MEGA-P- Building Economic Prosperity in Washtenaw County

What is MEGA-P?

It’s not just another acronym – it literally means a really, really big partnership! MEGA-P's goal is to provide workforce and economic development services that support the growth and prosperity of the businesses and citizen of Washtenaw County --exceeding expectations for service and quality.

MEGA-P fuses together the resources of the major workforce and economic development organizations in Washtenaw County.  By working together the partners leverage their resources to connect businesses with existing workforce & economic development services and to assist the citizens of the county.

MEGA- Partner Organizations
Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce
Ann Arbor SPARK
Eastern Michigan University
University of Michigan
Washtenaw County/etcs Ypsilanti Area Chamber of Commerce

History and Innovation

MEGA-Partnership was formed in 2006 by Washtenaw County government to focus on talent/workforce /economic development priorities in Washtenaw County, Michigan. Led by executives from government, education, business and workforce/economic development organizations, it aligns priorities and creates business solutions for employers to ensure extraordinary community impact.

Results and Outcomes

The Ann Arbor/Washtenaw County region, located in southeast Michigan, has been heavily impacted by the decline of the automotive industry. In 2007 the largest private employer in Ann Arbor, Pfizer’s R&D Center announced that it was closing (3000+ jobs). This news presented a massive challenge.

The community, through the MEGA-Partnership, banded together in a way that is rarely found. By coordinating many organizations and establishing clear relationships among partners, the reach, effectiveness and resources of the whole increased. The innovation of the program is in the delegation of duties; with each organization playing a focused role, the Partnership accomplishes and achieves more. Washtenaw County’s Workforce Development Board led formation of the Partnership.

The Partnership, led by Washtenaw County ETCS , includes leaders from the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti Area Chambers of Commerce, Ann Arbor SPARK(economic development), Chelsea Community Hospital, Cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Concordia University, Eastern Michigan University, MichBio, University of Michigan, and Washtenaw Community College.

Planning and implementation are done together with resources being shared.. Some of the accomplishments to date are:

* Expanded and improved outreach within the employer community
* Developed a coordinated response process for plant closings and lay-offs
* Created and Co-funded a Talent Enhancement Director position
* Conducted a Community Talent Survey and Labor Assessment study
* Obtained a $1 million grant from the State of Michigan in response to the Pfizer closing
* Launched Career Change Boot Camps, Hot Shots career networking for professionals, Mix and Mingle for entrepreneurs, A Talent Primer for Start-Ups, and the Cultural Ambassadors programs
* Established over 30 Access Points, a community and faith based effort to bring workforce assistance to neighborhoods
* Developed programs and resources to support Entrepreneurs of all types including technical assistance and training funds to over 20 start-up companies.

As the MEGA-Partnership moves forward its efforts are focused on:
• New Business Models- Solo Practitioners – Half of the registered businesses in the county are sole practitioners. Thus a focus is to learn more about the needs of these people and to develop services to assist them.
• Talent Ecosystem Development –Address and support the growth of an eco- system of jobs in Washtenaw County to allow people to build and sustain a career here.
• Company Growth Support - Providing assistance to smaller companies to help them grow and to keep them in the county. This year’s efforts will focus on the eastern portion of the county.
• Developing a Center for Transitioning Talent- The intent is twofold 1) to develop a seamless internship process and link with k-12 students, college students and transitioning adults and 2)– assisting people through community outreach in these hard economic times This center caters to retired CEOs and

autoworkers and ties to the new Ypsilanti Economic Development Plan
• Marketing the Assets of the Community to Attract Companies and Talent
• Implementing a Trailing Spouse Program – create and develop opportunities for trailing spouses.
• Entrepreneurship Support – Continuing to increase support of entrepreneurs of all kinds