Challenge In early 2016, the Lewis Economic Development Council (Lewis EDC) began the process of developing a strategic plan to guide the organization’s short, medium, and long-range economic development activities. Funded under the US Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative, the plan […]
Challenge Michigan’s Governor-elect, Gretchen Whitmer, made improving the state’s economy and creating high-paying jobs a central issue of her administration, as evidenced by her plan, Get it Done: Better Skills, Better Jobs for Michigan. While the state had rebounded on several key indicators since the recession, economic gains had not
Challenge In 2012, Michigan’s governor created the Regional Prosperity Initiative (RPI), a statewide effort to bring local leaders together across ten designated “prosperity regions” to create a shared vision for economic growth. The eight-county East Central Michigan Prosperity Region, which encompasses Saginaw, has numerous assets: top-tier higher education institutions; major
