The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced $195 million in federal grants over the next three years to 13 regions across the country working to develop new industries and train workers for new jobs. WIRED, the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development project, will funnel $15 million to the Mid-Michigan Innovation Alliance, one of two Michigan-based collaborations receiving competitive grants to address the economic problems facing their communities.
Convened by the Mott Foundation, the Mid-Michigan Innovation Alliance is a 13-county consortium created to develop a unified strategy for restructuring the regional economy. The Alliance is anchored by Flint, Lansing and Saginaw, once known as the “golden triangle” for General Motors manufacturing.
During the past decade, globalization has had a tremendous impact on the region. After years of losing market share, the U.S.-owned auto industry is in dramatic decline, affecting the jobs and lives of thousands of workers and their families. WIRED funding, which will be leveraged by $35 million in state, local, and private resources, will be used to develop the highly skilled workforce the area will need to diversify its economy. Funding also will be used to support the creation of new technologies (including alternative energy), strengthen the region’s core economic competencies, and create new businesses.
Mott Foundation Program Officers Jack Litzenberg and Neal Hegarty took part in mid-Michigan’s effort to secure WIRED funding. The Mott Foundation also has provided support to several of the partnering organizations, including capital grants for Kettering University’s new Mechanical and Engineering facility, and Mott Community College’s Michigan Technical Education Center (M-TEC). Litzenberg sat down with Mott Foundation Communications Officer Ann Richards to discuss what the WIRED project will mean for mid-Michigan’s future.
Mott: The Mid-Michigan WIRED project was one of 93 regional collaborations applying for federal funding. What do you think made the mid-Michigan request stand out?
Jack Litzenberg (JL): The overall framework of the mid-Michigan request was well thought out by the people who put it together. They built in a strong enterprise function and picked four good areas to focus on: two for the future — alternative energy and advanced manufacturing; and two industries that are growing: health care and the construction trades.
The decline of the area’s automotive industry — and the inability to tap global markets — also has had a tremendous impact on working people in the state. The 13 counties selected as part of the alliance are a geographic match for the problem: Lansing, Flint and Saginaw are the heart of General Motors manufacturing.
Mott: Why was Mott willing to convene such a large group and what did it hope to accomplish?
JL: The request had to be regional. Ed Donovan (senior vice president of the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce) came up with the partner counties and started the conversations. Once we got involved, we realized that a lot of the job-related initiatives being supported locally by the Mott Foundation were compatible with what Donovan’s group was proposing — these included creating a process for entrepreneurship, creating training opportunities and developing the assets that already are here in the region.
Mott: What is the region’s most pressing task in restructuring its economy?
JL: Job creation. We also have to get people to buy into the importance of preparing for a career. The days of graduating from high school and walking into a high-paying job are gone. We have to restore our competitiveness — and workers must have access to training to develop skills needed to compete internationally.
Mott: What is currently in place that will help mid-Michigan communities rebuild their economies?
JL: The fuel cell research at Kettering University and the bio-mass research at Michigan State hold a lot of promise. All the schools — Saginaw Valley’s incubator for new business starts, Mott Community College’s M-TEC center — all of this will be helpful.
The presence of leadership organizations — Prima Civitas in Lansing, Saginaw Future and the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce — will help tremendously, especially since there seems to be a willingness by civic and industrial leadership to enter new waters and cooperate.
We also have a highly skilled manufacturing labor force in place.
Mott: What’s missing?
JL: We’ve got to get better at entrepreneurial development. We’re a state whose residents are used to working for other people. We have to introduce ideas about starting your own business early on in school.
We’ve also got to get better at delivering basic education for adults. There are too many people right now who hold down good jobs who need basic education. Solid reading and math skills can be used as a launching pad for occupational certification and advanced degree training.
Mott: What role will colleges and universities play in restructuring mid-Michigan’s economy?
JL: Their role is huge. We’ve entered a knowledge economy. Colleges and universities will play dual roles by developing curriculums to increase worker’s skills and improve our global competitiveness, and by producing research that can be turned into new business opportunities.
Mott: What kinds of concrete results are Mid-Michigan Innovation Alliance partners looking for?
JL: First, helping displaced workers find employment. But we’re also looking to accelerate this process through new training programs and by identifying new business opportunities that can create more jobs.
Mott: What can be done to encourage new industry, particularly in the areas of alternative energy and advanced manufacturing, which were cited in the WIRED proposal?
JL: Mott’s been funding some work through the Center for Automotive Research (CAR)* in Ann Arbor that encourages collaboration and the creation of new forms of organizations that will help the auto industry become more competitive. The collaborative groups will build on the industry’s current strengths and take advantage of what’s being learned on college and university campuses. It’s an approach that calls for an industry-wide understanding that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. These are some of the same ideas included in the federal proposal — increasing global competitiveness by assembling people in industry in new ways and across company borders. It’s also critical that economic development agencies introduce businesses to new markets.
Mott: Collaboration is difficult under the best of circumstances. What has held the Mid-Michigan Innovation Alliance together and how will it continue to keep partners engaged?
JL: It’s brand new — hopefully the steering committee, which spent a lot of time together working on the proposal, will continue to keep communication open and partners involved. They believe what they’ve laid out can be done and they’ll be important players in keeping the collaboration together. We have good leadership in Flint, Saginaw and Lansing and we have strong state government and university partners.
The industry collaborations being formed by CAR should have a big impact as well, particularly on attracting new business for manufacturers by tapping international markets.
Mott: What does the Mott Foundation hope to learn through its participation in the Mid-Michigan Innovation Alliance?
JL: Flint is our home community. The Foundation has a long interest in preventing poverty in Flint and elsewhere in the country. Mott already is funding a lot of what the Alliance wants to do — education, workforce training, networking and collaboration building. We’re always interested in finding ways to help the Flint community sustain itself economically now and into the future.
We were able to pull together the Mid-Michigan alliance without grant dollars — we did it primarily through our knowledge of the community and our familiarity with federal funding.
C.S. Mott created his foundation as a way of giving back. It’s always been our mission to give something back and the goals of the alliance tie right into this mission.
*View the press release announcing the Mott grant to the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) in Ann Arbor, MI.