Lura Consulting

What Lura Consulting does

Lura Consulting is a Toronto-headquartered community engagement and public participation consulting firm, originally established in 1974 as Land Use Research Associates by Sally Leppard. The firm designs and delivers participatory processes for government agencies, municipalities, and select private sector clients across Ontario and Canada, with particular depth in urban planning, infrastructure, housing, climate and sustainability, transportation, parks and public spaces, and Indigenous consultation. Service modules span engagement strategy, community outreach, strategic thinking/process design, and facilitation, applied across sector-specific practice areas; notable engagement outcomes include Our Future Hamilton (54,000+ residents), BudgetTO 2025 (~13,077 participants), Oshawa Strategic Plan (6,900+ participants), and HousingTO (~6,000 Torontonians). Differentiators center on four decades of brand recognition, IAP2-certified facilitators, Canadian Certified Inclusion Professionals, and specialized Indigenous engagement protocols rather than proprietary technology.

Operationally, Lura is a professional services firm rather than a software or platform business. The firm maintains offices in Toronto (192 Spadina Ave, Suite 424) and Hamilton (614 Concession St) and fields a team of approximately 14 listed professionals including four partners — Jamie McHardy (CFO and Partner), Michelle Dagnino, Susan Hall, and Liz McHardy — plus senior associates, project managers, community engagement specialists, and a community engagement and graphics specialist. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting fees negotiated directly with clients; no public pricing or revenue figures are disclosed. Customer logos include the City of Toronto, Waterfront Toronto (client since 2002), Ontario Energy Board (Vendor of Record since 2012), City of Hamilton, City of Oshawa, City of Guelph, Metrolinx, Infrastructure Ontario, Region of Peel, York Region, Oxford Properties, First Gulf, Dufferin Construction, and St. Lawrence College.

The firm has completed over 1,000 projects at local, regional, provincial, federal, and occasionally international levels, and pairs with a stable partner ecosystem — including the MinoKamik Collective, Indigenous Advisory Circles, DTAH, ICLEI Canada, Garforth International, Steer, Matrix Solutions, Aquafor Beech, Public Progress, and Forum Research — that extends capacity on multidisciplinary mandates. Lura operates as an independent, privately held partnership with no external investment, funding rounds, or parent company; current leadership and the partner group retain founder-era governance.

Name

Lura Consulting

Legal name

Land Use Research Associates Inc.

Website

https://lura.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lura Consulting is a Toronto-based community engagement and public participation consulting firm founded in 1974 that designs and delivers participatory processes, strategic planning, and sustainability engagement for Ontario municipalities, provincial agencies, and select private sector clients across Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Sector & Policy Consulting (BPAHACAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Regional & Land Use Planning (BPAHAKAE)

Keywords

• Community engagement consulting
• Public participation services
• Stakeholder facilitation
• Strategic planning consulting
• Public consultation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: LURA generates revenue through project-based consulting engagements with government agencies, municipalities, and private sector clients. Engagements typically involve facilitation, community consultation, strategic planning, and engagement process design services. Revenue is earned through professional service fees for these engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Lura Consulting designs and delivers participatory planning and community engagement processes that inform public and private sector decision-making. Its work includes engagement strategy development, stakeholder and public facilitation, community outreach, and strategic planning support for government agencies, municipalities, developers, and educational institutions across Ontario, Canada.

