Innovation Unit Australia New Zealand becomes ThirdStory

blog | Words iu_admin | 24 Mar 2025

Innovation Unit has grown the boldest innovations to society’s biggest challenges for nearly 25 years. First established in the UK, we have worked with communities, places, foundations, governments, and businesses around the world. 

As our successes in Australia and New Zealand took root, so Innovation Unit Australia emerged between 2015 and 2017.  This chapter in our history opened with a cross-sectoral school community of practice aimed at better supporting learners to achieve their full potential, and was followed by a partnership with Goodstart to transform learning in the Early Years.

In 2017 Innovation Unit Australia merged with Innovate Change, a social change agency in Aotearoa/New Zealand.  Innovate Change’s ventures included Harakeke: a powerful parent-led initiative designed to create stronger social connections between parents of children under five. Stronger together, they became a thriving independent charity: Innovation Unit Australia New Zealand.

The teams from the UK and ANZ have continued to collaborate closely together on projects including the collaborative design of a new school system in Bermuda, the co-design of family and domestic violence refuges for women and children in Western Australia, and harnessing technologies to improve learning  outcomes for young people in sub-saharan Africa. This work, delivered by a joint ANZ and UK team remains a strong chapter in our shared history. 

10 years on, we start new chapters. We are excited to announce a new name for our ANZ colleagues – ThirdStory. And with this new name and identity comes the final separation of our two organisations so that each of us can flourish in a rapidly changing world. While we look forward to the continued flow of learning, people, methods & tools between our teams; these changes are significant and meaningful.

These changes mean both organisations will be more deeply connected to each place and each community where they work. And both organisations will be better able to grow their work with places and communities in ways that remain true to who they are, where they are and the needs they are trying to meet. 

We celebrate the chapters we authored together, and we now look forward to creating new and different stories of social and environmental impact, equity and systems change. There is still much work to do. 

Matthew Horne, Joint Chief Executive, Innovation Unit 

Keren Caple, Chief Executive, ThirdStory

 

ThirdStory’s new website launches on 24th March and can be found at www.thirdstory.org. You can also find them on X, LinkedIn and Instagram