Public-private partnerships offer collaborative opportunities for Ann Arbor, Detroit
Public-private partnerships are critical to driving the economic revitalization of Michigan — and in Detroit more than anywhere else.
Southeast Michigan needs an entrepreneurial ecosystem that knows no geographic boundaries.
Jeffrey Jentzen, the director of U-M’s autopsy and forensic services, said recently that U-M would conduct forensic services under a proposed partnership with Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office.
UMHS photo
Groups like Ann Arbor SPARK, whose area of influence includes western Wayne County, and Oakland County-based Automation Alley, which recently launched a new $100 million startup investment fund, must help foster a tech community that doesn’t ignore Detroit.
Detroit’s tech community benefits from organizations like TechTown, an incubator run by Wayne State University’s economic development arm, which will now be led by Ann Arbor resident and former Michigan Economic Development Corp. Vice President Ned Staebler.
Now, it’s time to replicate that model by getting public universities, nonprofits, businesses and governments to collaborate to foster partnerships that provide grassroots services to entrepreneurs and existing companies in Detroit.
“Regions work better when they work together as opposed to working separately, and when you have a world-class garden of innovation like Ann Arbor is, sooner or later somebody is going to say, ‘How good is your practice of regional collaboration when you have a city like Detroit that faces the challenges that it does 35 minutes from your city?’” said Ben Erulkar, the new senior vice president for economic development at the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce.
“It’s a question that all of us in the region surrounding Detroit are going to face and should be concerned about.”
Ann Arbor has role to play in Detroit's revitalization
- Why Detroit's revitalization is important to Ann Arbor (and how Ann Arbor can help)
- Detroit's physical restoration would create jobs for Ann Arbor region
- Ann Arbor nonprofits, universities, businesses can help reinvent Detroit public school system
- Public-private partnerships offer collaborative opportunities for Ann Arbor, Detroit
- A vibrant Detroit would make it easier for Ann Arbor companies to attract talented young professionals
One key example of good regional collaboration that Erulkar cites is the city of New Orleans. After it was devastated in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, a coalition of education experts from local universities helped the state create a new charter school system in New Orleans.
The community also invited world-class business schools to tackle various redevelopment and entrepreneurship initiatives in the city, said Erulkar, a former deputy assistant secretary of commerce for economic development in the U.S. Department of Commerce.
“We have some of the best business schools in the country right here. There’s no reason why teams of MBAs from Ann Arbor shouldn’t come down and do the same thing in Detroit,” Erulkar said. “There is plenty of good times and culture and quality of life to be had in Detroit that can attract MBAs to come here and work for a while and contribute.
“And you know what?” he added. “Some of them just might stay.”
Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.