What Scale Strategic Solutions does

Scale Strategic Solutions, operating through its legal entity C H Smith & Associates, LLC, is a privately held, Cincinnati, Ohio-based management consulting and program evaluation firm founded in 2011 by Calista H. Smith. The firm delivers five integrated service lines — Program Evaluation & Research, Training/Learning & Development, Capacity Building & Implementation, Strategic Planning & Needs Assessment, and Engagement & Facilitation — to state and local government agencies, educational institutions, public health departments, and nonprofit/ philanthropic organizations across education, health, social services, and economic/workforce development sectors.

Core technology consists of a hosted Learning Management System built on the third-party iSpring Learn platform (scale.ispringlearn.com), which delivers asynchronous online courses on topics including implicit bias, health equity, trauma-informed approaches with youth, and data sharing capacity for local health departments. Proprietary IP includes the DECIPHER Trust Framework (Dialogue-driven, Equitable, Clear, Iterative, Purpose-aligned, Honest, Engaged, Reliable) and a catalog of customizable training curricula grounded in Cultural Intelligence methodology.

The firm operates a project-based professional services revenue model with quote-driven pricing, supplemented by recurring/sponsored access to its LMS-hosted courses and a sponsored cohort workshop series (Accelerate Columbus). Scale holds National WBE, Ohio MBE/EDGE, Cincinnati SBE/MWBE, and federal WOSB certifications that facilitate set-aside government contracting. Notable engagements include the Ohio Department of Health implicit bias training for 1,000+ maternal health professionals, statewide program evaluations for Ohio Department of Behavioral Health and Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, technical assistance to IHEP's Degrees When Due initiative across 23 states, and partnership-based eLearning distribution through NACCHO University.

Name

Scale Strategic Solutions

Legal name

C H Smith & Associates, LLC

Website

https://scalestrategicsolutions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Scale Strategic Solutions is a Cincinnati-based, privately held management consulting and program evaluation firm serving state agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofits across education, public health, social services, and workforce development sectors, delivering evaluation, training, and capacity-building services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy & Corporate Development Consulting (BPAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Organization Design & Change Management Consulting (BPAHACAD), Organization Design & Operating Model Consulting (BPAHAGAB), Public Sector & Policy Consulting (BPAHACAN)

Keywords

• Program evaluation services
• Management consulting
• Training and development
• Capacity building
• Strategic planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Management Consulting & Program Evaluation: Project-based consulting engagements providing data-driven management consulting, program evaluation, strategic planning, needs assessment, and implementation support to government agencies, nonprofits, and educational institutions.
2. Training & Professional Development: Customizable training programs delivered in-person, virtually, or through online asynchronous modules. Includes continuing education units (CEUs) for licensed professionals. Revenue generated through program fees for training delivery.
3. Learning Management System (LMS) Access: iSpring-based platform hosting training content for clients and their communities. Training modules include health equity, trauma-informed approaches, implicit bias, and other professional development topics.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Scale Strategic Solutions provides data-driven management consulting and program evaluation services to government agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofits. Its core offerings include program evaluation and research, training and professional development (in-person, virtual, and asynchronous via iSpring LMS), capacity building and implementation support, strategic planning and needs assessment, and stakeholder engagement and facilitation. The firm applies mixed-methods research to assess program effectiveness, improve organizational capacity, and inform policy and practice in education, public health, social services, and economic development.

Product overview

Scale Strategic Solutions is a data-driven management consulting and program evaluation firm offering five integrated service lines: Program Evaluation & Research, Training/Learning & Development, Capacity Building & Implementation, Strategic Planning & Needs Assessment, and Engagement & Facilitation. The company also operates a proprietary Learning Management System built on the iSpring platform, which hosts multiple online on-demand training courses including Trauma-Informed Approaches with Youth, Implicit Bias Training, Health Equity, and Data Sharing. Additional offerings include the Accelerate Columbus Data Readiness Workshop Series and research publications on postsecondary education value.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Program Evaluation & Research Quantitative and qualitative research services that determine programming effectiveness, identify key next steps, and provide landscape and context for client work in education, public health, and social services.
• Training, Learning & Development Customizable training solutions including interactive in-person, virtual, or hybrid sessions and online on-demand courses delivered through Scale's learning management system, targeting organizations and professionals in education, health, and social services.
• Capacity Building & Implementation Team coaching, project management, process mapping, practice changes, public policy strategy, and lessons learned documentation for organizational improvement, including business requirements gathering, quality assurance, and training for information systems development and transitions.
• Strategic Planning & Needs Assessment Engages board members and senior leadership in strategic planning processes or market analysis that yields practical, actionable plans for organizations in education, health, social services, and economic development sectors.
• Engagement & Facilitation Captures the voices of clients, community members, employees, volunteers, board members, funders, and partners to address organizational opportunities and challenges through focus groups, interviews, and facilitation services.
• iSpring Learning Management System Hosted Learning Management System on the iSpring platform providing online, on-demand training courses for Scale's clients and their communities, including content on health equity, trauma-informed approaches, implicit bias, data sharing, and professional development.
• Trauma-Informed Approaches with Youth Training Online, on-demand training on trauma-informed approaches for youth-serving settings, approved for 1 CEU for licenses governed by the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board.
• Implicit Bias Training Program Comprehensive implicit bias training grounded in Cultural Intelligence (CQ) with practical tools for managing perceptions and improving interactions, delivered online on-demand, live virtually, or in-person for healthcare and human services professionals.
• Understanding Health Equity Training Training exploring roots of systemic disparities and actionable solutions to enhance healthcare access, delivery, and outcomes, delivered for healthcare and public health professionals.
• Data Readiness Workshop Series (Accelerate Columbus) People-centered cohort training experience advancing skills for data collection, management, analysis, and reporting, delivered in-person over three two-day sessions for Columbus, Ohio nonprofits (sponsored by the City of Columbus).
• Increasing Data Sharing Capacity for Local Health Departments eLearning Asynchronous eLearning course developed with NACCHO, D.E.E.P. Consultants, and Strategik513 to strengthen data sharing practices for local health departments, available on NACCHO University.
• High-Value Education Beyond High School Reports Landscape analysis reports on value and affordability of education and training beyond high school in Ohio, including regional briefs for Northwest, Central, Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast Ohio.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15+ point improvements in Cultural Intelligence (CQ) scores for trained healthcare professionals within 60-90 days of training completion
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

