By John Bebow - December 5, 2008
Detroit Renaissance, the longstanding voice of metro Detroit's top executives, has surveyed the national landscape to best measure Metro Detroit's strengths and weaknesses.
The fresh results, as summarized by Renaissance President and Center for Michigan steering committe member Doug Rothwell:
Click here for the full report: "Assessing the Regional Competitiveness of Southeast Michigan."
Potential fixes Renaissance consultants proposed include…
1. "Turbo-charging government performance transformation," mainly through increased efficiency and effectiveness of state government.
2. Increasing attractive employment opportunities to better retain the strong flow of talent from Michigan universities. Ideas include greater tuition incentives and better efforts to connect students to employers.
3. Greater emphasis on marketing cultural assets to move negative perceptions of the region and bring them more in line with the high quality of life realities many residents enjoy.
One Comment
I like the sophisticated nature of the study (decoupling aspects of the SE Michigan economy from others) and comparing relevant elements to other regions.
As for the study itself, I did not notice much new here.
I continue to be nagged by why the educated masses continue to leave SE Michigan in such large numbers.
One fresh thought– Perhaps the "cultural creatives" that we are eager to bring into SE Michigan are so turned off by the staid, old economy image of the U.S. automakers, suppliers, unions, etc. that they will not even consider settling down here. This despite strong cultural offerings, a robust housing stock and good educational system.
Which begs the question– would a significant and dramatic decline of the auto industry in Michigan and an aggressive behind the scenes and public effort to replace those jobs / companies serve to improve the perception of SE Michigan and over the short / medium term increase its attractiveness to the creatives?
Other ideas?
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