Building programs that serve communities and survive funding cycles.
Strategic consulting for organizations navigating government systems, funding, and change.
Government relationships and funding are high-stakes, complex, and you can't afford to get them wrong.
Government priorities shift. Funding structures change. Communities evolve. Leadership turns over. New opportunities open - and close fast.
For organizations doing critical community work, change doesn't arrive with a warning. It arrives as a crisis, a deadline, or an opportunity with a very short window.
The organizations that flourish have someone who knows how change happens inside government and exactly what it takes to navigate it.
The organizations that last don’t just do good work. They Design it. Fund it. And Sustain it.
Great programs don’t happen by accident. They’re built on deep community understanding - who you serve, what they actually need, and how to design something that works in the real world.
Then they have to survive contact with government. That means aligning with priorities, making the case for funding, and building the accountability structures that keep everything in place.
You Don't Have to Figure It Out Alone. That's What I'm Here For.
I'm Chris Shantz. I spent 15 years inside government - as a political staffer and civil servant - making the decisions that determined what got funded and what didn't.
I've also spent years on the other side, working directly with social service agencies and Indigenous organizations. I know this work isn't just a sector - it's a mission.
I've led mandate reviews of government agencies, developed Indigenous child welfare programs, created children's mental health legislation, and helped communities build the plans they needed to take on new funding and new responsibilities.
As a senior manager at one of Canada's largest consulting firms, I built the expertise to handle complex, high-stakes work - without the overhead, the hierarchy, or the junior consultants learning on your file.
When government relationships and funding are on the line, you need someone who's already been in the room.
Discover
I get inside your world before I offer a single recommendation. That means reviewing your documents, understanding your history, and talking to the people who know your organization best - leadership, staff, and key stakeholders. I come in with questions and a proven methodology.
A Clear Process. A Dependable Partner.
Every engagement starts with your reality and combines my expertise. Here's how I work:
Engage
I go broader - external stakeholders, jurisdictional research, scanning what's working in comparable organizations and sectors. This is where patterns emerge, risks get identified, and the real picture comes into focus.
Deliver
I turn everything I've learned into something your organization can actually use. Not a report that sits on a shelf - a clear road map with implementation steps, KPIs, and a risk assessment built in.
Throughout every engagement, you have direct weekly access to me. No hand-offs. No surprises. Just rigorous, practical work from someone who's done this before.
The Stakes Are Real. So Are the Results.
Get this right and your organization is funded, focused, and built to last. Your people can get back to the mission.
Get it wrong and programs disappear. Communities lose services they depend on.
Government priorities don't wait - and neither should you.