Michigan’s “green” and “blue" economies will soon be getting a boost from a new advocate, The
Michigan Economic Center (MEC). The MEC will operate through the
Prima Civitas Foundation (PCF), organizing citizens and leadership around strategies for economic growth.
Heading the new initiative is John Austin, President of the Michigan State Board of Education and a non-resident Brookings Institution Senior Fellow. Austin will join PCF in making MEC an independent policy and action organization.
“We started talking and thought it would be natural for me to focus on these issues about a year ago,” says Austin. “And we decided, ‘Hey, let’s do it together.”
The MEC will begin by diving into such projects as building support for emerging sectors and technologies through education, research and development; helping to implement an urban innovation strategy as proposed by the Brookings Institution and Public Sector Consultants for Business Leaders for Michigan and capitalizing on Michigan's “blue economy.”
“One of our greatest economic assets is our water, in multiple ways,” says Austin. “We can make and export water efficiency projects. We can be the center of clean water research. We have an incredible piece of real estate in our waterfronts. People around Michigan are starting to see that water is a magical resource that we have.”
The MEC has also received a $225,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to implement an initiative called "Michigan Dream Restored," which will develop policy proposals to help Michigan better support investments in economy-growing public assets.
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