In support of the Every Child Ready Chicago initiative, Start Early has begun to explore the creation of a Chicago early childhood research consortium that would bring together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, families, and community representatives across sectors in a robust, long-term research-practice partnership focused on helping Chicago achieve its vision for a strong early childhood system. Critical to the success of early childhood, and any other systems-building initiatives, is access to evidence and data that are relevant, actionable, and timely to guide the decisions of policymakers and program leaders. For an early childhood system as large and ambitious as Chicago, no one research partner or institution alone has everything that is required to achieve these goals. Chicago already benefits from several research consortia, but none focus specifically on supporting the early childhood system in Chicago. This report presents the findings of the initial phase of exploration regarding the creation of a Chicago early childhood research consortium. [This report was prepared as part of the Every Child Ready Chicago initiative.]