Contracting Opportunities

Thank you for your interest in contracting with CNT.

Ongoing inquiries for the RainReady contractor program should be viewed here.

Request for Proposals: Engagement with Chicago-Region Environmental Group Executive Directors on Combating Racial Injustice

CNT is partnering with a coalition of environmental organizations to engage an expert facilitator help members combat racial injustice within the environmental movement and in the community as a whole. See the RFP here.

Internship Opportunities

CNT always welcomes interns and views them as important contributors to our work. Internships are designed to expose students to a broad range of CNT’s activities, including data analysis, community engagement, and policy innovation. Internships are individually crafted to reflect the interests of the individual. Prospective interns should get to know CNT in depth through our website prior to contacting us so that you know what programs and roles meet your current educational and experiential needs. CNT works closely with interns to ensure that they receive academic credit for internships, whenever possible. Interns should be enrolled in or recent graduates of an undergraduate or graduate program in a relevant field (as defined below). CNT’s internships are unpaid.

Qualifications for all internships for Winter and Spring 2020 include the following:

Commitment to CNT’s mission of urban sustainability and equity.

Good research, writing, and communication skills.

Independent worker but able to work well with a team

Accuracy and attention to detail

Ability to meet deadlines and manage multiple, competing projects

Experience with relevant software, which varies by position but includes programs like ArcGIS, InDesign, Illustrator, R, MailChimp, Salesforce, and a variety of other packages.

Communications and Development interns

Interns will assist CNT with the communications, development, event management, and related fundraising activities that increase the organization’s impact. Positions are available now. Intern contributions may include:

Developing newsletters and other communication materials, including social media posts and management of outreach data

Reviewing written materials for quality and accuracy

Assisting with writing grant reports and/or grantwriting and assembling materials for proposals

Researching potential funding or contracting opportunities

Assisting with event planning

Interns for these positions should have educational experience in nonprofit management, communications and journalism, or similar fields that can help CNT communicate its mission and expand its impact; this could include general liberal arts education. Interns may also have excellent communication skills and educational experience in urban planning or similar fields. Knowledge or readiness to learn Salesforce, MailChimp, Adobe Creative Suite, and other software welcomed.

Program interns: water, climate, transportation, and similar fields

Interns will assist with CNT’s work on its major topical programs on water, climate, and transportation. Some work in related fields, like energy, community development, housing, and economic development is also possible. Interns typically participate in larger staff teams, contributing to activities including:

Literature review and policy analysis

Field data collection

Data analysis and visualization, including spatial analysis

Community engagement, resident outreach, and meeting participation

Production of issue briefs, memos, reports, and other materials, including writing and, when relevant, document design

Examples of ongoing work that interns could contribute to are described below. Please note that these are limited examples and not a comprehensive list of possible projects.

The Great Lakes Water Infrastructure project, which seeks to find innovative ways to manage water infrastructure that improves affordability, promotes resource conservation, and advances sustainable infrastructure management. In 2019, CNT will work directly with city governments in three cities in Michigan and Indiana to implement recommendations from past plans; identify two additional cities to develop actions plans; and produce innovation strategy guides on the co-benefits of green infrastructure and strategies to improve water affordability.

RainReady programs in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood, as well as the municipalities of Oak Park, Wilmette, and North Chicago. RainReady helps residents take action to reduce flood risk in their homes through installation of green infrastructure; current work involves resident education and design and installation of physical improvements.

Participation in Elevated Chicago, which promotes equitable transit-oriented development (in other words, building thriving communities while avoiding displacement) near several CTA stations across Chicago. Active projects within Elevated include planning for art installations and green infrastructure features in several locations; using an EcoDistrict concept to advance sustainability and resilience in transit station areas; and contributing data analysis to the Elevated team.

Interns seeking to support CNT’s programs should have educational experience in urban planning, environmental science, civil engineering, real estate, or similar fields that relate to the health and sustainability of cities.

Data and analytics interns

Interns will assist with CNT’s nationally-recognized data science and urban analytics work, including development of online tools. Intern contributions may include:

Spatial analysis using ArcGIS

Research on best practices and literature review

Statistical analysis using R or similar software

Other technical and analytical work

Examples of ongoing work that interns could contribute to are described below. Please note that these are limited examples and not a comprehensive list of possible projects.

Calculation of economic and fiscal co-benefits of green infrastructure. Green infrastructure is shown to have significant co-benefits beyond flood reduction; one relatively unexplored benefit is its ability to increase local property values in the areas where it is comprehensively applied. This project will conduct literature review, analyze case study data, develop a theory of the impact of green infrastructure on property values, and incorporate results into online tools.

Thorough review of greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. While energy use in buildings has decreased, leading to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector, the same has not occurred in the transportation sector, making it an increasingly large contributor to climate change. This project will examine and quantify various strategies that could achieve reductions, both for passenger and freight transportation.

Calculation of effectiveness of urban efficiency strategies on poverty reduction. This project proposes that place-based investments that improve urban sustainability can also drive poverty reduction and economic equity. Interns could contribute to a national-scale study that compares the effectiveness of various strategies in multiple cities.

Interns in CNT’s data and analytics department should have educational experience in computer programming, data science, or technology-related fields; or have quantitatively-oriented educational experience in urban planning, environmental science, civil engineering, real estate, or similar fields that relate to the health and sustainability of cities.

Diversity Policy

View CNT's diversity policy here.