About Us
We are a strategy and innovation consultancy that helps organizations thrive in the face of change. Thorny problems are our strong suit.
We’re a team of consultants who are energized by big, messy problems. We are strategists, analysts, designers, and editors who bring agility and flexibility to projects focused on stemming chronic disease, closing the skills gap, rethinking the future of work, supporting digital transformations, using data to make smart cities safer, developing sustainable business models, and making moonshot investments.
We help companies thrive in the face of change. Our clients are “innovation mavericks” — leaders inside global corporations, nonprofits, and federal agencies who are tasked with helping their organizations adapt to the technological, economic, political, and social norms of the 21st century. We’re the strategy and innovation consultants they call when there’s no playbook for the problem they’re trying to solve.
Our open innovation practice was established in 2011. We are particularly focused on open innovation for impact, making use of incentive prize mechanisms to accelerate innovations such as artificial organs (Artificial Kidney Prize), early biothreat detection (DHS Hidden Signals Challenge), access to career and technical education (the Ed Prizes challenge series), and improving our understanding of Earth’s magnetism (NGA MagQuest).
We have an equal appreciation for strategy and execution. We offer our clients the upfront thinking that goes into careful strategy development and can become partners in execution to ensure those strategies are implemented.
We believe that career choices are not binary; you can have a challenging and rewarding career as part of a high-performing team and also live your life. Our clients appreciate that we bring the highest level of excellence to everything we do, and our team appreciates that we are extraordinarily efficient so that you aren’t expected to be online later.
The role
We regularly invite freelancers to join our in-house team on client and internal projects. This is an open call — not a specific role or job opening — so we can get to know talented contractors and match them to upcoming project needs. If your experience is a fit, we’ll reach out to talk about the project, scope, and timing.
Requirements
We work with freelancers and independent consultants with expertise in strategy, research, design, editorial, and communications. Across all disciplines, here’s what matters most to us:
Exceptional task and time management skills. You can take a defined workstream and own it from start to finish: setting a plan, managing your time, flagging risks early, and delivering on schedule without needing someone to check in constantly.
Clear and proactive communication. You keep people updated without being asked, write in a way that’s easy to follow, and say so early when something isn’t working.
Client services experience. Previous freelance or contract experience is a big plus, especially with consultancies, agencies, or other client-facing teams. You know how to plug into a new team quickly and work within someone else’s processes.
