Service Overview
We support organisations working on complex social challenges to think more clearly about how problems are defined and how responses are shaped. When addressing issues such as inequality, access, participation or trust, strategy can become disconnected from how systems are experienced in practice.
Our advisory work centres social insight. We integrate lived experience, community knowledge and qualitative and quantitative evidence into strategic conversations, helping partners examine assumptions, reframe challenges and identify realistic pathways forward. This ensures that policy, programme and organisational strategy reflect social realities rather than abstract models.
We are not a traditional consultancy delivering detached recommendations. We work collaboratively to strengthen internal thinking, ensuring that decisions are informed, responsible and grounded in the communities they affect. Our aim is to support strategy that is socially aware, context-sensitive and capable of meaningful impact.
Key elements may include
- strategic advisory and decision support
- insight-led strategy development
- sense-checking assumptions and approaches
- supporting policy, programme and organisational strategy
- advisory input informed by lived experience and evidence
- systems thinking and problem framing
- ongoing or time-bound advisory support
Our role is to help organisations navigate complexity with clarity while remaining anchored in social reality.
Why Choose Us?
Unique Approach
Our strategic advisory work begins with social insight. We do not separate strategy from lived experience or treat community knowledge as supplementary to formal evidence. Instead, we bring these perspectives directly into conversations about direction, priorities and decision-making. We work alongside partners to interrogate assumptions, clarify the core challenge and ensure that strategy reflects how systems are experienced in practice. By combining lived experience, qualitative and quantitative evidence, and structured reflection, we support decisions that are socially grounded, realistic and responsive to complexity. Our role is not to impose external solutions, but to strengthen internal thinking and confidence in navigating difficult social questions.
Systems-Informed & Power-Aware
We recognise that strategic decisions are shaped by wider systems, including funding models, policy frameworks, organisational culture and power dynamics. Challenges rarely sit in isolation, and well-intentioned strategies can falter when structural realities are overlooked. Our advisory work therefore looks beyond immediate problems to examine the conditions influencing outcomes, whose perspectives are shaping priorities and where meaningful leverage exists. By bringing systems awareness into strategic conversations, we help organisations make decisions that are realistic, responsible and aligned with lived experience.
Grounded & Accountable
Our advisory work is built on transparency, integrity and respect for community knowledge. We are clear about purpose, scope and decision-making responsibility from the outset. Insight drawn from lived experience is handled carefully and never treated as a commodity. We work collaboratively to ensure that strategy remains connected to the realities it seeks to influence, and that ownership of decisions stays with the organisation. Our aim is to strengthen internal clarity and confidence rather than create dependency on external consultancy.
Who We Work With
Public Sector & Goverment
We work with public sector organisations and government bodies that are grappling with complex social challenges and want strategy to reflect lived realities as well as policy intent. When addressing issues such as inequality, access, participation or community trust, it is not always clear whether existing approaches are responding to how problems are experienced on the ground. Our advisory support brings social insight into strategic conversations. We integrate lived experience, community knowledge and qualitative and quantitative evidence to help partners understand how systems are felt and navigated in practice. This supports clearer problem framing, more grounded policy and programme decisions, and strategy that reflects social reality rather than assumption. Our focus is on strengthening institutional thinking so that decisions are socially informed, responsible and workable.
Health & Care Systems
We work with health and care leaders who are addressing issues such as inequality, access, coordination and community trust. In complex care systems, strategic decisions often need to balance clinical priorities, operational realities and the lived experiences of patients and families. Our advisory support helps partners understand how policies and service models are experienced across different communities, and where gaps or unintended consequences may arise. By drawing on community insight and evidence, we support more grounded decision-making around care pathways, system reform and service integration. The result is strategy that is better aligned with how care is delivered and received, not just how it is designed.
Funders & Foundations
We work with funders and foundations who want their investment strategies to reflect the social realities they seek to influence. When setting priorities or designing funding programmes, it can be difficult to see how decisions made at portfolio level are experienced by communities and delivery partners. Our advisory support helps funders examine how funding criteria, expectations and strategic direction interact with lived experience on the ground. By drawing on community insight and evidence, we support clearer alignment between funding intent and social impact. This enables more thoughtful programme design, stronger equity considerations and investment decisions that are grounded in context rather than assumption.
Universities & Research Institutions
We work with universities and research institutions seeking to strengthen the social relevance and strategic direction of their work. As expectations around research impact, public engagement and community partnership continue to grow, institutions are often navigating how to align academic priorities with lived realities. Our advisory support helps research leaders and teams reflect on how agendas are shaped, how communities are engaged and how impact is defined. By drawing on social insight and evidence, we support clearer positioning, more grounded engagement strategies and research approaches that are responsive to the contexts they seek to influence. This strengthens both institutional credibility and the practical value of academic work beyond publication.
VCSE Organisations
We work with VCSE organisations that are reflecting on their direction, growth and long-term positioning. In changing funding and policy environments, it can be difficult to balance community priorities with strategic decisions about focus, partnerships and sustainability. Our advisory support helps organisations step back and examine whether they are addressing the right challenges and how their work is experienced by the communities they serve. By bringing together community insight and evidence, we support clearer strategic direction, stronger alignment between values and action, and decisions that protect both mission and sustainability. Our role is to strengthen internal confidence and clarity while ensuring strategy remains rooted in community reality.
Our Approach
Surfacing Social Reality
We begin by exploring how the issue is experienced in practice. This may include drawing on lived experience, community knowledge, qualitative and quantitative evidence and existing insight. The aim is to understand how systems are felt and navigated on the ground before defining strategic direction.
Clarifying The Core Challenge
We work with partners to examine assumptions and test whether the right problem is being addressed. Through structured dialogue and problem framing, we help organisations distinguish between symptoms and underlying drivers. This stage strengthens focus and reduces the risk of investing in strategies that do not address root conditions.
Strengthening Strategic Direction
With clearer understanding in place, we support partners to shape strategy that reflects social realities as well as organisational priorities. This may include reviewing programme design, policy positioning or institutional direction to ensure alignment with context and lived experience.
Supporting Responsible Decision-Making
Strategy does not sit on paper. We provide advisory support as decisions are made, helping organisations navigate trade-offs, consider implications and remain grounded in their stated values. This ensures that strategy remains workable, accountable and responsive over time.
Get in Touch!
If you are navigating a complex social challenge and want to ensure your strategy reflects lived realities as well as institutional priorities, we would welcome a conversation. Whether you are rethinking direction, testing assumptions or shaping long-term plans, we can support you to move forward with clarity and confidence.