At
Ann Arbor SPARK (SPARK), our immediate goal is to promote economic development in the Ann Arbor region. But our larger focus is ensuring long-term growth and viability for the entire state of Michigan -- something that can best be achieved through a process we call Open Source Economic Development. Economic development in Michigan should take a page from the playbook of the ever-evolving software industry. The "open source" philosophy -- providing the source code that drives development -- is a model that can propel Michigan's success in growing, retaining, and attracting business.
SPARK has taken steps to pilot this approach to economic development by designing initiatives and committing resources that are meant to be openly available and shared statewide. These resources include business incubation, talent enhancement, pre-seed funding, and cross-region assistance with development projects. SPARK enjoys "open source" partnerships with more than 40 organizations throughout the state of Michigan.
Wayne County EDGE, the
University of Michigan,
Eastern Michigan University,
Automation Alley, and
TechTown are among those making it possible to leverage business incentives, financing, educational resources, accelerate technology transfer, and retain knowledge workers.
Instead of viewing other communities within Michigan as competition for business location and expansion, we view the world as the primary threat to our economic prosperity…the true competition. In today's global market where companies can offshore business and operations to technology corridors like Boston, San Francisco, and Austin Texas, transformational thinking in economic development is a necessity.
Several "open source" regional programs are yielding resultsWayne County EDGE and SPARK are collaborating on several "open source" projects to deliver jobs, talent and other resources to Michigan.
- The Detroit Region Aerotropolis is to be America's premier location for trade and business expansion. With a world-class, dual airport system consisting of Detroit Metro and Willow Run airports, the Aerotropolis offers businesses and travelers the connectivity and capacity to access the global market. This project is a public/private collaboration among communities, airports, and private and non-profit organizations. The partners include:
- Communities: City of Belleville, Huron Charter Township, City of Romulus, City of Taylor, Van Buren Charter Township, Washtenaw County, Wayne County, City of Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Charter Township
- Airports: Detroit Metropolitan Airport & Willow Run Airport
- Private and Non-profit Partners: Ann Arbor SPARK, Yankee Air Museum, Walbridge, UPS, DTE, Next Energy, Detroit Renaissance, SEMCOG
The Aerotropolis is strategically located along the North American trade corridor, centrally located between Toronto and Chicago, and only minutes from the Canadian border. All modes of transportation (air, sea, rail and highway) can be accessed within a 10-mile radius, making the region an ideal hub for logistics. The region boasts a strong manufacturing expertise, skilled employee base, and several world renowned universities. These assets, coupled with attractively priced available space for development and collaborative governmental partners, provides an ideal business environment for new and expanding companies. Partnering organizations expect the Aerotropolis to create 64,000 jobs and bring in more than $10 billion of additional annual economic activity over 25 years.
There are examples throughout the state of what's working in economic development – examples that are "open source" and available to all represent the greatest promise of economic prosperity. Like the software industry mavens and other high technology businesses, adopting an "open source" mentality has amazing potential to attract businesses, innovators, and talent to our region.
Michael A. Finney is the President and CEO of Ann Arbor Spark.
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