About The Threshold Institute

Our Purpose

The Threshold Institute exists to find, strengthen and prepare public-benefit innovations that can materially improve life for current and future generations. We work in the spaces where impact matters most — energy, water, waste, transport and medicine — and bring clarity, evaluation and stewardship to early-stage ideas that deserve a path to scale.

We do not aim to commercialise every breakthrough ourselves. Instead, we take innovations to the threshold: the point where trusted partners — foundations, philanthropists, governments, investors and delivery organisations — can take them forward into the world.

Our mission is simple:
To identify what could change lives, prepare it with rigour, and connect it with the right people at the right time.

Why “The Threshold”?

In innovation, there is a difficult middle ground between early promise and widespread benefit. This is where many public-good ideas stall, never reaching the people who need them most.

The Threshold Institute stands in the middle of that bridge. Our role is to:

  • bring promising projects into view,

  • evaluate them with independence and evidence,

  • strengthen their pathways, partnerships and governance, and

  • prepare them for the organisations capable of scaling them.

We don’t take ownership.
We don’t seek control.
We steward. We prepare. We deliver clarity.

Who We Serve

Innovators

People and teams working on high-potential solutions who need structure, evaluation, support and a credible pathway to partners.

Philanthropists & Donors

Those who wish to support impactful, ready-for-scale technologies but need confidence, transparency and independent assessment.

Foundations, Governments & Grant Makers

Institutions seeking well-prepared, de-risked projects aligned with their mission areas.

Communities & Future Generations

The beneficiaries of resilient infrastructure, clean technologies, medical innovations and better systems of stewardship.

Our Founder

Steve Hastings
Founder, Chair and Executive Steward

Steve brings over 20 years of experience in evaluating and commercialising early-stage technologies across clean energy, advanced water systems, waste innovation, next-generation transport and medical technologies. He has worked with start-ups, research organisations, public–private collaborations and international partners.

Throughout his career, Steve observed the same pattern:
brilliant ideas often stall at the threshold — too early for investors, too complex for bureaucracy, too valuable to abandon.

He created The Threshold Institute to change that.

Steve’s work over decades has focused on bridging the gap between innovation and reality, championing ideas that serve people and planet, and mentoring innovators, analysts and future leaders.

Our Stewards and Advisers

Surrounding the board is a growing circle of innovators, scientists, engineers, educators, investors and systems thinkers — each bringing decades of lived experience in their field.

Advisers and stewards contribute their expertise to ensure that each project we support is grounded, ethical, feasible, and capable of real-world adoption.

As our Australian charity status and DGR endorsement progress, profiles and governance structures will be published for transparency and public trust.

Our Approach

The Elevator

At the Threshold Institute, we use a preparation model called The Elevator.

Innovators enter at the ground floor with a technology, from concept to part of the way to reality. As the Elevator rises, the Institute evaluates the project’s feasibility, evidence, governance, risks, impact potential and pathways. When the doors open at the threshold, the innovation is structured, clear and ready for decision-makers — a direct lift from concept to credibility, and from potential to partnership.

1. Identify

We search for public-benefit innovations with measurable potential to improve lives and futures.

2. Evaluate

We apply structured frameworks that examine:

  • impact

  • feasibility

  • governance

  • ethical considerations

  • resilience

  • partnerships

  • implementation pathways

3. Prepare

We help innovators strengthen their models, refine evidence, clarify narratives and build the relationships necessary for success.

4. Bring to the Threshold

We present fully prepared innovations to aligned partners and funders — remaining involved as stewards rather than controllers.

Our Values

Independence
We are not tied to any commercial, political or religious interests.

Evidence & Integrity
We hold projects to high standards of proof, transparency and accountability.

Stewardship
We serve both present and future generations, safeguarding impact beyond any one person or team.

Collaboration
We work across disciplines, cultures and sectors with respect and openness.

Long-term Thinking
We focus on the decades, not the quarters. Our horizon is multigenerational.

Our Status

The Threshold Institute is currently progressing through the Australian charity registration process with the ACNC and preparing its application for Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) endorsement with the ATO.

We maintain full transparency with early supporters as these milestones advance over the coming months.

Let’s Talk

If you're exploring how to:

  • Contribute your expertise,

  • Join as a director, steward or adviser,

  • Support innovations that serve people and planet,

  • Collaborate on grants or philanthropic pathways, or

  • Bring a promising project into a structured evaluation process,

We invite a conversation.

Simply reach out through our contact form or write:

“Steve, I’d love a 30-minute introductory chat.”