Join the InKind Consulting Program for 2017-2018

Calling all UIC Liautaud students! Are you looking to strengthen your resume and give back to the community at the same time? Are you interested in helping local Chicago organizations streamline their finances, create a new marketing strategy, or even improve their network security?

What is inKind?

InKind Consulting is a student-led, pro-bono consulting program created by the MBA Association and Net Impact student organizations from the UIC Liautaud Graduate Business School.  The InKind program matches teams of students with area nonprofit organizations & businesses to address organizational challenges, research complex questions, or propose growth strategies. Through InKind, LGSB students volunteer their time and expertise to strengthen Chicago’s non-profit & business community.

InKind student consulting groups form in early fall and are paired with participating organizations, who come to InKind for consulting on a wide variety of problems. Student consulting groups work with their partner organizations over a five-month timeline, with the goal of presenting their recommendations in February 2018 to an audience of consulting professionals, nonprofit professionals, Liautaud faculty, and fellow UIC Business students.

Why join the InKind Consulting program?

• Gain real-world consulting experience working with clients
• Showcase your skills and work in front of consulting professionals
• Apply your UIC coursework and experience to solve problems
• Earn 1 credit hour towards your degree
• Give back to the Chicago community by helping area nonprofits, charities, startups and businesses

We are looking for students interested in developing consulting experience in the following areas:

Event planning

Assisting organizations with planning community service or fundraising events. Providing assistance with idea creation or implementation.

Organizational Strategy

Developing strategies that will deliver results and drive growth. Product extensions, company relocations, expansions, or other growth plans. You will analyze the current situation and determine the feasibility of plans.

Marketing

Marketing strategy plans, social, print, and display media marketing campaigns.

Market Research & Data Analytics

Survey design, qualitative research, quantitative research, consumer behavior research, target market research. Using Data Mining to help clients improve operational effectiveness and efficiency through innovative uses of data and analytics.

IT Services

IT Strategy: Determining the relationship between growth strategies and technological capabilities.

IT Performance Improvement: Underperforming IT can hinder an organization and kill performance. Recommending IT strategy plans that will help reduce costs and improve efficiency and capabilities.

Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility

Identifying opportunities to make sustainability a core value proposition and add value to organizations. Providing strategies that can be used in Operations, Supply Chain Management, Management, and other fields to strengthen an organization and its individuals.

Sample past clients and partners:

• The Night Ministry
• UIC College of Dentistry
• Illinois Manufacturing Foundation
• Care for Real
• Ryan Banks Academy
• Community Media Workshop

Program structure

1. Consulting teams

You and 3 – 5 other consultants will work with one of our clients to solve a problem they have. The team project will last for about 5 months and will require at least 3 hours a week to be completed successfully. You must attend the InKind training event (time and date TBD). At this event, you will choose which client you want to work with and teams will form.

1. Consulting round-table

If you do not have time to work with a team, you can become one of our round-table consultants. Throughout the Fall and Spring semesters, we will have clients come in, present their problems and you will suggest plans of action in real-time. Some clients will come in and pitch new product ideas and this round-table will act as a focus group. There is no future commitment but a team can be formed afterward to further work with the client.

Student membership:

Any UIC Liautaud student can apply to join InKind. MIS, MSA, MSF, MSBA, and MBA students are all encouraged to apply. Our projects are diverse, as should be the skills of our team members.  This year, the InKind program has the option to be used as an elective course, which will be assigned a letter grade and one credit hour.

Students must complete and submit an application by 5 p.m. on Monday, September 4.

2017 InKind Consultant Application [ Link: https://goo.gl/forms/U8IRa9e4AkuTgc2Y2 ]

Chicago area nonprofits, charities, startups, and small to medium-sized businesses:

If you work for a Chicago area organization or business and are interested in utilizing our services, please fill out this form: 2017 InKind Consulting Application [ Link: https://goo.gl/forms/sau1Fnqpq4N4kFGT2 ]

For more information, please contact James Awuah, Program Director, at jawuah2@uic.edu.