Shelby County Early Success Coalition

Memphis Fast Forward

JustCare Family Network System of Care

Education Policy and Finance Project for Tennessee and the
Tennessee Early Care and Education Quality and Access Project

LeMoyne Owen College Strategic Transformation Plan

Ready, Set, Grow! NAEYC Accreditation Facilitation Program at the University of Memphis

Mud Island Comprehensive Land Use Plan Public Engagement Process 2009

Center City Commission Strategic Plan for Downtown Memphis 2006 Public Engagement Process

City of Memphis Storm Water Citizen Engagement Initiative

Conenhill Inc. Market Viability Analysis & Business Plan Creation

FedEx Electronic Commerce Channel Development

MCI Affinity Marketing Channel Development

Microsoft Customer Relationship Management Proprietary Training System

Community Collaboratives and Public/Private Partnerships

Shelby County Early Success Coalition
Broad-based collaborative to improve the lives of families with young children in Shelby County, Tennessee. With the highest infant mortality rate in the country and very low kindergartner readiness, Shelby County needed a way for stakeholders to come together across sectors to boost local early childhood outcomes. In 2008, Consilience Group crafted a winning $2.5 million federal grant to fund this collaborative, and has since facilitated nearly 100 stakeholders from 65+ state and local agencies to launch a comprehensive community plan for positive early childhood development.

Memphis Fast Forward
Comprehensive economic growth plan for Shelby County. In 2006, local leaders came together to develop a community-wide plan to focus business, government, education, law enforcement, social service, faith-based and neighborhood leaders on boosting Memphis’ success through better jobs, safer streets, and an improved workforce. From the start of the process through present day, Consilience Group’s research, facilitation and strategy design supports most components of this sweeping plan. Early MFF results include a 34.5% drop in crime since 2007 and thousands of new local high-paying jobs.

JustCare Family Network System of Care
Ten-year public/private collaboration to transform the way children and families receive mental health services. In 2001, children’s mental health providers and public agencies came together to stem the tide of children coming into the juvenile justice or child welfare systems for no other reason than they needed mental health services. Since then, Consilience Group has convened hundreds of stakeholders for planning and policy change, taking the lead in writing a six-year, $9.5 million federal grant awarded in 2008 to implement a local evidence-based system of care. Consilience Group services now support a shared local governance partnership through 2014 that empowers parents and youth as leaders of their families and communities.

Strategic Planning—Policy, Organizational Development and Programs

Education Policy and Finance Project for Tennessee and the
Tennessee Early Care and Education Quality and Access Project, policy design processes
In partnership with University of Washington. In 2008, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen used K-12 policy recommendations from this process to bolster a successful campaign for reformation of the state’s K-12 funding formula to deliver more than $200 million new dollars for evidence-based strategies in Tennessee public schools.

LeMoyne Owen College Strategic Transformation Plan
Repositioning 160-year old urban Historically Black College (HBCU) for increased community impact. Consilience Group engaged more than 125 community stakeholders from higher education, business, K-12 education, social services and community development to facilitate a comprehensive plan to revitalize the college. Two-year results include 23% enrollment increase and $2.25 million in new grant funds for plan strategies.

Ready, Set, Grow! NAEYC Accreditation Facilitation Program at the University of Memphis
Consilience Group wrote the RSG business plan based on national best practices for assisting early childhood programs to achieve the highest quality standards in the country. On-going program evaluation and quality improvement support continues to present day. The program has achieved a 96% participant success rate; 300% growth of accredited early education centers serving disadvantaged children.

Public Engagement

Mud Island Comprehensive Land Use Plan Public Engagement Process 2009
As part of a team spearheaded by architectural firm Looney Ricks Kiss, Consilience Group designed and implemented a ten-month public engagement process to help guide the future development of Mud Island River Park. The process has successfully engaged nearly 1,000 survey participants, over 400 public meeting participants, and a range of individual stakeholder groups during the planning process.

Center City Commission Strategic Plan for Downtown Memphis 2006 Public Engagement Process
Consilience Group engaged over 75 local business leaders, elected officials, tourism stakeholders, and neighborhood leaders, as well as thousands of residents via on-line survey, to craft a five-year strategic plan for downtown development.

City of Memphis Storm Water Citizen Engagement Initiative
In 2005, Consilience Group was contracted by the City of Memphis to design and facilitate city-wide meetings and monthly citizen action group over six months. Process resulted in grant to support partnership between Lichterman Nature Center and inner city neighborhood associations to engage citizens in better environmental practices.

Business

Conenhill Inc. Market Viability Analysis & Business Plan Creation
As a result of our Market Viability Analysis, the client saw the commercial potential of a new biomedical device, and pursued the opportunity. We then created a full business plan, providing a blueprint for building and operating the business. Today, clinical trials of the device are progressing in multiple institutions.

FedEx Electronic Commerce Channel Development
Consilience Group assisted the client’s E-Commerce, Catalog, & Logistics Division in securing pilot customers for PowerPartner, its first e-commerce product. We supported the launch with a targeting and lead generation process to gain appointments with e-commerce executives; on-site consultation to define the sales process; sales materials touting FedEx's new image as an information company; and customized training to equip the sales force in securing pilot customers. The sales team exceeded its goals for acquiring beta customers for the new product.

MCI Affinity Marketing Channel Development
Consilience Group designed and implemented one of MCI’s most successful affinity marketing partner programs for business-to-business services, The S.M.A.R.T. Program for Direct Marketers. Direct marketing businesses who signed term contracts with MCI received special value-added services including sales/customer service training, consultation and marketing support to leverage the telephone in all sales and customer service interactions. In addition to providing sales support to MCI’s 2,000 field sales people, S.M.A.R.T. managed relationships with customer members and delivered the value-added services, ultimately generating nearly $800 Million in incremental revenue for MCI.

Microsoft Customer Relationship Management Proprietary Training System
Partnering with CRM expert Blatteis Communications and e-learning development specialists Integrated Performance Solutions, Inc., we are delivering a flexible web-based training system for MSCRM, Microsoft’s new mid-market CRM software. Our depth in sales, customer service, adult learning and instructional design rounds out an innovative team approach that designs training around end-user business processes rather than software features and functions. Training may be delivered as self-paced training, instructor-led web courses, or as a live on-site program. We are currently working on vertical customizations of the basic system.