STRATEGIES
Delivering better,
together.
Vision
City infrastructures are aging amidst a host of other challenges: limited funding, unpredictable markets, changing climates, rising inequality...the list goes on.
But instead of status quo, what if we use this opportunity to renew our community's infrastructure in a way that can sustainably prepare us for the changes over the next century?
What if we re-invested in our cities in a way that is:
Adaptable TO an unknown future
transparent IN decision-MAking
Protective of the environment
Efficient & value-Maximizing
inclusive & serving our communities
And what if we could do this by collaborating within departments, between city agencies, across public and private organizations, and together with our communities to seamlessly weave infrastructure into the urban fabric?
What
Coord
Does
Coord is focused on the true drivers for achieving this Vision – working together and breaking down silos – to sustainably renew our cities for improved reliability and resilience.
We help cities establish strategies for decision-making that are guided by engineering principles and rooted in ensuring environmental, economic, and community sustainability. For some, this means crafting frameworks and roadmaps to define capital programs and measure success. For others, it means performing engineering analyses to support planning and design of capital projects. For all, it means ensuring that decisions are made collaboratively, transparently, and defensibly.
Here's a snippet of what we do:
Strategic
MANAGEMENT Consulting
When day-to-day demands become overwhelming, it's difficult to translate overall strategy into capital and resource allocation. This makes demonstrating return on investments hard. We help articulate what success means – what are the goals and level of service? – and then develop quantifiable targets that allow transparent progress-tracking and forms the guiding principle for decision-making.
Capital improvement Strategies
Capital improvement plans are the blueprint for sustaining and enhancing a city's infrastructure, but under the reality of limited budgets and resources. Our strategies collaboratively and systematically define and prioritize improvements that efficiently address near-term needs while quantifiably achieving long-term goals. Each approach is tailored to ensure it is implementable, transparent, and adaptive.
Engineering studies & analyses
Capital improvement decisions are most defensible when based on analytical methods. For example, we develop studies that establish a baseline for existing conditions; perform evaluations to support the selection of project alternatives; and quantify the impact of capital investments against system performance.
project & program management
Project and/or program management provide vision, direction and motivation to the team. When done right, they balance process with execution, and foster collaboration while maintaining accountability. We craft project and program roadmaps that are unique to each team, and are happy to roll up our sleeves to join in on managing the day-to-day.
data distillation & infographics
"Data” is not the same as “information”. We transform data into information by distilling it to its essence and deriving meaning through analyses. To make this information useful and accessible, we create infographics that tell a story and present new perspectives.
Meet Coord
Vi Lam, P.Eng., PMP (she/her)
Principal
Whether it's designing water pollution control plants in Toronto or serving on San Francisco's program management consultants' leadership team to deliver the City's wastewater capital program, Vi has spent nearly 15 years dedicated to ensuring infrastructure reliably serves communities in ways that promote sustainability and resiliency.
Vi studied chemical engineering at the University of Toronto and is professionally licensed in Canada. She is also trained as an artist and believes that the intersection of art
and science is where livable engineering resides. In 2021, Vi was recognized by Engineering News-Record California in their Top 25 Under 40 list.
Vi lives in the Inner Richmond, SF where you can find her with her family roaming Golden Gate Park.
Coord is certified as a San Francisco Local Business Enterprise (LBE) by the City and County of San Francisco, and is a women-owned and minority-owned business.
Say Hello!
vi [at] coordstrategies.com
Phone No.
Area Code: 415
359-7074
San Francisco, California
94115