Advancing Community-Engaged Economic Innovation: Regional Economic Innovation

Jenan Jondy, University Outreach and Engagement
Statewide Consultative Panel

The enduring partnership between MSU Regional Economic Innovation (REI) and the Consultative Panel (CP) is rooted in mutual trust and reciprocity. Since 2011, this collaboration has functioned as a learning network through which university expertise and community knowledge are continuously exchanged, jointly interpreted, and strategically applied to address Michigan’s most persistent economic development challenges. Thirty-four CPs, representing Economic Development Districts, state agencies, local governments, nonprofits, higher education institutions, entrepreneurs, and national partners, provide deep regional insight that guides REI’s project selection, research questions, and implementation strategies in under-resourced communities. Their participation, alongside that of communities across the state, ensures that the issues studied each year emerge directly from community needs, whether related to workforce, access to capital, disinvestment, innovation ecosystems, or circular economy practices. Student-led/faculty-guided projects, co-learning plans, and innovation fellowship projects are reviewed and co-selected by REI staff and the CP, demonstrating shared governance and decision-making. Research is not conducted on communities but with them: Communities articulate their needs, help refine methodologies, and guide interpretation of findings. Findings are translated into publicly accessible reports, videos, podcasts, webinars, digital newsletters, and open-access publications. In this way, the REI CP partnership embodies MSU’s land-grant mission by transforming community-engaged scholarship into actionable public value, strengthening Michigan’s economic resilience and advancing equitable development statewide.