The federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law, providing nearly $2 billion to the City of Chicago and $1 billion to Cook County in direct, flexible funding to combat the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our region—in addition to billions more in direct funding for specific uses, plus potentially billions via competitive funding streams.
Read MoreCivic Consulting Alliance partnered with BCG and pro bono partners Mayer Brown and EY to support the City to develop frameworks to guide the investment of ARPA funds. This framework and accompanying research were key inputs to the City’s 2022 budget and its Chicago Recovery Plan. At the same time, we collaborated with Cook County, its contractor, and our pro bono partner Slalom on a comprehensive process to identify, review, and prioritize initiatives that would receive ARPA funding. This work informed the County’s 2022 budget and its Roadmap to Recovery.
Read MoreCivic Consulting Alliance developed the organizational design for a central program management office (PMO) at the Mayor’s Office to guide the implementation of the Chicago Recovery Plan initiatives. This included outlining key milestones for 2022 and developing materials to onboard new City PMO staff. With pro bono support from Slalom, we supported integrating data systems to streamline reporting and track spending. In parallel to this effort, Cook County worked with its contractor to build and launch a PMO to guide the implementation of its Roadmap to Recovery priorities.
Read MoreEquipped with strategic roadmaps to guide their efforts, the City and the County focused on implementing their priority recovery initiatives. We supported the City by providing capacity for the Project Management Office structure and advancing the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) commercial corridor initiative. For the County, we helped better define their vision for transformative place-based investments using ARPA funds.
Read MoreWe supported the Mayor’s Office in creating and launching a structure to centrally coordinate federal grant applications across City departments and agencies. Effective coordination is necessary to pursue the unprecedented competitive federal funding opportunities via ARPA and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
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