UIC Voorhees Center

What UIC Voorhees Center does

The Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement is a university research center within the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs (CUPPA) at the University of Illinois Chicago, founded approximately 1978. The center conducts applied research and technical assistance on urban planning, housing, neighborhood change, economic development, and community improvement, with a primary focus on the Chicago metropolitan area and Illinois. Its core outputs include research publications (300+ reports), proprietary analytical methodologies (the Gentrification Index and Three Cities framework developed with the University of Toronto), and interactive data tools including the Green Economy Occupational Database (264 occupations), the Green Economy Firms Dashboard, and EV Charging Infrastructure and Warehouse & Storage dashboards.

The center operates as a non-profit research unit funded through federal grants, government contracts, and partnerships. Its primary funding stream is the EDA University Center designation (five-year investment beginning October 2016), supplemented by contracts with NASA for economic impact analysis, the City of Chicago Department of Family and Support Services for Point-in-Time homeless counts, and the Chicago Housing Authority for housing transformation research. Additional revenue flows through the Illinois Defense Manufacturing Consortium and long-standing partnerships with Chicago Rehab Network, Housing Action Illinois, and Latino Policy Forum. All research outputs are distributed free of charge through the center's website.

The center serves policymakers, community organizations, economic development agencies, academic researchers, and housing authorities. Its go-to-market is community-led, relying on academic and government networks, digital channels (website, newsletter, social media), and conference presentations to disseminate findings. The organization maintains a small core staff supplemented by academic researchers and student involvement through its CUPPA affiliation.

Name

UIC Voorhees Center

Legal name

Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement

Website

https://voorheescenter.uic.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Nathalie P. Voorhees Center is a university research center at UIC that conducts applied research on housing, neighborhood change, and economic development for the Chicago region. It serves policymakers, government agencies, and community organizations through proprietary methodologies, data dashboards, and 300+ publications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban and Community Development Research

NAICS

Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (9251), Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (925120)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Development & Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG, Place-Based Initiatives) (BPAIANAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

State/Provincial Housing, Urban/Regional Planning & Community Development (BPAIABAM)

Keywords

• Urban research
• Community development
• Housing policy analysis
• Green economy research
• Neighborhood change studies

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Research Grants: Primary funding from Economic Development Administration (EDA) University Center Program providing five-year investment starting October 2016 to promote economic development in the Chicago Region. Additional grants from federal agencies including NASA for economic impact studies.
2. Contract Research: Contracted research services for government agencies including City of Chicago Department of Family and Support Services for Point-in-Time homeless counts, and Chicago Housing Authority for housing transformation studies.
3. Illinois Defense Manufacturing Consortium: Leads IDN coalition funded through defense manufacturing initiatives to strengthen Illinois' defense manufacturing sector across Chicago, Greater Peoria, Quad Cities, and Rockford regions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement is a university research center within the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois Chicago that conducts applied research and provides technical assistance on housing, neighborhood change, economic development, and green economy issues. It produces research publications, interactive data dashboards, analytical tools, and policy briefs for government agencies, community organizations, and policymakers, with a primary focus on the Chicago metropolitan region and Illinois.

Product overview

The Nathalie P. Voorhees Center is a university research center, not a traditional software product company. Its offerings consist of research publications, interactive data dashboards, and analytical tools focused on urban planning, community development, housing, and green economy research for the Chicago region. The core products include: research reports and publications (such as the Gentrification Index, Affordable Housing Fact Book), interactive visualization dashboards (EV Charging Infrastructure, Warehouse & Storage, Green Economy Firms), and the Green Economy Occupations One-Pagers tool. These tools and publications are outputs from their research mission under the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Green Economy Occupations Interactive One-Pagers Interactive web-based tool providing one-page summaries for 264 Green Economy occupations in the Chicago Region, including job descriptions, median wages, preparation requirements, and technology skills needed. Targets policymakers and workforce development planners.
• EV Charging Infrastructure Dashboard

Quantifiable outcome

• 264 Green Economy occupations documented with detailed workforce data covering 1 million+ workers in Chicago region
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

