We help public, private, and social sector organizations build a culture of innovation, solve complex problems in new ways, and develop creative products, programs, experiences, and services that transform people's lives
OUR EXPERTISE
Ascendant is a world leader in helping organizations build a culture of innovation, solve complex problems in new ways, and develop innovative products, programs, experiences, and services that transform people’s lives.
We are experts in combining multiple innovation approaches to generate the best outcomes for your organization. This includes: human-centered design, community engagement, digital technology and innovation, data analysis, behavioral economics, strategic planning, and performance management. By combining these skills and developing a customized engagement that meets your specific needs, we can help you deliver results that have measurable impact.
We will help you:
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Uncover the root causes to your most complex social challenges
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Generate and test creative ideas, and
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Implement new physical and digital services, programs, and experiences that measurably improve lives.
Additionally, we help public, private, and social sector organizations transform their culture by:
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Building a culture of innovation, even in the most bureaucratic environments,
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Training a team of innovators and creative problem solvers, and
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Developing ground breaking ideas that transform your impact.
WHAT WE OFFER
We build organizations that learn, lead, and last
STRATEGY & TRANSFORMATION
Building a culture of innovation for lasting impact
Real innovation doesn't happen by accident—it takes the right strategy, the systems, and a culture built to sustain it.
Strategic Planning
We help organizations define their path forward—translating ambition into actionable roadmaps that align teams, clarify priorities, and build capacity for sustained innovation across your institution.
Building and Scaling a Culture Innovation
Moving from pilot to permanence requires more than good ideas. We design the systems, processes, and cultural shifts that help breakthrough work take root and grow across your organization.
Performance Management
We design performance management systems that connect strategy to execution, helping organizations to define what success looks like, establish meaningful metrics, build data infrastructure, and create feedback loops that drive organizational effectiveness and improved service delivery.
Innovation Maturity Assessment & Recommendations
Ascendant's comprehensive Innovation Maturity Model gives organizations a clear, actionable pathway to assess their current innovation capabilities, identify strategic gaps, and systematically advance their capacity to deliver efficient, equitable services that improve social outcomes.
Program Assessment and Evaluation
We rigorously review your existing curricula, initiatives, and programming to identify what's working, what's not, and where opportunity lives—delivering clear, actionable insights that drive meaningful improvement.​
Strategic Foresight
We equip leaders to make better decisions today by exploring what tomorrow might bring, using strategic foresight to anticipate change, challenge assumptions, and develop adaptive strategies for multiple possible futures.
System Thinking and Transformation
Ascendant brings systems thinking to guide organizational efficiency and transformation, helping departments move beyond isolated fixes to redesign how services, policies, and operations work together to create improved outcomes at scale.
HUMAN CENTERED DESIGN
Creating social impact through human centered problem solving
We help organizations stop guessing and start designing with the communities they serve at the center of every decision.
Service Re-design and Process Improvement
Ascendant transforms how organizations deliver services by redesigning digital platforms, physical touchpoints, and underlying processes and policies to be more intuitive, efficient, and responsive to user needs.
Stakeholder Mapping
We help organizations identify, analyze, and strategically engage stakeholders, mapping influence, interests, and relationships to build coalitions, manage complexity, and advance initiatives successfully.
Research and Data Synthesis
We conduct rigorous quantitative and qualitative research combining statistical analysis with deep human insight to revel not just what is happening, but why by uncovering patterns, identifying root causes, and informing evidence-based strategies that drive measurable impact.
Prototyping and Iteration
Ascendant builds rapid prototypes that bring ideas to life to test assumptions and gather real user feedback, using iterative cycles of building, testing, and refining to validate concepts, reduce risk, and ensure solutions work in practice before scaling.
Facilitation
We create the conditions for breakthrough thinking—designing and leading workshops, sprints, and collaborative sessions that move teams from stuck to unstoppable.
UX/UI Design
We design digital experiences that are intuitive, accessible, and effective—combining user research, interface design, and usability testing to create products that people actually want to use and that drive mission outcomes.
Community Engagement and Co-Creation
We help organizations move beyond consultation to genuine co-creation to design engagement processes that center lived experience, build trust, and generate solutions that reflect community priorities and assets.
Ideation
Ascendant designs and facilitates ideation workshops that unlock creative potential, combining diverse stakeholders, structured techniques, and expert facilitation to generate bold, actionable ideas grounded in real constraints and opportunities.
Implementation
We guide organizations through successful implementation—developing detailed rollout plans, managing change and stakeholder engagement, providing training and support, and monitoring progress to ensure solutions are adopted and deliver measurable impact.
LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT
Transforming perspectives through world-class training
Lasting change starts from within—we help your people build the skills, mindsets, and confidence to lead it.
Executive Leadership Coaching
One-on-one coaching for leaders navigating complexity, leading change, or stepping into new roles in the civic sector. We help you lead with clarity, confidence, and impact.
Curriculum Development
From concept to classroom, we design learning experiences that stick—whether you're building internal training programs, community education initiatives, or institutional knowledge systems.
Community Engagement Training
Ascendant equips teams with community engagement skills through hands-on training, teaching inclusive practices, participatory methods, and relationship-building strategies that build trust and move beyond consultation to genuine partnership and co-creation.
Communication Training
We train teams in effective communication skills—teaching active listening, clear messaging, constructive feedback, and adaptive communication strategies that improve collaboration, reduce misunderstandings, and strengthen workplace relationships.
Cultural Competency Training
Building truly inclusive organizations requires more than policy—it demands practice. We deliver training that shifts mindsets, builds skills, and creates lasting cultural change.
Human-Centered Design Training
We equip teams with the mindsets, methods, and tools to make innovation part of how they work—not something that happens around them.
Customer Service Improvement Training
We train frontline teams and supervisors in customer service excellence, teaching empathy-driven communication, problem-solving skills, and service recovery techniques that improve satisfaction, build trust, and create positive experiences.
Cultural Competency and Bias Training
We provide cultural competency training that equips teams with the skills to navigate diverse environments. Our program focuses on fostering understanding, respect, and effective communication across cultures, enabling team members to engage meaningfully with one another.
