DataMade
DataMade is a Chicago-based civic technology consultancy that builds open-source data and web tools for governments, nonprofits, researchers, and journalists, with a portfolio including Councilmatic, Dedupe.io, and ChiBlockBuilder.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What DataMade does
DataMade is a Chicago-based data and web consultancy founded in 2012 that builds open-source technology for civic society, serving governments, nonprofits, academic institutions, and journalism organizations. The company's core offering is custom software development and consulting services focused on government transparency, data wrangling, information design, and civic data infrastructure, delivered by a small 5-6 person team organized as Developer, Lead Developer, and Partner. DataMade maintains a portfolio of civic technology products including Councilmatic (an open government platform tracking legislation and meetings, deployed across multiple U.S. cities), Dedupe.io (a machine learning service for record linkage and de-duplication), and ChiBlockBuilder (the City of Chicago's vacant property sales portal, successor to LargeLots.org).
The underlying technology stack is built on Django, Python, React, PostgreSQL, Leaflet, MapLibre, and Wagtail CMS. DataMade also publishes and maintains open-source tools including the Dedupe Python library, usaddress and probablepeople NLP parsing libraries, the NWSS Schema validation package, Geomancer (geographic data mashup), and Plenar.io (spatiotemporal data platform). The company operates a dual business model: professional services revenue from project-based consulting engagements (the dominant stream), supplemented by recurring subscription revenue from Dedupe.io.
Customer engagements span campaign finance transparency (Illinois Sunshine, New Mexico Openness Project), public health surveillance (Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System, NWSS Schema), housing and economic data (Preserving NOAH, CIC Lending Impact Map, Equitable Financial Incentives), journalism collaborations (The Circuit with three nonprofit newsrooms), and human rights accountability (WhoWasInCommand for Security Force Monitor and Columbia Law School). The company has no disclosed external institutional investment and operates as an independent partnership. As of January 2025, Hannah Cushman Garland joined Derek Eder as Partner following the departure of co-founder Forest Gregg after 12 years.
DataMade firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DataMade
- Legal name
- DataMade
- Website
- https://datamade.us
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- DataMade is a Chicago-based civic technology consultancy that builds open-source data and web tools for governments, nonprofits, researchers, and journalists, with a portfolio including Councilmatic, Dedupe.io, and ChiBlockBuilder.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
DataMade industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Civic Technology Consulting
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data Platform (Unified Data & Analytics) Suites (HDAEABAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Data Sharing, Data Exchange & Data Marketplace Platforms (HDAEABAH)
Keywords
Where DataMade is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
DataMade business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Strategic Consulting: DataMade engages with clients to identify and prioritize shared challenges and design thoughtful technology solutions. This includes strategic partnership engagements for impact-driven work.
- Custom Software Development: Builds powerful, lasting tools with a modern tech stack using iterative sprints with long-term support. Includes iterative development services.
- Data Wrangling Services: Transforms unstructured, disparate, or messy data into actionable insights. Projects include ETL pipelines, data processing, and analysis.
- Information Design Services: Turns complex data into clear, appealing, and actionable websites and visualizations.
- Coaching and Training: Builds in-house capacity with personalized coaching to help teams navigate data challenges and grow technical skills.
- Dedupe.io Product: Machine learning service for de-duplication, offered as a standalone product/SaaS
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Developer Level 1 |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
DataMade product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DataMade is a data and web consultancy for civic society that builds open source technology using open data. It delivers strategic consulting, custom software development, data wrangling, and information design services to governments, nonprofits, researchers, and journalists, while also maintaining a portfolio of civic technology products (Councilmatic, Dedupe.io) and open source libraries (usaddress, probablepeople, parserator, NWSS Schema).
