Consulting Services
Packages / Pricing
My practice is focused on helping build your capacity: I want you to feel confident that you are looking at the right data, asking the right questions at the right time, connecting the dots between your everyday tasks and the big picture, and know how to learn over time.
At a minimum, the full package will take four weeks plus monthly half-days for 6 months. For those communities that have many stages to progress through, you can keep me on retainer until you feel ready to move on.
(minimum $10,000)
Anyone can take the quiz on the next page and read the descriptions of what constitutes good practice, so an assessment of needs is for organizations who either are at a very early stage of data usage or are struggling to see the possibility of change. I hope that organizations can look at their current practice and understand whether they have a content issue (they’re not looking at or generating the right data), whether they have an interpretation issue (data is out there, but it’s not being incorporated into workflows), or whether they have a management issue (data and interpretation are there, but it’s not being used effectively when decisions are made). This is intended to give organizations an initial roadmap to experiment with.
Assessment of Needs
(minimum $10,000)
This is for organizations who want suggestions on how to fine-tune the connections between their own economic narrative and the issues at the state, national, or international levels. I have reviewed and commented on macroeconomic forecasts for over 100 countries, and I have a lot of experience in suggesting how organizations can better explain what is possible (in their control) or systemic (and how they fit in). This review will be most useful if the organization has taken the quiz and has already implemented most of the recommended practices.
Peer Review of Economic Narrative
(minimum $20,000, only available as add-on)
For organizations that are struggling with how to develop or use their economic narrative, this is an intensive dive into how to write it, build a schedule for updates, and coaching how to use when interacting with the public. Organizations typically know exactly what their tradeoffs are, but struggle with how to manage political sensitivities to be as frank as needed. If an organization is ready to tackle this and deal with the fallout, you can change how your community interacts. This requires a significant amount of management and staff time, as well as approval from governing boards.
Developing and Using Economic Narratives
(minimum $30,000)
The full package includes the assessment of needs, a peer review of the existing economic narrative or development of one, and a change management plan. The change management plan would likely include how to train or recruit staff to fulfill new functions, how to modify reporting structures and processes, and preparing to interact with interested parties with the economic narrative in mind. This is a minimum of two weeks of intensive work with management and staff, plus five months of ongoing support via executive coaching.
Full Package
(minimum $2,000 per month, only available after full package)
This is for top levels of management who want extra support as they manage the process of training and recruiting staff, as well as interacting with the public and their boards. Ideally there would be a set time to check in every month, but this can include up to eight hours of ad hoc support.
Executive Coaching
Fees are charged on a sliding scale depending on the complexity of work, benchmarked against the total compensation of your community's top executive (i.e. city manager or county administrator). While minimum prices are listed above, more complex organizations will be charged higher fees. Other services may be available on request.