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WHAT WE DO

THe open RiveRs focus

THe open RiveRs focus

We offer a range of services to provide wrap around, holistic support for our clients. We aren’t tied to any one method, expertise, or way of working, and we look forward to identifying the best path forward with each individual client. We leverage the deep expertise in our communities to ensure that our clients are fully supported throughout their engagement with us.

We understand that the work is complex and our clients face dynamic, changing times. Our goal is always to work together to best meet those needs.

Our work is always driven by the problem, and we measure our impact through change.

Our engagements often are spread over a longer period of time to ensure we can fully implement the change in a sustainable way for our clients.

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consulting and implementation services tailored to client needs.

How we Work

Each engagement combines a variety of services, including:

  • Advising and Consulting

  • Diagnostic and data analysis

  • Problem shaping and structuring

  • Collaborating across stakeholders and facilitating discussions

  • Change management

  • Coaching, both individual and organizational

Open Rivers integrates several elements to shape and deliver an effort:

  • Problem definition and structuring  

  • Diagnostic and data analysis

  • Internal expertise and engaging external experts

  • Advice and consultation

  • Coaching and transformation

  • Recommendations and roadmap development

  • Roadmap and milestones implementation with targeted support

our Work
In Action

Through our work, we have facilitated information-sharing, fostered connectivity, and developed innovative solutions tailored to clients’ needs. Much of our work is proprietary due to the nature and relationships with our clients. However, we can share some of our public-facing work to provide a flavor of the work we undertake. In addition to the items below, we undertake strategic efforts focused on organizational change, product and market fit and a range of other tailored efforts.

See examples of our work below:

Select Case Studies

Featured
Building MBOLD: A Collaborative Vision for Food System Innovation
Building MBOLD: A Collaborative Vision for Food System Innovation

Open Rivers facilitated the early development and design MBOLD—a coalition uniting leaders from some of the world’s foremost food and agriculture companies, research institutions, and nonprofits to address critical challenges in the global food system. We worked closely with executives from major ag and food companies in Minnesota to build a collaborative platform that harnesses the state’s deep agricultural expertise and institutional strengths, including those of the University of Minnesota, to raise awareness and drive collective action.

Empowering wildlife health professionals with leadership development, data-driven decision tools, and a model for organizational resilience grounded in mental well-being.
Empowering wildlife health professionals with leadership development, data-driven decision tools, and a model for organizational resilience grounded in mental well-being.

Open Rivers successfully partnered with wildlife health professionals at The Orangutan Veterinary Advisory Group (OVAG) to integrate mental health and leadership development into their core strategy, designing and delivering workshops and webinars that surfaced systemic challenges and built organizational capacity. We repositioned soft skills as critical infrastructure for resilience and influence, especially in high-burnout, mission-driven environments. 

Read More About Implementation →

Our second phase of the project focused on elevating data quality through the strategic design and rollout of a daily survey tool, equipping OVAG with consistent, high-integrity insights.

Laying the data backbone for a transparent and resilient global food system.
Laying the data backbone for a transparent and resilient global food system.

In collaboration with the World Bank, Open Rivers advanced the vision for a Global Food System Observatory by synthesizing agri-food data and identifying key opportunities for global-scale database architecture. Partnering with the data-driven agriculture team, we laid the foundation for a more integrated, transparent, and responsive global food data ecosystem.  

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Quantifying soil health to de-risk the future of farming.
Quantifying soil health to de-risk the future of farming.

We supported the development of a predictive model quantifying the risk-mitigating benefits of soil health practices, strengthening its credibility across scientific, technical, and policy audiences. As part of a cross-sector working group, we partnered with Land Core to work with stakeholders and identify ways to drive adoption of soil-focused resilience strategies.   

Unified data. Smarter ag.
Unified data. Smarter ag.

Open Rivers worked with FFAR to develop a strategy to identify and connect over 500 disparate sources of agricultural data to support the AgMission initiative. We led the data landscape scan assessing the current availability and interoperability of agriculture data. We identified 460+ organizations with relevant data and undertook a significant scan through a series of surveys, research and interviews. The landscape scan helps all of us in the community who utilize data and models to support farmers and ranchers adopt practices that are environmentally and financially viable.

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“The future depends on what we do in the present.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

Service & Volunteering

Service and volunteering are critical expressions of Open Rivers’ ethos. We engage with the community through various channels:

Our outreach efforts include our blogs, the Open Rivers Navigator podcast, talks, volunteer activities, and more. Open Rivers believes in the power of sharing and connecting. Learn more in our Insights section

outreach

Pro Bono &
Community Service

Pro bono and community service are core to our mission. Our pro bono services offers a range of support for U.S. and global nonprofit organizations that demonstrate alignment with mission and a need.

Scholarships

Our scholarship program supports women in STEM.

Careers

Additionally, Open Rivers has recruited and hired folks at all stages of their career including numerous internship opportunities. Learn more about our team and people ethos.