported by the Systems Lab and City Portrait measurement framework.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• City Portrait: A digital platform providing a holistic measurement of Greater Melbourne's social and ecological wellbeing based on Doughnut Economics, tracking performance against safe and just space targets.
• Systems Lab
• 300,000 Streets
• Swimmable Birrarung
• Nourished Neighbourhoods
• MIST (Melbourne Invests in Systemic Transformation)

Products and services

• Earthshots Portfolio Three interconnected Earthshots (Swimmable Birrarung, 300,000 Streets, and Nourished Neighbourhoods) serving as declarations of intent and transformative interventions for Greater Melbourne's regeneration, each supported by a Steward Board and multiple nested projects. For government, community organisations, research institutions and capital holders.
• Swimmable Birrarung An Earthshot initiative focused on achieving a thriving and swimmable Yarra/Birrarung River from source to sea, supported by projects including the Birrarung RiverBank initiative and community partnerships with Ponyfish Island, WOWOWA, and Up The Creek.
• 300,000 Streets An Earthshot initiative aiming for participatory and truly liveable streets across Greater Melbourne, organised as a snowball portfolio with projects focused on connecting stories, places, capital, and communities across approximately 300,000 streets.
• Nourished Neighbourhoods An Earthshot initiative focused on building a network of resilient local food economies across Greater Melbourne, addressing food system transformation through projects such as the Kensington Food Forest.
• Systems Lab An action-research platform exploring how to shift underlying conditions for regeneration through five enabling areas: New Narratives of Place, Measuring What Matters, New Urban Governance, Systemic Investment, and Collaborative Research Ecosystems.
• Greater Melbourne City Portrait A digital platform applying Doughnut Economics to measure Greater Melbourne's social foundation and ecological ceiling across 24 dimensions, providing data-based understanding of the city's current state and pathways toward a safe and just future.
• Impact Visualiser Tool A tool within the City Portrait that allows users to map a project, strategy or plan onto the Doughnut framework to visualise social and ecological impact.
• Melbourne Invests in Systemic Transformation (MIST) A platform designed to explore the potential of capital to drive systemic change, hosting events, gatherings, papers and active dialogue to coordinate capital toward systemic transformation in Melbourne, bringing together investors, practitioners, researchers and community leaders.
• Democracy Beyond the Ballot Box A project convening leaders on how to strengthen democratic participation, build civic muscles, and enhance agency across Melbourne through forums, town halls and public lectures.
• Capital Orchestration An action-research project examining barriers and opportunities to orchestrating capital in service of systems transformation, co-authored with TransCap Initiative and partners including Scottish National Investment Bank, Better Society Capital, Just Transitions Finance Lab, and Dalberg Catalyst.
• The Doughnut in Practice A project applying Doughnut Economics to inform narratives and decision-making for Regen Melbourne's strategies and projects, developed in partnership with RMIT University and Doughnut Economics Action Lab.

Quantifiable outcome

• 45.44m kg nitrogen per year (currently overshooting 2030 target of 35.25m kg)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TransCap InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Led the Capital Orchestration collaborative research project that diagnosed structural failures in capital deployment for systems transformation. Regen Melbourne served as collaboration partner and co-author.
• Scottish National Investment BankminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner in Capital Orchestration research initiative exploring financial backbones for capital orchestration in service of systems transformation.
• Better Society CapitalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner in Capital Orchestration research exploring barriers and opportunities to orchestrating capital for systems change.
• Just Transitions Finance LabminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner in Capital Orchestration research exploring systemic investment paradigms for place-based regeneration.
• Dalberg CatalystminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner in Capital Orchestration research examining financial mechanisms for regenerative outcomes.
• RMIT UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Academic collaboration partner for Doughnut in Practice project, City Portrait development, and ongoing research. Dr Michael Dunbar at RMIT co-leads internal and external explorations of Doughnut Economics application in Melbourne.
• Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023International framework partner supporting Global Doughnut Days, City Portrait methodology, and global network of Doughnut places including Melbourne, Amsterdam, and 30+ other cities.
• Small Giants AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProudly incubated by Small Giants Academy, which provided foundational support for Regen Melbourne's formation and ongoing operations.
• ArupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in City Portrait development, particularly for Ecological Ceiling dimensions. Led by Reid Beauchamp and Amelia Tompkins in initial exploration work.
• Open CorridorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner developing Greater Melbourne's planetary quotas and environmental footprint data. Published Environmental Footprints of Greater Melbourne 2021.
• University of MelbournecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner through Centre for Cities, providing research support for City Portrait development with research assistant Navam Niles and collaboration with Professor Sarah Bell.
• AltioremminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to make sustainable finance research more accessible, co-hosting student interns developing content on Doughnut Economics and City Portrait dimensions.
• Fireside AgencyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partner providing 50 hours of messaging support for City Portrait narrative development. Long-time Regen Melbourne partner.
• Good&ProperminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated the 'magic foldy thing' physical doughnut handout for City Portrait launch event.
• Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner CorporationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaul Paton (CEO) co-designed the Australian Indigenous Doughnut (Country Centred Doughnut Economy model) and participated in Global Doughnut Day 'Walking Together' event.
• Good HumancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDamien Melotte co-created the Country Centred Doughnut Economy model with Paul Paton, contributing to Global Doughnut Day programming.
• City of MelbournecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner participating in Steward Boards and City Portrait Learning Partners group, supporting metro-scale governance initiatives.
• Greater Melbourne FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundational discussions on Participatory Melbourne work and democracy strengthening initiatives.
• Menzies FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundational discussions on Participatory Melbourne and democratic innovation initiatives.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Dark Matter Labs: A regenerative economics and systems change organisation developing new economic models for place-based transformation. Operates in a similar methodological space (Doughnut Economics, systems change, capital orchestration) though with a consultancy/practice orientation rather than a single-city focus.
• The Australian Urban Research Network: Australian network supporting urban research infrastructure. Shares comparable interest in urban data systems and city-level measurement frameworks, though positioned more as research infrastructure than a transformation platform.

Broad incumbents

• C40 Cities: Global network of mayors and city leaders focused on climate action and urban sustainability. While broader in scope (climate-focused rather than Doughnut-based) and significantly larger, C40 cities pursue comparable urban systems transformation agendas targeting similar stakeholders (governments, communities, capital).
• B Lab Australia & Aotearoa New Zealand: Regional arm of the global B Corp movement certifying purpose-driven businesses. Several Regen Melbourne partners (e.g., WOWOWA) are B Corps, and both organisations work to align business activity with regenerative outcomes through similar cross-sector collaboration models.
• 100 Resilient Cities (Rockefeller Foundation): Previously operated a major urban resilience initiative serving cities globally with similar cross-sector collaboration and Chief Resilience Officer models. Although the programme ended in 2019, it represents a comparable urban-regeneration methodology even though its scope and scale were much larger.

Direct peers

• Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll): Global collaboration of organisations, governments, and movements working to transform economic systems toward wellbeing. Shares Regen Melbourne's focus on alternative economic indicators beyond GDP and convenes cross-sector partners for systemic change, though at a global rather than city scale.
• Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL): DEAL is the originator of the Doughnut Economics framework and the global network of which Regen Melbourne is a member city. Both organisations apply the same methodology to urban systems transformation, with DEAL providing framework support and Melbourne being a leading implementation case.

Regional players

• Centre for Urban Innovation (Swinburne University): Australian urban research centre working on urban innovation and sustainability. Operates in a similar Melbourne-based academic/practitioner interface on urban systems, though with a university-hosted research model rather than a non-profit collaboration platform.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/regen-melbourne

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Regen Melbourne