Who we are

Collaborate is an innovative social consultancy building the thinking, culture and practice of collaboration to help us meet the challenges of the twenty-first century together.

We are living in a time of transition

The complex and global nature of the issues we face are becoming rapidly clearer. Social inequality is growing. The climate crisis is accelerating. Public services are struggling to help people who need their support. So, we are asking: what must we transition to, and how do we get there?

Our vision

Our vision is of a collaborative society: equitable, caring and sustainable. People and organisations can create a better future together than they can alone.

To achieve this vision, we help grow the movement for change and blend cutting edge thinking with the ability to support local partners and leaders to reshape organisations, public services and places with collaboration for the public good at their heart.

Our origin

Founded as a not-for-profit social enterprise by public services champion Lord Victor Adebowale, we work across boundaries alongside everyone from local authority chief executives and social activists, to NHS trusts and civil society leaders. We start from the belief that change is always possible and bring a positive spirit to everything we do.

We believe the places and projects we work on represent the green shoots of the future we want to create.

The future is collaborative. Let’s build it together.

May 9th, 2023

Collaborate is recruiting for a new Projects & Relationships Coordinator

About us Collaborate CIC is an innovative social consultancy building the thinking, culture and practice of collaboration to help us meet the challenges of today,…

May 9th, 2023

Collaborate is recruiting for a new Research & Evaluation Consultant

About us Collaborate CIC is an innovative social consultancy building the thinking, culture and practice of collaboration to help us meet the challenges of today,…

Apr 26th, 2023

Exploring equity, diversity and inclusion with Human Learning Systems practitioners.

Reducing inequity is a complex and ongoing struggle and one that requires our commitment and persistence. As the Human Learning System (HLS) approach develops, we…

Apr 26th, 2023

Collaborate’s Spring Newsletter

Spring is in the air, and we have a lot of good news to share from Collaborate HQ! Firstly, we’ve published a new – and…

Apr 3rd, 2023

A Guide to Collaboration: the what, why and how of collaborating

Today we’re pleased to publish A Guide to Collaboration: one of the simplest, and also the hardest, things we’ve ever written at Collaborate! Hard because…

Mar 17th, 2023

Putting learning and collaboration at the heart of local systems change funding

Further insights from our work with the British Science Association In January we shared the framework we’ve developed alongside the British Science Association (BSA), exploring…

Mar 10th, 2023

Collaborate is recruiting for a new Business Development and Operations Manager

About us Collaborate CIC is an innovative social consultancy building the thinking, culture and practice of collaboration to help us meet the challenges of today,…

Jan 31st, 2023

Building a collaborative future

The perils of perma-crisis Times are hard. We know the headlines: climate crisis, the enduring impacts of Covid, the cost of living, war in Europe,…

Jan 9th, 2023

Beyond project funding: how can funders nurture healthy systems?

Collaborate has been working with the BSA to help them identify what a healthy system for public engagement with research looks like, and develop a funding programme to support this. This is the first in a series of blogs to share our learning so far.

Dec 14th, 2022

Systems stewardship in practice: What it is and how to get started

Are you trying to collaborate across organisational boundaries but getting stuck due to entrenched behaviours, structures and ways of working? The emerging practice of systems…

Contact us enquiries@collaboratecic.com