The value of an idea lies in the using of it.
Thomas Edison
What is Idea Department ?
Idea Department is a platform for turning ideas into momentum.
We create curated spaces where people can test ideas, build coalitions around them, and turn them into tangible initiatives.
Idea Department is built around a simple academic truth: ideas are not “soft”. They are a form of power.
Ideas shape how societies define problems (what counts as urgent), how they imagine solutions (what feels feasible), and how they justify action (what seems legitimate). They travel through frames and narratives, they spread through networks and imitation, and they often take hold when timing creates an opening - when people are ready to hear something they previously ignored.
Ideas also outlive structure. Institutions may change slowly, but ideas can move quickly, crossing sectors and communities before they ever become policy, products, or programmes. The question is not whether ideas matter. It is whether they have a space to be tested, strengthened, and translated into action.
That is what Idea Department designs: formats that move ideas through three steps: (1) sense-making (naming what is happening), (2) coalition (finding the people who can carry it), and (3) translation (turning it into a project, partnership, or initiative).
The Power of Ideas
Our Work
Our Projects
We build projects that help ideas travel—from conversation to collaboration to action.
Our work sits at the intersection of civic imagination, public discourse, and practical experimentation. Learn more.
Our Thoughts
Ponderer is the space we created to share ideas that matter.
It is where we publish reflections, and ideas that help make sense of what is changing around us, and questions worth sitting with a little longer.
Some pieces are exploratory. Some are practical. All are written to be shared: to spark conversation, challenge assumptions, and carry ideas beyond the room. Learn more.
Our Formats
We build formats that can be used to take an idea further. Whether that means opening a new conversation, bringing unlikely people into the same room, or moving from discussion to practical next steps. Learn more.