Community violence intervention (CVI) uses community-centered initiatives to reduce violence. It establishes relationships between individuals and community assets to deliver services that save lives, address trauma, provide opportunity, and improve the physical, social, and economic conditions that drive violence. Since 2017, Civic Consulting Alliance has invested in work with clients that catalyze CVI efforts across sectors.

Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson only had six weeks to set his new administration up to effectively govern 2.7 million Chicagoans. With the help of more than 19 partners and approximately 50 members of our staff and our partners’ staff, we provided $2.8 million in pro bono services to support Mayor-elect Johnson as he prepared to take the helm of the City at a time of great challenges and change.

When you think of "impact," it’s easy to focus only on long-term projects with multi-million dollar investments and massive infrastructure overhauls. But often, lasting change starts small.

In our 2023 Impact Report, some of our proudest moments came from targeted, fast-moving projects. We’re talking about the crucial workshops, the streamlined toolkits, and the strategy sessions that flew under the radar but went on to unlock historic funding, reopen neighborhood pools, and welcome hundreds of arriving families.

Here is a look at the "small" projects that made a massive footprint across our region in 2023.

Challenge: The public sector alone cannot address the interconnected root causes of violence. The business community has a significant stake in making the region a safe place to live, work and do business, but has largely been missing from the conversation. In fall 2022, the Civic Committee convened the Public Safety Task Force to identify strategies for the business community to contribute to improving public safety in Chicago.

Action: Alongside pro bono partner BCG, Civic Consulting Alliance supported the design, launch, and initial work for the Task Force. This included engaging in a seven-month fact-finding process that included interviews with numerous elected officials, community organizations, academic experts, philanthropy, and law enforcement. With pro bono support from Lantern Partners, we also facilitated the recruitment of the Civic Committee’s first Vice President for Public Safety, a new position that provides strategic leadership and daily management for the organization’s public safety agenda and initiatives.

Result: In June, the Civic Committee publicly announced five commitments that it believes will organize the business community to make the most significant contribution to address both short-term acute issues and long-term root causes of gun violence. Bob Boik, formerly of the Chicago Police Department, was hired as the Vice President for Public Safety to carry out the implementation of the Task Force’s initiatives. Since this announcement, the Civic Committee’s public safety strategy has been received positively. For example, the Chicago Tribune editorial, “Curbing violent crime is an all-hands-on-deck task. That must include corporate Chicago” is complimentary of the work that Civic Consulting Alliance completed, stating, “There’s good reason to feel optimistic about the Civic Committee’s new mission. To begin with, the group’s game plan makes sense.”

Partners: BCG, Lantern Partners

An influx of capital and recovery funding provides an opportunity for municipalities to make critical investments in their infrastructures. However, small governments often lack the capacity and capital planning expertise needed to access or invest these funds. Since 2021, Civic Consulting Alliance and our pro bono partners supported Cook County to strategize and implement a new “Build Up Cook” program.