The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation is a catalyst for change, working to make Chicagoland the most innovative, competitive and business-friendly growth region in America.

Mission: The Chamber Foundation drives policy debate on key issues related to the region’s long-term economic growth and competitiveness by researching key issues, formulating arguments, developing options and informing the collective thinking of business, government and civic leaders.

Recent initiatives include the following:

Innovation

• Now in its third year, Innovate Now! is an initiative of the Chicagoland Chamber, World Business Chicago, and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). The goal of Innovate Now! is to make Chicagoland and all of Illinois global centers of innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity to build a sustainable growth economy that enhances the standard of living for all of our residents.
  
  The first phase of this initiative is focused on using innovation to improve manufacturing competitiveness in Illinois.
• The second annual Chicagoland Innovation Summit, the centerpiece of the innovation initiative, was held on October 25 at Navy Pier. The summit brought together the business, academic, non-profit, and public sectors including authors John Kao and Rosabeth Moss Kanter who delivered compelling messages about why innovation is crucial to our economic success. Attendees also saw demonstrations of the latest Microsoft technology, including Surface, which turns an ordinary tabletop into an interactive computing platform. Innovate Now! is the first initiative in the U.S. supported by Microsoft to foster innovation on a regional basis.
• The Small Business Administration awarded a grant to the Foundation, in partnership with Illinois Institute of Technology and Argonne National Laboratory, for a pilot Manufacturing Innovation Initiative. The initiative encourages improved competitiveness through sustainable manufacturing, and enhances the innovation curriculum for engineering students in Illinois. This is the first federal government grant ever received by the Chamber and was made possible through the leadership of U.S. Representative Melissa Bean.
• The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) hosted the National Summit on American Competitiveness on May 22 in Chicago and, through the Innovate Now! initiative, the Chicagoland Chamber Foundation partnered with the DOC in this effort. The summit convened the nation’s premier leaders of business, government, academia and research to address the core components of competitiveness and lessons learned from previous efforts.
• In partnership with DCEO and the Chicago Community Trust, the Foundation hosted a one day “deep dive” strategy session on May 27 to develop a state/regional innovation roadmap. The meeting and roadmap helped define a more concrete vision, create better alignment in the region’s leadership and outline a series of actions for the next phase of the region’s innovation initiatives.
• The Foundation launched a new initiative called Chicagoland Innovation Leadership Network (CILN) to foster new, up-and-coming business and civic leaders in the Chicagoland region. Quarterly meetings focus on leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship and networking.
• The Innovate Now! program asked industry associations, non-profit organizations and colleges in the region to host CEO Forums focused on how manufacturers overcome barriers to innovation and exploit opportunities. With the assistance of a moderator from IBM Consulting Services, attendees discussed successes, barriers, lessons learned, best practices in innovation, and what the region can do for companies trying to innovate. Interviews with many of the companies involved in the forums were conducted and became case studies at universities and (with a grant from DCEO) profiles of innovative companies.
• The Foundation launched a partnership with eight other organizations in Illinois, including the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Board of Higher Education and DCEO, to demonstrate the value of adopting innovation-based curriculum standards for Illinois’ high schools. The initiative is premised on the assumption that there is an urgent need for more Illinois students to become globally competitive and collaborative innovators, including the ability to critically examine and solve complex problems as members of diverse, interdisciplinary teams utilizing leading-edge information technology tools and platforms.

Other Programs

• The Foundation also introduced new programs to examine how the region’s businesses can better compete by examining issues that affect the region’s long-term competitiveness, such as health and wellness. For example, a Midwest forum focused on the Economic Burden of Chronic Disease was held on May 13 in Chicago, in partnership with the Union League Club of Chicago and the New England Healthcare Institute. The forum gathered public and private sector leaders from the Midwest to elevate the importance of reducing preventable chronic disease and to engage leaders in a discussion with health and wellness experts in the development of much-needed policy recommendations and solutions.

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation is a not-for-profit organization with 501(C)(3) IRS status. FEIN 23-7334589. State sales tax exemption #E9958-0632-02.