NextWAVE Innovation

What We Do: Helping Leaders Navigate Complex Human Ecosystems

The Ecosystem Project

Our flagship consulting practice and book. A practical method for seeing and understanding complex systems and co-creating strategies that lead to real, lasting transformation.

Research & Strategic Planning

We bring a systems lens to research, strategy, and design. Drawing on decades of experience in innovation and UX design, we help leaders uncover insights, frame challenges, and build strategies that are fit-to-purpose in complex, adaptive environments.

Who We Work With: Leaders, Teams, and Organizations Facing Complex Challenges

This work is for people who are facing complexity that won’t respond to simple fixes.

You may find yourself here if you are:

Leaders and decision-makers – who are responsible for outcomes but don’t fully control the system shaping them, and know that conventional strategy, planning, or change tools are no longer enough.

Teams working across boundaries – who are expected to collaborate across organizations, sectors, or mandates- are running into misalignment, stalled progress, or unintended consequences.

Organizations operating in complex human systems – such as public sector agencies, foundations, higher education institutions, and mission-driven organizations, where success depends on many actors, incentives, and constraints working together.

Practitioners and advisors – who sense there is a deeper, systemic issue at play, but lack a shared way to see it, talk about it, or act on it without oversimplifying.

This work is especially useful when:

• Problems keep recurring despite good intentions and capable people

• Accountability exists, but authority is distributed

• Progress requires coordination, learning, and adaptation, not just execution

• The system itself needs to be understood before solutions can be designed

When This Work Is Not a Fit

This work may not be a good fit if:

You are looking for a quick fix or a predefined solution

Ecosystem illumination is not a plug-and-play framework or a set of best practices. It is a way of seeing and working with complexity that takes time, care, and attention.

You already know what the answer is and want validation

If the primary goal is to confirm an existing plan or decision, this work will likely feel uncomfortable. It is designed to surface what is actually shaping outcomes, not to reinforce preferred narratives.

The challenge is primarily technical or operational

When problems are well-bounded and can be solved through optimization, process improvement, or execution discipline, simpler approaches are often more effective.

There is no appetite for learning or adaptation

This work assumes a willingness to pause, reflect, and adjust as new insights emerge. If learning is seen as a risk rather than a necessity, the conditions are not yet right.

A note on readiness

Many people come to this work not because they want to, but because the system they are in has stopped responding to familiar tools. If you are unsure whether this is the right fit, that uncertainty itself is often a useful starting point.

Why it Matters

Most leaders face challenges that feel overwhelming. Plans stall, pilots fizzle, and problems keep coming back. That’s because complexity doesn’t yield to simple fixes.

Whether you’re leading a transformation, aligning diverse stakeholders, or designing strategy in a shifting environment, the real work begins with clarity.

At NextWAVE, we bring that clarity through systems innovation, research, and strategic planning. We help leaders see the whole system—so they can act with confidence and create meaningful, lasting change.