Great Ideas often
just need a spark
The unique Civic Consulting Alliance model began with a request from Chicago Mayor Harold Washington in 1985.
Mayor Harold Washington asked the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago to evaluate the City’s fiscal health. More than 70 business leaders came together to study the budget, evaluate long-range financial prospects, and strengthen City’s bottom line through improved operations. But, as we often find, the City also needed help implementing those recommendations. A committee was established to continue to provide pro bono private-sector expertise to the City, and began to take on additional projects to address the broader challenges of governmental and municipal management. In 2005, that committee changed its name to Civic Consulting Alliance.
We serve as an invaluable component of our region’s civic infrastructure, and we aspire to remake systems to be more just, equitable, and resilient.
FY 24 projects by client
In all corners of the region, there are leaders with a vision and commitment to address the region’s challenges, however they often need collaborators and to achieve their vision. View our 2024 projects sorted by client.
Select a Client Type to See Relevant Projects
Our unique management consulting model
This wheel of consulting capabilities visualizes how we help clients, what our role is, and our unique position in Chicago’s civic infrastructure.
Our success is rooted in the trusted relationships that we build with the region’s government, nonprofit, and philanthropic leaders. The middle ring represents the types of projects where Civic Consulting Alliance most commonly provides value, spanning organizational design, strategy development, implementation planning and management, and process design and improvement. The outer ring illustrates the skills and expertise that we bring to our work, supplemented by our partner network, which provides project-based pro bono support to get big things done for our region.
FY 24 Projects by consulting capability
We provide consulting services that span the life cycle of an initiative or program. A specific client project may begin anywhere in this cycle and may include one or multiple stages.
Select a Capability to See Relevant Projects
Total Investments
$19M partner contributed services + $4M staff services
= $23M invested in getting big things done for Chicago
Note: Fiscal Year 2024, July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024