Product overview
DataMade is a data and web consultancy for civic society offering a portfolio of civic technology products and open source tools. Core products include Councilmatic (open government transparency platform deployed across multiple cities), Dedupe.io (machine learning de-duplication service), and the Dedupe Python library for record linkage. The company has built specialized civic tools including Illinois Sunshine and The Openness Project (campaign finance transparency), WhoWasInCommand (human rights accountability database), Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System (public health dashboard), ChiBlockBuilder and LargeLots.org (vacant property sales portals), and various budget transparency tools. Open source offerings include usaddress and probablepeople (NLP parsing libraries), NWSS Schema validation package, Geomancer (geographic data mashup tool), and Plenar.io (spatiotemporal data platform). Services span strategic consulting, data wrangling, information design, iterative development, domain expertise, and coaching.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Councilmatic
- Dedupe.io
- Strategic Consulting Services
- Custom Software Development Services
- Data Wrangling Services
- Information Design Services
- Coaching and Training Services
Quantifiable outcome
- 1,250+ city-owned lots sold through Large Lots and ChiBlockBuilder programs
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use DataMade
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
DataMade technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
AI capability5 records
Feature9 records
DataMade partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
29 partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Community Investment CorporationcoreDeveloped interactive map showing CIC's lending for affordable rental housing in Chicagoland with real-time, interactive data.
- The Preservation CompactcorePartnership with The Preservation Compact and DePaul Institute for Housing Studies to build web tool for evidence-based decision-making in Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) preservation strategies, funded by CZI.
- Columbia Law School Human Rights InstitutecoreBuilt WhoWasInCommand Myanmar project - interactive visualization of Myanmar military chain of command and human rights abuse allegations.
- City of Chicago Mayor's OfficecoreBuilt Chicago Recovery Plan transparency site showing impact of 30+ programs across city departments, authoring data standard for program activity.
- Discovery Partners Institute and Illinois Department of Public HealthcoreBuilt public dashboard for Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System showing COVID-19 measurements from wastewater for 75 sites across Illinois covering 8 million residents.
- City of Chicago - Department of Planning and DevelopmentcoreExpanded previous LargeLots.org work to create ChiBlockBuilder.com - central portal for selling all City of Chicago surplus land with standardized application process.
- Project for Middle Class Renewal, University of IllinoiscoreBuilt interactive visualization of employment quality study based on surveys of 3,500+ workers showing how job features influence employment quality.
- California Department of Public HealthcoreTranslated CDC wastewater surveillance data standard into marshmallow schema for programmatic validation, published on PyPI.
- Data for ProgresscoreBuilt Who Benefits from Climate Ambition tool for exploring 600+ occupations including 100+ common green jobs.
- The Lugar CentercoreBuilt Congressional Oversight Hearing Index with machine learning classifier to predict hearing types from text, evaluating committee oversight performance.
- Illinois Answers ProjectcoreBuilt Illinois Public Pensions Database with nearly a decade of system metadata and millions of beneficiary records from Illinois pension funds.
- LISC ChicagocoreBuilt online application system and awardee showcase for Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards with Google Drive integration.
- Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH)coreBuilt Text to Connect platform with B.E.N. chatbot for connecting people experiencing homelessness to housing and services.
- Erikson InstitutecoreBuilt interactive website for Illinois Risk and Reach Report showing county-by-county data on well-being of young children.
- DePaul Institute for Housing StudiescoreComplete website and data portal redesign for HousingStudies.org updating interface and reorganizing research.
- Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation AuthoritycoreLaunched LA Metro Board Agendas - open government tool tracking Metro Board activities, committees, meetings, and reports.
- New Mexico In DepthcoreBuilt The Openness Project - campaign finance explorer for New Mexico allowing search and browse of contributions, expenditures, and candidates.
- Illinois Campaign for Political ReformcoreBuilt Illinois Sunshine - searchable database of 20+ years of campaign finance records from Illinois State Board of Elections.
- Associated PresscoreBuilt Geomancer - free open source tool for journalists to easily mash up data based on shared geography, funded by Knight Foundation.
- Urban Center for Computation and DatacoreBuilt Plenar.io platform with UChicago for exploring open data through space and time, funded by NSF two-year grant.
- Metropolitan Planning CouncilcoreBuilt Equitable Financial Incentives visualization showing Chicago incentive program funding (TIF, SBIF, NOF, etc.) by census tracts, wards, and community areas.
- BGA, The Chicago Reporter, Injustice WatchcoreThree-year collaborative journalism investigation analyzing 3+ million Cook County criminal court cases with training support from UChicago Harris School.
- University City DistrictcoreBuilt Just Spaces - mobile web app for measuring justice and inclusivity of public spaces using Gehl Institute's Public Life Data Protocol.
- Security Force MonitorcoreBuilt and maintains WhoWasInCommand open source CMS for collecting dossiers on security force units, personnel, and human rights incidents globally.
- Crain's Chicago BusinesscoreBuilt Where to Buy tool scoring and filtering Chicagoland neighborhoods based on diversity, schools, crime, price growth, and commute variables.
