Not Your Fathers Economy

While the nation has been facing an economic recession, the State of Michigan continues to experience its own, unique, considerably more challenging economic crisis. Michigan’s economy was the poster child of the Old Economy, but the new reality of global competition, mobile talent, mobile capital, and growth of a service-based economy, has left Michigan and its citizens desperately searching for a foothold in the New Economy. Michigan is at a critical tipping point regarding its economic future. It has:
• The highest unemployment in the nation (and it is much higher than reported because so many have dropped out of the labor force);
• Among the highest mortgage foreclosure rates;
• Rapidly declining median family income; and
• A structural state fiscal problem that threatens several more years of reduced revenues at a time of growing investment needs. This problem extends to local governments which are also in fiscal crisis.

Michigan’s economic crisis has wreaked havoc from one end of the state to the other, but it has also unintentionally created an unprecedented opportunity at the state, regional and local level to establish strategic and innovative economic development policies that will prepare Michigan to be resilient in the face of future challenges. The ideal level at which to work together to strategically achieve prosperity is the regional level, where communities share similar geography, resources, strategic assets, challenges and values. Regional strategies that are founded in strategic place-based assets and connected to the global economy are essential to moving Michigan forward in the 21st Century.

The Michigan Prosperity Initiative (MPI) is a joint effort between the Land Policy Institute (LPI) and Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) to provide the impetus to move Michigan forward. MSU is joined by its partners the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the Michigan Association of Regions, Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Townships Association, and Michigan Association of Planners.

The MPI consists of three stages, all of which will be completed in 2010. Stage One engages all interested Michigan citizens in a series of presentations and training programs. Stage Two ensures that every region in Michigan has a strategic growth plan, based on sound economic research, which leverages the region’s assets to make Michigan more globally competitive. Finally, Stage Three builds upon the regional strategic growth plans created in Stage Two to create the first-ever State Strategic Growth Plan.

Stage One
Stage One consists of presentations and training programs, given at no cost, to interested Michigan citizens; business owners, nonprofit organization staff, local, regional, and state officials and economic development professionals. Between April 18th and May 6th, 2010, LPI researchers and MSUE educators will conduct 52 two-hour presentations, titled Fundamentals of the New Economy: New Economy 101. These presentations discuss the how the economy, both in the state and globally, has changed during the past three decades, and presents thirteen concrete actions that Michigan can take to help the state be successful in the New Economy. Feedback from earlier versions of this presentation has been very positive and participants have left feeling they have a much better understanding of what happened, why and what kinds of measures must be taken to get regional economies back on track.

Beginning May 3rd through the rest of the month, LPI researchers and MSUE educators will conduct 29 four-hour training programs titled Place-Based Planning: New Economy 201 throughout Michigan. This training program is geared toward elected and appointed government officials, business people and planning and economic development professionals; however, all interested persons are encouraged to attend, especially those that attended The New Economy 101 program. It will focus on a vision and goals for regional prosperity, on key principles and practices, and place-based strategies that are rooted in Michigan’s abundant assets.

Finally, between June 1st and June 18th, 2010, LPI researchers and MSUE educators will conduct 17 six-hour training programs throughout Michigan titled Strategies to Bridge the Gap: New Economy 301. This final training program is geared toward economic development and planning professionals as well as interested stakeholders. This class will go into more detail on the science of “place,” review underutilized economic analysis tools and go into more detail on the thirteen actions Michigan could take to move forward. The class will work on developing specific regional strategies and provide input that can be used by the fourteen State Planning & Development Regions (SPDRs)in their regional strategic growth plans and give direction for transitioning from the Old Economy to the New Economy.