About

Brian Banks

Our focus is on improved outcomes for low-moderate income communities employment, public education, business enterprise development, community organizing, and collaboration building. We design and implement action research projects based on client needs. We engage in organizational and situational analysis with our clients prior to helping them do strategic planning and select from among a range of strategic directions. We assemble and manage consulting teams based on project and client needs. Clients have included the University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicagoland Youth and Adult Training Center, New City Ministers’ Coalition, United States Department of Labor, Creating Opportunities in Illinois Construction Industry Taskforce, University of Chicago and Ford Motor Company.

Education: Harvard University, Bachelor of Arts, Government, 1978

Specialties

BAC Partners (BACP) provides research-based strategy consulting, grants writing and development, and technical assistance to community-based and faith-based organizations interested in education, economic development and jobs creation. BACP helps these organizations develop collaborative partnerships with universities, government, business and philanthropic organizations. Competencies include community organizing, strategy consulting, grants writing, participatory evaluation, action research, organizational assessment, board and volunteer training, program development, meeting facilitation, media relations and business systems planning.

Selected Research

Mayfield, Loomis; Maureen Hellwig and Brian Banks,  “The Chicago Response To Urban Problems: Building University/Community Collaborations” American Behavioral Scientist, v42 n5 p863-75 Feb 1999

Wilson, Jose and Brian Banks, “Chicagoland Youth and Adult Training Center:  Building Strong Relationships Between Faith-Based Organizations, Government and Corporations to Transform Low-Income Communities Evaluation of a faith-based workforce development startup”, February, 2004  (http://comm-org.utoledo.edu/papers2004/wilson.htm)

Todd Swanstrom and Brian Banks, “Going Regional: Community-Based Regionalism, Transportation, and Local Hiring Agreements” Journal of Planning Education and Research, March 2009; 28: 355 – 367

B Banks, M Hellwig, D MacLaren

Opportunities in Manufacturing: A Future for Our Region and Its Workers

Lauri Alpern, Jerome Burstein, Jane Karadbil, Joni Lee, Cheryl Bardoe, Nick Cutforth, Don Hellison, Richard S Kordesh, Loomis Mayfield, Maureen Hellwig, Brian Banks, Edgar Lucas; “Home| About UICNI| Partnerships| Resources| News| Events| Search”

Publication date 2000 Journal Metropolitan Universities