On Tuesday, July 27, 2010, The Engineering Society of Detroit Institute (ESDI) held a press conference at ESD’s headquarters in Southfield to reveal a new initiative designed to Envision Michigan’s Future.
Based on a recent symposium held for the residents of the City of Davison and its Township on June 9 and 10, titled “Re-Envisioning Our Future Together: Building Davison 48423,” the press conference brought together the conveners of that symposium: ESDI, Lansing-based Prima Civitas Foundation and the Michigan State University Extension Center, who detailed how the Davison symposium can serve as a “Lighthouse” for the entire State of Michigan to allow local communities to proactively address today’s quality of life and economic realities.
“While words such as Consolidation and Cuts are frightening to all of us, ESDI’s process broke through the fears with new ‘C’ words: Collaboration and Creativity to allow us to move from reactive to proactive problem solving,” said Christopher Webb, ESDI’s Co-Director.
Envisioning Next Michigan is a collective and inclusive initiative that discards one-size-fits-all solutions from the top and focuses on grassroots needs and solutions to re-energize the State’s economy and sustain it by win-win ideas devised through a neutral symposium process.
According to Mr. Webb, “Addressing fundamentals to create efficiencies and competitive environments on a sustainable basis can grow the pie for everyone’s benefit.” He added. “We must end the competitive nature between local governments. Silo and territorial thinking are no longer going to work. We have to build bridges to be successful.”
The roadmap for Envisioning Next Michigan is based on three principles led by bottom up efforts: Next Government, Next Jobs and Next Thinking.
Next Government involves bringing together professional organizations, labor, business, higher education, all units of government and philanthropy to explore new ways to organize themselves and to create new pathways to success for Michigan and its residents.
“This is especially important if we are to reverse the brain drain in Michigan and keep our young people in our communities working and contributing and raising their families,” said Mr. Webb.
Next Jobs entails identifying the needs of emerging and innovative industries and then training today’s and tomorrow’s workforce to meet those needs to compete globally. This could be realized through cooperation between the public and private sectors mandated in new legislation, and virtual economic platforms like ESDI’s proposed Green Enterprise Zone, which is based upon proactive sovereign attributes, labor relations, technology/intellectual property creation and legal innovation. To read more about ESDI’s Green Enterprise Zone, visit www.esdinstitute.net.
“Given the financial realities of our tax base, state revenue sharing and future federal funding, incentives may simply not be a sustainable approach and new ideas like the Zone are needed to achieve sustainable prosperity,” said Mr. Webb.
The third pillar in ESDI’s Envisioning Next Michigan initiative involves Next Thinking. From K – 12, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Early College and Adult Learning, new teaching methods and environments will spur a culture of competitive skill building with lifelong professional and personal fulfillment.
“Given our challenges, Michigan is on the cutting edge to transform into the place to live, learn and contribute. This in turn meets the creative, applied and critical thinking needs of entrepreneurs,” said Mr. Webb. “If Michigan’s people are the best, the entrepreneurs will line up to be here – not just as an incubator or accelerator but as a sustainable employer manufacturing new products and services around the world and mature industries will stay and invest.”
According to Mark Skidmore, a professor of state and local government finance and policy at MSU, the future of Michigan’s kids is here today.
“We need to build upon a culture of education and entrepreneurship and decide what tools we need to accomplish that,” said Mr. Skidmore.
While the current situation in Michigan can be challenging, it provides a springboard for new opportunities, according to Mr. Webb.
“Despite the unprecedented economic distress that threatens our future prosperity, we submit that this environment is our collective opportunity,” said Mr. Webb. “The harsh realities we face make it incumbent upon us to identify and build a consensus for Michigan’s local governments based upon concrete and implementable solutions that can be undertaken immediately, in the near term future and over the long term while enhancing our social, political and economic well-being.”
ESDI hopes to share this initiative with municipalities across Michigan and to present it to state officials in an effort to pass supportive legislation. You can read the Building Davison 48423 Symposium Report by visiting www.esdinstitute.net
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