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

• Cities Centre at the University of TorontocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for neighborhood change research, specifically the Three Cities methodology development for analyzing income inequality and neighborhood change patterns. Joint research compiled data from 1970 to develop comprehensive neighborhood change indicators for Chicago and Toronto comparison.
• Chicago Rehab NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership since 1983 for developing the Affordable Housing Fact Book, compiling US Census data into fact sheets for Chicago community areas, wards, and Illinois cities. Partnership has produced Fact Books in 1983, 1990, 2000, and 2010.
• Housing Action IllinoiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Illinois Housing Action Research Project (IHARP), the first comprehensive database of assisted housing units in Chicago and Illinois. Joint project provided data to increase capacity of community groups to impact housing decisions and policies.
• Latino Policy Forum (formerly Latinos United)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Illinois Housing Action Research Project (IHARP) to create comprehensive database of assisted housing units in Illinois, generating data for research publications and policy advocacy.
• U.S. Economic Development AdministrationcoreOthersEDA designated UIC Voorhees Center as a university center with a five-year investment beginning October 1, 2016 to help promote economic development in the Chicago Region. Joins over 40 university centers across the nation in EDA University Center Program.
• Illinois Defense Manufacturing ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVoorhees Center leads the IDN, a coalition bringing together stakeholders from industry, government, community, and academia to strengthen Illinois' defense manufacturing sector. Focuses on defense-intensive regions including Chicago, Greater Peoria, Quad Cities, and Rockford.
• Chicago Housing AuthoritymajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaborative research on public housing transformation, Plan for Transformation assessment, and strategic recommendations. Produced reports including Central Advisory Council 2012 Strategies and Recommendations and analysis of housing policy changes.
• Lucas Greene AssociatesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Central Advisory Council 2012 Strategies and Recommendations Report, commissioned to develop strategies presented to Chicago Housing Authority for new Plan Forward.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Urban Institute: Major Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan policy research organization producing housing, community development, and economic mobility research. Comparable as a federal- and foundation-funded research institution producing policy analysis and datasets in the same social and urban policy domains.
• LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation): National community development financial institution supporting neighborhood revitalization through data, research, and programmatic funding. Comparable as a producer of community development datasets and a player informing federal/local housing policy.
• Brookings Institution - Metropolitan Policy Program: National think tank with a long-standing metropolitan policy program focused on urban economics, housing, and inclusive economic growth. Comparable as a producer of influential applied urban research and large-scale data products for federal and metropolitan audiences.

Emerging players

• PolicyLink: National research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity through applied research on housing and community development. Comparable as a research-driven organization producing equity-focused urban policy analysis and tools for community-based organizations.
• Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA): Cornell University unit conducting research and applied projects on housing, economic development, and community planning. Comparable as a university-based applied research arm producing policy reports and datasets for state and local governments.

Direct peers

• Rutgers Center for Urban Policy Research: University research center at Rutgers producing research on housing, land use, and urban policy. Comparable as a long-standing academic research center producing housing and community development datasets used by policymakers.
• UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies: UCLA research center producing research on housing, immigration, and regional development in the Los Angeles region. Comparable as a university-based urban policy research unit combining longitudinal data with community engagement.
• NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy: University-based research center at NYU producing rigorous housing and neighborhood research for the New York region. Highly comparable as an academic policy research unit producing public datasets and reports on housing affordability, neighborhood change, and urban policy.
• UC Berkeley Institute of Urban and Regional Development: University-based research center at UC Berkeley conducting interdisciplinary research on urban planning, housing, and community development. Comparable as an academic institute producing applied research, datasets, and policy tools for California communities.

Regional players

• University of Chicago Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation: University of Chicago research institute focused on urban science, data, and innovation, often overlapping with Chicago-focused urban research. Comparable as a Chicago-anchored academic research effort producing neighborhood-level data and analytics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/voorheescenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/UICVoorheesCenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nathalie-p-voorhees-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UIC Voorhees Center