Municipal Public Sector

Since its formation in 1987, Ancora has been a partner and collaborator for many of public sector institutions in Chicago and Cook County. During its first year of incorporation, Ancora designed and led the Financial Research Advisory Committee on behalf of the Mayor of Chicago. Now known as the Civic Consulting Alliance, this public-private consulting partnership has been named one of the “Top 25 Innovations in Government” by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Ancora was also instrumental in developing and positioning World Business Chicago as the City’s chief economic development vehicle.  Ancora’s founder, Clare Muñana, also spent 11 years serving as Vice-President of the Chicago Board of Education, helping to inform strategy and direction for this district of 650+ schools and 400,000 students. Ancora has also provided expertise around transportation systems to the cities of Chicago, Paris and Madrid. We have helped our clients:

• Create a new model for a city agency that forms and deploys pro-bono public-private consulting teams to address municipal challenges.
• Build an independent economic development agency to coordinate business retention, attraction and expansion efforts for a city and county region.
• Accelerate the pace of education reform in United States’ third-largest public school district, leading to dramatic gains in student performance and steady reductions in the drop-out rate.
• Develop a 5-year strategic plan for economic expansion and increased competitiveness for a metropolitan region of more than one million residents.

Expanded Educational and Reentry Opportunities for a Local Law Enforcement Agency

The Cook County Department of Corrections (CCDOC) is one of the largest single-site pre-detention facilities in the country. Nationally and locally, efforts are underway to explore avenues to lower recidivism and streamline reentry.

Ancora Associates co -leads the Justice System Restart Initiative (JSRI) to address these issues. The team ‘s goal is to increase opportunities for justice involved youth/young adults to access the necessary education, job skills training and social service supports to facilitate easier reentry, to function well in mainstream communities and to lower recidivism. The JSRI works to identify credible avenues for offenders to reduce or avoid incarceration, to earn a high school diploma, develop employable skills, and secure employment upon release.

Identify Opportunities to Lower Recidivism for a Federal Law Enforcement Agency

National studies have shown that increased educational and job training opportunities better position incarcerated individuals for reentry into society and substantially lower recidivism. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has adopted a well – conceived and constructed set of Mission, Vision, and Core Ideologies.

Ancora Associates served on the team tasked with exploring and identifying opportunities to operationalize and expand BOP’s mission. The team performed a comprehensive review of educational, vocational, social/emotional and reentry programs, and presented a plan that could allow the BOP to become even more fully committed to meaningful educational and occupational attainment as a core mission deliverable.

Organizational Development for a Prospective STEM Boarding High School

A Midwestern state has a unique opportunity to add to its educational land scape in a strong and meaningful way by opening an innovative residential high school, the first of its kind in the State. A former university campus is being re-imagined as a selective Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) boarding and day academy. The envisioned STEM academy will also have a strong economic development focus Because of its blended un1vers1ty ) and career orientation , students will develop skills and critical thinking that match the needs of the area’ s technologically advanced employers

Ancora Associates teams with Prager Company to assist in developing the strategic plan for what is envisioned as a premiere living-learning STEM academy and a model for the nation.

World Business Chicago (on behalf of Mayor of Chicago)

Designed, developed and implemented a new Economic Development organization, World Business Chicago (WBC), at the request of the Mayor of Chicago. Built a fully integrated city entity to coordinate business retention, attraction and expansion efforts to spur and accelerate economic growth. Managed launch and initial projects before identifying long-term CEO and team.

Long-Range Strategic Plan for Major Natural History Museum

Changing generations and expectations place shifting demands on iconic cultural institutions. In Chicago, the Field Museum of Natural History was formed during the 1893 Columbian Exposition World’s Fair, and for more than a century has served as a world- class research center for biology, archeology and anthropology. With over 21 million specimens, many dating back to 1893, the Field Museum has one of the most robust Natural History collections in the world.

By 1999, however, the Field Museum faced the challenge of reinventing itself for a 21st century audience. Needing to shift from a Cabinet of Curiosity model to a fully integrated, multidisciplinary and multisensory museum experience, the Field Museum engaged Ancora Associates to lead a comprehensive strategic plan designed to generate a 10-year roadmap.

Tasked with addressing declining audiences and outdated exhibition s, Ancora led a comprehensive review of departments, staff, operations and finance s and engaged Board Members and senior staff in a series of conversations around the findings. The 10-year strategic plan that emerged from this robust and collaborative process addressed collections management, capital expansion, and holistic visitor experience. The revitalization paid off, as by 2006 the Field Museum was Chicago’s top tourist attraction, and one of America ‘s 10 most visited museums.

Governance and Oversight/Major Public School District

Between 1999 and 2011, Ancora’s President, Clare Muñana, served by Mayoral appointment as Vice President of the Chicago Board of Education. During this time, several Ancora consultants dedicated extensive pro-bona support to projects creating efficiencies and improvements in the nation’s 3rd largest urban school district.

The seven members of the Chicago Board of Education set strategic direct ion and provide financial oversight for the public school district of Chicago, which is comprised of more than 650 schools serving 400,000 students. Chicago is recognized across the USA as a leader in education reform and a pioneer in aggressively working to improve outcomes for all students.

In 1999, Mayor Richard Daley appointed Clare Muñana, President of Ancora Associates, to the Board of Education. Her colleagues subsequently elected her to three terms as Vice President. In this capacity, Clare worked closely with Paul Vallas during his tenure as CEO of Chicago Public Schools, and with Arne Duncan who also served as CEO prior to becoming Secretary of Education in President Obama’s cabinet.

During the 11 years that Clare served on the Board of Education, several Ancora consultants were tasked either part -time or full-time to the Chicago Public Schools on a pro-bono basis. These consultants, along with Clare, led and participated in system wide projects to improve the quality of education in schools, and the administrative and financial efficiency of the district. Key projects included: retrofitting of school buildings to provide internet access and initial integration of technology into district classrooms; redesigning world language offerings to reinforce English Language Learner supports which led to the creation of a dual-language model for Elementary Schools; and analysis of annual proposed district interventions in failing schools.

Creation and Management of Civic Consulting Organization

Formed in 1987, the Financial Research and Advisory Council – now called the Civic Consulting Alliance – was recognized by Harvard’s Kennedy School as a Top 25 Innovation in Government in 2010.

Ms Muñana launched a not-for-profit, public-private partnership in Chicago, now known as the Civic Consulting Alliance, to address the City ‘s most vexing problem s. Emphasis was on the delivery of private sector solutions to government’s financial and management problems. Under her direction, this groundbreaking entity and its more than 60 loaned executives from Chicago corporations and foundations, partnered with Chicago’s Mayor and Cabinet on matters ranging from departmental re-engineering and facilities management, to procurement and purchasing, to privatization. After two decades, the Civic Consulting Alliance remains the City of Chicago’s most trusted and cost-effective partner and a public – private model for cities worldwide.