- Sunlight FoundationcoreLaunched new version of Chicago Councilmatic with Sunlight Foundation support for open government transparency tool.
- Atlanta Journal ConstitutioncoreBuilt Entity-Focused Data System using Dedupe for continuous linking of political figures, campaign filings, and contracts to drive investigations.
- City of Chicago Department of Planning and DevelopmentcoreBuilt Retail Thrive Zones portal with interactive map and dynamic charts for businesses to apply for tax breaks.
- City BureaucoreExtracted lead test data from 500+ PDFs for schools and parks to create city-wide analysis of lead in Chicago water.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
DataMade competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Granicus: Government experience platform offering legislative management, communications, and civic engagement software to government agencies. Larger incumbent competitor in the legislative transparency and government digital services space where DataMade operates.
- OpenGov: Government technology company offering cloud-based budgeting, financial transparency, and civic engagement software for state and local governments. Broader incumbent competitor in the government transparency and budget analytics market that DataMade addresses via custom tools.
- Tyler Technologies (Socrata): Major government technology vendor that acquired Socrata, the open data and transparency platform used by many U.S. cities. Represents the scaled, incumbent side of the civic data platform market where DataMade's Councilmatic and related tools compete.
Emerging players
- Ushahidi: Open-source civic technology platform for data collection and visualization, often used for human rights and crisis response. Comparable mission and open-source approach, with overlap in human rights accountability data tooling similar to DataMade's WhoWasInCommand.
Direct peers
- 18F: Federal civic technology group within the General Services Administration that builds and procures digital services for federal agencies. Direct peer in civic tech delivery, though as a government entity rather than private consultancy.
- Azavea: Civic technology firm specializing in geospatial software, data analysis, and civic applications for government and nonprofit clients. Closely comparable to DataMade's combination of open-source tools, data visualization, and civic society focus.
- Nava: Public benefit corporation providing civic technology and consulting for government agencies, including healthcare.gov and other federal platforms. Operates as a civic-focused engineering consultancy with similar service model to DataMade.
- Civilla: Civic design and technology nonprofit that works with governments to improve public-facing services through human-centered design and software development. Similar mission and consulting-based delivery model to DataMade.
- Code for America: Nonprofit civic technology organization that builds digital services for government agencies and has spawned a network of civic tech brigades. Directly comparable to DataMade's mission of using technology to improve government services and civic engagement.
- BetaNYC: Civic technology community organization in New York City that advocates for open government and builds civic tools. Comparable grassroots civic tech orientation though with more volunteer/community emphasis than DataMade's consultancy model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
DataMade social profiles
Digital presenceDataMade financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DataMade leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
DataMade funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DataMade M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about DataMade
What does DataMade do?
DataMade is a data and web consultancy for civic society that builds open source technology using open data. It delivers strategic consulting, custom software development, data wrangling, and information design services to governments, nonprofits, researchers, and journalists, while also maintaining a portfolio of civic technology products (Councilmatic, Dedupe.io) and open source libraries (usaddress, probablepeople, parserator, NWSS Schema).
Is DataMade a public or private company?
DataMade is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was DataMade founded?
DataMade was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is DataMade based?
DataMade is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does DataMade make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Strategic Consulting is the primary driver. The others are custom Software Development, data Wrangling Services, information Design Services, coaching and Training and dedupe.io Product.
Who are DataMade's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Granicus, OpenGov and Tyler Technologies (Socrata). Ushahidi is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are 18F, Azavea, Nava, Civilla, Code for America and BetaNYC.
Does DataMade have an API?
Yes. DataMade offers APIs through several products: Plenar.io has a well-documented API for application developers to query geospatial and temporal data; the National Wastewater Surveillance System Schema is available as a Python package on PyPI (marshmallow schema) with a JSON Schema representation for JavaScript-based data flows; Councilmatic is built on the Open Civic Data API standard; and MyReps uses the Google Civic Information API for looking up elected representatives. Developer documentation is at datamade.github.io/nwss-data-standard.
What industry is DataMade in?
DataMade's product category is Civic Technology Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEABAD, Data Platform (Unified Data & Analytics) Suites, with a secondary code of HDAEABAH, Data Sharing, Data Exchange & Data Marketplace Platforms. Its NAICS code is 518 and its SIC code is 7370.