Read the speech here

This report is part of the Michigan Future, Inc. New Agenda for a New Michigan project. Its focus is on identifying a path to better position Michigan to succeed in the flattening world economy of the future, a path that will return Michigan to high prosperity, measured by per capita income consistently above the national average in both national economic expansions and contractions.

Our basic conclusion: What most distinguishes successful areas from Michigan is their concentrations of talent, where talent is defined as a combination of knowledge, creativity and entrepreneurship. Quite simply, in a flattening world, the places with the greatest concentrations of talent win! States and regions without concentrations of talent will have great difficulty retaining or attracting knowledge-based enterprises, and they are not likely to be the places where new knowledge-based enterprises are created.

Click here for the full report

RCUI was designed to (1) find a better way of connecting the chronically unemployed to work, and (2) be a catalyst for systemic change in how Michigan approaches the challenge of  chronic unemployment in its central cities.

The project ultimately lasted eight years in two phases. The first, funded exclusively by HWF, was a four year, $3.2 million effort. Four non profits were funded to try different models. The second phase, funded by HWF, the McGregor Fund, other  foundations and government agencies, was a four year $4.8 million effort. Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit was the exclusive provider in the second phase. Phase II was named the Big Idea.

Phase II included an evaluation of participant outcomes by the W. E. Upjohn Institute for  Employment Research. They found that Big Idea TANF participants were employed more and earned more than comparison groups of similar recipients who received training services from other programs and providers. The core effort of the initiative – to identify a more effective way of connecting chronically unemployed Detroiters to stable employment – succeeded.

This final report details the results of the initiative and the lessons we learned on how to better connect chronically unemployed Detroiters to stable employment. Probably more than anything we learned how hard it is. Participant success rates were far lower than we hoped. That said the initiative did achieve better outcomes than existing public programs and in the process of designing a  new approach we did learn valuable lessons on what works better and what doesn’t.

The structural changes Goodwill made in how they provide training services is an important step in improving the system of connecting chronically unemployed Detroiters to stable employment. But real systemic change can only occur if the lessons learned from this initiative are put into practice by state and local government. It’s the only way to take a new approach to scale.

Except for reentering prisoners, where there is a far greater emphasis on figuring out what works, current public training programs are very rule driven. And those rules are a major barrier to applying the key lessons learned from RCUI. The most important changes required to take advantage at scale of the RCUI experience are:

• More time. For those who do not achieve stable employment the first time in traditional programming, there needs to be a more comprehensive approach.

•More comprehensive services. The many program options available to Big Idea participants matters to successful participant outcomes. Most important are work identity development, transitional work experience and post placement services.

• Not  serving all. The use of screens so that participants who enter training have a realistic chance of success runs counter to the current way training is delivered. All programs must serve everyone. But that almost assures low success rates. Too many participants end up in programs where the provider does not have the capacity to deal with the barriers that prevent their participants from achieving stable employment.

• Focus on stable employment, not wages. This too runs counter to current practice of both public and foundation funded programming. Everyone wants participants to get living wage work. But for those who do not succeed after a first time in traditional programming there should be training explicitly designed to connect participants to stable employment in first rung of the ladder jobs.

Read the Executive Summary,   Read the Final Report,   Read the Project Evaluation

This is a foundation report that sets the stage for our initiatives to help create a prosperous Michigan. The reality in Michigan is startling – it has experienced six years of employment decline (2000-2006), even during three years of a national economic upturn. Unlike the relative prosperity it enjoyed for most of last century, Michigan is now below the national average in per capita income. The key cause is that Michigan has been slow to adapt to a rapidly changing global economy and the path forward will require concentrating in knowledge-based enterprises that are seeing the fastest growth and the highest pay.

The New Agenda for a New Michigan report strives to provide recommendations to reverse the trend and to put Michigan back on a path to prosperity, which we define as above the national average in per capita income in both upturns and downturns.  In our report, we recommend building a culture that is aligned with a flat world that values learning, entrepreneurship, and diversity. It means investing in higher education first and foremost with recommendations to give autonomy to public institutions of higher learning, match federal research dollars with state funding, and fund students rather than institutions. It will also requires an ability to attract talent, which means building regions that are attractive places to live and have vibrant central city neighborhoods and right level of infrastructure (which now means advanced connections to internet, international airports, and green infrastructure). The path forward also includes an increased focus on attracting export-based business investment, aligning k-12 education with a knowledge-driven economy, and having strong civic, business, and political leadership.

To see the full report and recommendations, click here

Connecting Urban Poor To Work: A Framework and Strategy for Action was designed to develop workable policies that lead to economic self-sufficiency for urban poor through helping urban adults find work.   The study finds that just because the economy is providing increasing opportunities it does not mean the urban poor are able to connect to them.  The path to economic self-sufficiency is through the regional (rather than local) labor market and having the skills to compete for jobs at the regional level.   A key barrier to acquisition of skills are the effects of concentrated poverty.   The recommended policy interventions include deconcentrating poverty, enhancing early childhood development, transforming urban K-12, reducing economic segregation in housing and schooling, and investing in training for the chronically unemployed.  In addition, the research in this report is forming the basis for Michigan Future Inc’s work in improving schools.

Please read the Full Report for a complete look at our research and recommendations.