One D Presents First Regional Scorecard in the Opening Session of the Mackinac Policy Conference
Edsel B. Ford II: This is a Snapshot of our Progress as a Region MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich., May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- One D, a group of six civic organizations working collaboratively to transform regional Detroit, has presented its first scorecard outlining goals, objectives and progress on how the region is achieving success in five common priorities.
In the conference's opening session, Edsel B. Ford II presented the score on 19 goals, which have been developed to address the vision of each priority. "This is a road map to where we are going and how successful we have been in the last year," said Ford. "It is a snapshot of how well we have done and what we have yet to do in measuring our progress. I think we were very tough on scoring it." While the scorecard grades progress by red, yellow, and green symbols, the evaluation is not intended to be a judgment of any one organization's work but rather a report-out on the success of the collective work in transforming the region. The grades are intended to keep score of the region's progress toward achieving the priorities, which 10,000 residents said were important to them.
In his address, Ford called out some of the key points and progress in the scorecard, namely: Economic Prosperity - encompasses measurements in job growth, retention and attraction of new business, attracting the creative class and high skill, high wage jobs and individuals. Example of progress: More than $4 billion in new investment in regional Detroit in 2007. Overall score: yellow - action required. Educational Preparedness - a focus on three phases of learning, early childhood reading, success in high school and preparation for secondary education. Example of progress: One D partners hosted an educational summit in April, attended by more than 300 participants from school districts throughout the region -- some with the worst graduation rates. Assisted in helping them form workgroups and implement plans to turn around the downward trend in dropout rates. Overall score: red - missing the target. Quality of Life - a focus on a great place to work, live, and raise a family must also concentrate on the arts and culture, parks and recreation, and changing the narrative about the assets we have in the region to businesses and individuals. Example of progress: The D Brand for business has been developed and adopted by the Tourism and Economic Development Council. Launched in January of this year, 64 companies are already using the D Brand toolkit to help them tell employees, potential employees and clients why being in the D is the place to be. Overall score: yellow - action required. Race Relations - goals are focused on education, economics, perceptions and asset mapping the opportunities and resources we already have to address racial barriers and issues. Example of progress: Cataloging opportunities that break down discrimination are underway including corporate programs, non-profit and civic work addressing race relations. Overall score: red - missing the target. Regional Transit - a focus on SEMCOG's plan, which identifies key Detroit regional corridors for mass transit improvement and development, paving the way toward a regional transit system. Example of progress: Bipartisan action has been effective in increasing ridership to 47 million, and the Woodward Corridor light rail has been adopted as the Locally Preferred Alternative. Overall score: yellow - action required. "This is a snapshot of a given moment in time. As such, it is constantly changing," said Ford. "It changed between the time it was prepared and the time we all entered the room today. One thing I'll guarantee. It's going to be an exciting year. And I'll look forward to telling you all about it -- twelve months from now." Since last year's conference, One D has secured funding by all five leading foundations in the amount of $810,000 over 3 years, hired a full time director, Kathleen Owsley, recruited and convened the Champions Council, held a joint board meeting of all six founding members' organizations, and convened ongoing work groups to facilitate the work around priority areas. In all, 45 objectives were researched and defined as action steps helping to accomplish the 19 goals -- none of which were identified a year ago. The spirit of One D's focus on regionalism has also been embraced by three other groups: Family Service Alliance of Southeastern Michigan, which formed a collaborative effort with Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Family Services to serve more families; the Mechanical Contractors of Detroit which has publicly supported the need for regional collaboration in their work; and Leadership Detroit, celebrating its 30th year, which has adopted One D's priorities in their curriculum. The road ahead will include identifying the issues that continue to challenge the region and developing work plans to address them. Ford also indicated that we are beginning to understand the need to change the narrative about Detroit among ourselves. The One D Leadership Team includes: Edsel B. Ford II, Lead Champion Cultural Alliance of Southeast Michigan Detroit Regional Chamber Detroit Renaissance Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau New Detroit, Inc United Way for Southeastern Michigan Kathleen Owsley, Director For more information on One D, visit oned.org
CONTACT: Christina Lovio-George, +1-313-832-2210, or +1-313-701-2439 -cell, clg@loviogeorgeinc.com, or Aamira Bellamy, +1-313-832-2210 x17, or Web site: http://oned.org/
2008-05-28 17:42:31 0372271 PRNEWSWIRE
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