A perennial challenge for government and nonprofit organizations is their limited ability to collect data for strategic planning and decision making because of funding and capacity constraints. In Dan Lamb’s graduate course, students hone their skills in project planning, research and analysis as consultants for six local public and nonprofit clients in a variety of political and social environments. Recent activities include quantification of the value of the free health services provided by the Ithaca Health Alliance and a wage and compensation study in collaboration with the Town of Dryden and Linda Barrington, director of the Institute for Compensation Studies, to provide well-researched guidance for local decisions about pay levels.