Product overview

LURA is a consulting firm (not a software product company) that offers professional services centered on community engagement and public participation. The core offering is Community Engagement Consulting Services, which encompasses engagement strategies, community outreach, strategic thinking, and process design/facilitation modules. These services are applied across sector-specific practice areas including Housing, Transportation, Climate/Energy/Sustainability, Parks & Public Spaces, Planning, Equity/Inclusion, Strategic Planning, Infrastructure & Development, and Construction Communications. The company operates as a services-based business delivering human-powered consultation rather than a technology platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 projects completed with government and private sector clients
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• MinoKamik CollectivecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024LURA partnered with MinoKamik Collective for the Port Lands Indigenous Place Naming Initiative. The collective includes Elders, Knowledge Keepers, language speakers, youth, and community members who ensured the naming process and park design reflected Indigenous traditions, cultural protocols, and natural history of the area.
• Matrix SolutionsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022LURA worked as part of a team led by Matrix Solutions on the City of Guelph Corporate Climate Adaptation Plan. Matrix led the overall project while LURA provided engagement and consultation expertise.
• Bruce Davis (Public Progress)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021LURA collaborated with Bruce Davis/Public Progress on City of Toronto's Modular Housing Initiative Phase 2 community liaison process, sharing facilitation responsibilities for community conversations around supportive housing sites.
• ICLEI CanadamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019LURA collaborated with ICLEI Canada on multiple climate planning projects including District of Muskoka's Community Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan and City of Barrie's Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. ICLEI is a global network of local governments committed to sustainability.
• Garforth InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017LURA collaborated with Garthforth International on Essex County Regional Energy Plan development and City of Windsor's Community Energy Plan. The partnership combined climate expertise with engagement capabilities.
• DTAHmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLURA partnered with architecture firm DTAH on multiple parks projects including New Parks at 10 Ordnance Street and 801 Wellington Street West, and St. James Town West Park redevelopment. The partnership combined landscape architecture with community engagement expertise.
• SteermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLURA partnered with Steer (a consultancy) on Yonge TOmorrow Environmental Assessment and Mississauga Moves Transportation Master Plan, providing community engagement expertise alongside transportation planning capabilities.
• Aquafor BeechminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLURA served as subcontractor with Aquafor Beech on Innisfil Stormwater Management Master Plan and Flooding Strategy, providing engagement services within the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment process.
• Indigenous Advisory CirclecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLURA collaborates with Indigenous Advisory Circles on projects requiring Indigenous engagement and consultation. These circles include Elders, Knowledge Keepers, language speakers, youth, and community members who provide guidance on Indigenous protocols and perspectives.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Mass LBP: Toronto-based public engagement and consultation firm that designs and delivers public participation processes for government and infrastructure clients - the closest direct competitor to LURA in size, geography, and service offering.
• StrategyCorp Inc. Canadian strategic advisory firm offering public affairs, government relations, and stakeholder engagement services to public and private sector clients, competing for similar municipal and provincial mandates.
• Environics Research Group: Canadian social and public opinion research consultancy that conducts stakeholder research, polling, and consultation studies for government and institutional clients, overlapping significantly with LURA's research-backed engagement work.
• Forum Research Inc. Toronto-based public opinion polling and market research firm that LURA partners with for quantitative surveys on engagement projects; operates in adjacent public-research space serving many of the same government and institutional clients.

Broad incumbents

• WSP Global Inc. Global engineering and professional services consultancy with a significant Canadian public-infrastructure practice that includes stakeholder engagement, environmental assessment, and Indigenous consultation as part of broader project mandates.
• KPMG Canada (Public Sector practice): Big Four professional services firm with a substantial Canadian public-sector advisory practice providing management consulting, transformation, and policy services to governments - a broader incumbent competing for integrated mandates that bundle engagement.
• Ipsos Public Affairs (Canada): Global public opinion and social research firm with a Canadian public affairs practice delivering stakeholder research, citizen engagement surveys, and consultation studies to government clients.
• Deloitte Canada (Public Sector practice): Big Four firm with deep Canadian public-sector consulting including policy advisory, transformation, and stakeholder engagement services for federal, provincial, and municipal clients across Canada.
• MNP LLP (Public Sector practice): Major Canadian accounting and consulting firm with a national public-sector practice offering advisory, transformation, and Indigenous services to governments and Indigenous communities across Canada.

Emerging players

• Tamarack Institute: Canadian non-profit focused on community engagement, collective impact, and local governance capacity-building; works with municipalities and NGOs on engagement frameworks and training, overlapping with LURA's inclusion and civic engagement practice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/luraconsulting
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lura-consulting

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lura Consulting