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

• Education Strategy GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Scale Strategic Solutions partners with Education Strategy Group on postsecondary education initiatives. Together they produced the High-Value Education Beyond High School landscape analysis for Ohio, and Scale provides coaching services through the Noncredit Mobility Academy for Massachusetts community colleges. Scale also serves as a subcontractor to ESG for various engagements.
• BBC Research & ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScale serves as BBC's qualitative engagement partner for the Ohio Department of Transportation's Small Business Enterprise Study. Scale recruited and facilitated five focus groups with small-business owners in transportation consulting and construction to inform ODOT's SBE program improvements.
• National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScale, in partnership with D.E.E.P. Consultants and Strategik513, collaborated with NACCHO to create the 'Increasing Data Sharing Capacity for Local Health Departments' eLearning course and companion resource guide. Scale also managed the NACCHO data sharing training initiative.
• D.E.E.P. ConsultantsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScale partners with D.E.E.P. Consultants (led by Deepika Andavarapu, PhD) for public health and equity-focused projects including the NACCHO data sharing initiative. D.E.E.P. provides urban planning, evaluation, and community research expertise.
• Strategik513majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScale partners with Strategik513 for public health projects including the NACCHO data sharing capacity building initiative. Strategik513 contributes strategic consulting expertise to these collaborations.
• The Eastledge GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScale collaborated with The Eastledge Group to design and deliver comprehensive Implicit Bias Training for over 1,000 maternal health professionals for the Ohio Department of Health. The partnership combined cognitive bias expertise with cultural intelligence training delivery.
• Griffin & StrongminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerScale collaborated with Griffin & Strong in 2021-2022 to conduct interviews for the City of Cincinnati's disparity study. Scale was subsequently recognized as the City of Cincinnati Business Enterprise of the Month as a result of these M/WBE connections.
• Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScale assisted IHEP in implementing the Degrees When Due program for three years, supporting 200 institutions in 23 states to reengage students with some college but no degree. Scale contributed project management and technical assistance for this initiative focused on degree completion and economic mobility.
• BriljentminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorScale partnered with Briljent as a subcontractor for the Ohio Department of Children and Youth's Youth Human Trafficking Prevention eLearning project, developing asynchronous training modules for facilitators.
• City of ColumbuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe City of Columbus sponsors Scale's Data Readiness Workshop Series (Accelerate Columbus), providing funding for free training to qualifying Columbus, Ohio nonprofits. This sponsorship enables Scale to deliver data collection, management, analysis, and reporting training to nonprofit organizations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BBC Research & Consulting: Disparity study and DBE/SBE consulting firm that partners with Scale on the Ohio DOT Small Business Enterprise Study; both firms serve public-sector and infrastructure clients with mixed-methods research, focus group facilitation, and stakeholder engagement.
• Education Strategy Group: Postsecondary and workforce policy consultancy that partners with Scale on Massachusetts Noncredit Mobility and other education engagements; both firms co-deliver state-level strategic planning, capacity building, and policy advisory work for education agencies.
• Avalanche Consulting: Mid-sized economic and workforce development consultancy that performs strategic planning, needs assessments, and program evaluations for state agencies and economic development organizations—a similar mix of clients and service lines to Scale Strategic Solutions.
• The Eastledge Group: Specialized firm that partnered with Scale to deliver Implicit Bias Training to 1,000+ Ohio maternal health professionals; both focus on cultural intelligence, implicit bias, and equity training for healthcare and public-sector workforces.
• Briljent: Consulting and training firm that subcontracts Scale for Ohio Department of Children and Youth eLearning work; both deliver custom training content, instructional design, and LMS-based professional development for state agencies.
• D.E.E.P. Consultants: Public health and equity evaluation consultancy led by Deepika Andavarapu; collaborates with Scale on NACCHO data sharing and other health-equity projects, offering similar community-grounded research and program evaluation for public-sector clients.

Broad incumbents

• Mathematica Policy Research: Major social-policy research and evaluation firm with deep state and federal government practice areas including higher education and health; competes with Scale for program evaluation RFPs but operates at much greater scale with broader technical capabilities.
• ICF International: Large public-sector consultancy that competes for state health, education, and workforce evaluation contracts at greater scale than Scale; both firms provide program evaluation and training, though ICF operates broadly across federal civilian and health clients while Scale focuses on state and nonprofit work.
• Manatt Health: Health-focused consulting practice of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips providing advisory services to state health agencies, foundations, and providers; both firms advise on health equity, behavioral health, and workforce, though Manatt operates at substantially larger scale.
• Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC): Nonprofit public health institute providing research, evaluation, and capacity building for government and community health clients; both deliver public health program evaluation and training, though PHMC is a much larger nonprofit with broader service breadth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/c-h-smith-&-associates-llc

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 Scale Strategic Solutions