You know something isn't working.
You're not yet sure what it is.
That's exactly where to start.

Strategy and management advisory for social enterprises, not-for-profits, government and purpose-driven business, based in Sydney. We help you pin down the real problem before you spend money solving the wrong one.

Help me understand my problem See how to start and what it costs

Free, 45 minutes, no obligation.

Nearly a decade in Dutch central government and public sector consulting Method developed and applied since 2018 You work with the person you meet

Knowing there's a problem and leaving it is not free.

Every month a program runs on the wrong assumption, it uses budget that could have gone somewhere it works. Grant applications get written around a problem nobody has checked. Teams stay busy with solutions that treat the symptom. The cost rarely shows up as one big number. It shows up as another year of effort that didn't move what you care about.

Getting the problem right first is the cheapest part of the work — and the part most often skipped.

Most advisors start with the answer.
We start with the problem.

If you want to make a social impact, you are likely facing strategic questions that don't come with a template: profit or impact, delivering on grants, engaging stakeholders, regulation and policy that keep shifting. You need an advisor who understands your context and your objective.

Whether you face a societal challenge that needs a durable solution, a strategy that needs a new direction, stakeholders who need to be brought along, or a capability gap holding back your impact, the work starts with your problem and ends with a clear direction you can act on. Grounded in direct experience in the public sector, built around a rigorous method, and delivered by the person you meet, every time.

Social enterprises & impact ventures  ·  Not-for-profits & charities  ·  Federal, state & local government  ·  Philanthropy

Where this usually shows up

The stuck problem

A long-standing issue has had several reasonable attempts, and none of them moved it. Usually because the assumptions underneath were never examined.

The untested assumption

The strategy rests on premises about funding, stakeholders, capacity or politics. They feel logical, but nobody has checked them against evidence.

The imported solution

A program that worked elsewhere is applied here, on the assumption that a similar problem needs the same remedy. When it fails, the reason stays invisible.

Who this is for. Social enterprises and impact ventures, not-for-profits and advocacy organisations, government agencies and philanthropic funders, as well as for-profit organisations working to increase their social impact. What they have in common is not size or sector, but the nature of their problems: complex, multi-stakeholder, and shaped by received wisdom that itself needs questioning.

How the work goes

TKD advisory starts with the problem, not the framework. Before any solution is on the table, the work separates what is genuinely true about the situation from what is simply familiar.

  1. 01

    Question the framing

    Examine what is being assumed about the problem, by whom, and why.

  2. 02

    Test against evidence

    Gather evidence that tests the current approach, rather than evidence that supports a solution already chosen.

  3. 03

    Build from what is true

    Only then design the solution, from what holds up rather than from what worked elsewhere.

One method, one lens, one measure

How the three fit together →
Tom Kortenbach-Dijkstra

The person you meet is the person who does the work

Tom Kortenbach-Dijkstra founded TKD advisory after nearly a decade inside Dutch central government and public sector consulting: as policy advisor at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, strategic advisor to the Director-General of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, and senior advisor at Berenschot. In 2018 he co-founded the Factory for Innovative Policy Solutions, built around First Principles Thinking. In 2026 he moved to Sydney.

An outsider can ask the questions that stopped being asked years ago. Combined with experience where government decisions are actually made, that is what TKD advisory is built on.

Read the full story →
01

Strategy & Innovation

You've outgrown the plan, but not the mission.

TKD advisory investigates the current direction, defines the problem underneath it, and turns the findings into a direction your leadership can act on.

How this works →
02

Organisational operations

The way your organisation works has started getting in the way of what it is for.

TKD advisory looks at how your organisation is governed, how it shows its impact and how decisions get made, so that the way you work serves your mission and strategy to the fullest.

How this works →
03

Capability Building

Your team doesn't need another plan. It needs a different way of working.

Through workshops, facilitation and training, TKD advisory supports your team in reaching its full potential.

How this works →

Not sure which of these it is?

Help me understand my problem or call +61 475 923 987

Three ways to start

Each step is useful on its own. None of them commits you to the next.

Conversation

Free

You sense a problem but can't name it yet.

Time
45 minutes
You leave with
A clearer view of what is going on, and whether it is worth taking further
Help me understand my problem

Scoping Review

$6,000–12,000

You need the real problem defined before committing budget.

Time
3–4 weeks
You leave with
Written findings and advice on next steps, with or without TKD advisory

50% is credited to a follow-on engagement that starts within three months — while the problem definition still holds.

More on the Scoping Review

First Principles Thinking Workshop

$9,500

Your team needs a shared way to approach problems.

Time
One day, up to ten people
You leave with
A worked-through case of your own, a method to reuse, and a shared language for the problem
More on the workshop

All prices in AUD, exclusive of GST. Impact frameworks and Advisory Hours are scoped individually — see all services.

Insights on problem-solving, for more social impact

Alongside advisory work, TKD advisory publishes working papers and articles on strategy, innovation and social impact.

All insights, and new articles by email →

Giving back to the cause – empowering the problem solvers of tomorrow

It is TKD advisory's mission to enable people to solve the societal challenges they care about. Purpose-driven people are often closer to the solution than they realise — they just need the right thinking method to arrive at it. Alongside advisory work, TKD advisory puts part of its capacity directly back into the sector — through free First Principles Thinking seminars and pro bono advisory hours for purpose-driven organisations that need support but can't yet afford it.

See TKD advisory's social return →

Common questions

The questions organisations ask most often before a first conversation.

We are not sure what kind of help we need. Where do we start?

With the free first conversation, or with a Scoping Review if the problem needs proper definition before you commit budget. Choosing a service before the problem is defined is the most common, and most expensive, mistake in advisory work.

What happens in a First Principles Thinking workshop?

Your team spends a full day on a real problem of its own, not a case study. It learns to question the assumptions in how the problem was framed, redefine it from the ground up, and develop solutions from what is actually true. The day produces both a capability and a result.

Does TKD advisory carry out evaluations?

TKD advisory designs theories of change and outcomes frameworks, built to be used by your own team and to hold up with funders and boards. It does not carry out the evaluations itself, and can refer you to evaluators for that part.

What does an engagement cost?

The first conversation is free. The Scoping Review and the First Principles Thinking Workshop have fixed prices, shown under three ways to start. Larger engagements and Advisory Hours are scoped individually, because the right amount of work depends on the problem rather than on a standard package.

Do you work outside Sydney?

Yes. TKD advisory is based in Sydney and works with organisations across Australia and internationally. Workshops run on site; advisory work runs remotely or in person, depending on what the engagement needs.

More questions, and all services →
"We start by questioning the assumptions built into how you've framed the problem — because often, that's where the most important insight lives."

Tom Kortenbach-Dijkstra — Founder, TKD advisory

Help me understand my problem Free, 45 minutes, no obligation.