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Study: Metro Detroit Shifts to Innovation Ecosystem From Manufacturing Heritage
July 30, 2025
Michigan is shifting to an innovation ecosystem from a manufacturing ecosystem as the advanced mobility industry grows, according to a study from Social Network Analysis. // Stock photo
A new study that maps relationships and connections across southeast Michigan’s advanced mobility industry shows the region is shifting from a manufacturing ecosystem to an innovation ecosystem that encourages the free flow of ideas and the creation of new partnerships and collaborations.
The Social Network Analysis study was led by the Global Epicenter of Mobility (GEM), a program of the Detroit Regional Partnership made possible by a four-year United States Economic Development Administration Build Back Better Regional Challenge grant award.
Building and fostering relationships among organizations operating in, or adjacent to, the mobility industry across the 11-county Detroit region is a key success measure for GEM written into the U.S. grant proposal.
To measure the progress of its relationship-building efforts, GEM initiated the first Social Network Analysis study in 2023 to establish a baseline of existing relationships.
Results from a second survey, conducted earlier this year, show a more fluid distribution of influence and connectivity compared to the 2023 data.
The new data demonstrates a decentralization of information and relationships throughout the Detroit mobility ecosystem — expanding it across more organizations. This represents a positive shift away from a traditional manufacturing system to an innovation ecosystem.
“The year-over-year results of the Social Network Analysis show GEM’s relationship-building efforts are having a tangible impact on how organizations across the Detroit region operate and work together to achieve common goals, business growth, and economic success,” says Christine Roeder, executive vice president of GEM.
“While the GEM team has witnessed dozens of examples of these mutually beneficial connections happening in real time, the Social Network Analysis validates that work in a way that shows just how much is possible when we all work together.”
This Social Network Analysis was performed by Orange Sparkle Ball, a consulting and innovation firm, in conjunction with GEM and the University of Kansas Social Innovation Lab.
The data was collected through surveys sent to representatives from organizations in the Detroit mobility ecosystem, requesting them to identify their relationship with other organizations.
Additional rounds of Social Network Analysis are set to be conducted in the fall of 2025 and 2026 to further explore the impact of GEM’s initiatives on relationships in the region and the shift in the Detroit mobility ecosystem over time.
While similar social network surveys have been conducted in other regions of the U.S. as one-time initiatives, GEM and its research partners have found no evidence of ongoing social network studies tracking relationship-building and ecosystem shifts over the span of several years like GEM’s Social Network Analysis.
For more information about GEM, visit: gemdetroitregion.com/.
For more information about the Social Network Analysis, visit here.
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