Vision
One D believes that regional transformation and change are possible and must be achieved now. We will act as one united region to advance progress and growth. We believe the only way to achieve this goal is to align the private, public and non-profit sectors towards these common priorities.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is One D?

One D is a collaboration created to transform metropolitan Detroit into one of the world’s great regions. Founded by the CEO’s of six regional civic organizations, One D is focused on the alignment of private, public and non-profit sectors toward the achievement of common, regional priorities.

• Larry Alexander, Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Richard E. Blouse, Jr., Detroit Regional Chamber
• Michael J. Brennan, United Way of Southeastern Michigan
• Maud Lyon, Cultural Alliance of Southeastern Michigan
• Doug Rothwell, Detroit Renaissance
• Shirley Stancato, New Detroit, Inc.

How is this initiative different?

One D is about thinking and acting collaboratively for the greater good of the region, which is a paradigm shift from the past where turf and home-rule dominated.  Further, One D:

• Focuses on five priorities that the people of Southeast Michigan have collectively said are important to the region’s success;

• Encourages the private sector to speak with a unified voice for the region;

• Has the ability to attract private sector funding for action plan implementation;

• Encourages local foundations, businesses, civic and other organizations to focus on regional priorities;

The One D collaboration is not an organization.  Rather, it is the process of exerting significant influence to bring change to the region, with a well-known civic leader, Edsel B. Ford II, as its lead champion.

How were the five priorities selected?

The region’s top civic organizations surveyed the community to assess the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for Southeast Michigan.  Those organizations are:  The Cultural Alliance of Southeastern Michigan, Detroit Regional Chamber, Detroit Renaissance, New Detroit, Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau and United Way for Southeastern Michigan.  Almost 10,000 individuals in the region had a voice in determining the priorities adopted by One D.  Over 90% of those surveyed indicated they expected more regional collaboration as an overarching priority.  The survey results indicated that the top five priority areas for the region are: economic prosperity, quality of life, regional transit, educational preparedness and race relations.

How is One D funded?

One D is funded through grants from the following foundations:

• The Skillman Foundation
• The Hudson-Webber Foundation
• The Kresge Foundation
• The Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan
• The McGregor Foundation

And through in-kind support from One D founding partners.

How can One D help make progress in these areas?

Each priority has defined a vision, goals and supporting strategies which integrate the work of the founding partners and other organizations.  In some cases, this process links already existing plans with the work of the founding organizations and others to achieve each goal.

How will other organizations become a part of One D?

One D will widen the circle of organizations to be involved with each of the five priorities.  One D will be reaching out to business, civic and non-profit organizations that are interested in working together and have work that meet the following criteria:

• Work must be regional in scope;
• Work must be aligned with of the five One D priorities and its vision directly;
• Work impacts one or more key measures for that priority;
• Work supports understood regional norms - being collaborative and inclusive, working for the good of the region as a whole.

In addition, other collaborations and alliances have reached out to One D to report their work and have asked One D to highlight their progress on regional collaboration and progress in one or more of the five priority areas. 

How will we know if progress has been made?

There will be metrics for all agreed-upon action plans, with an annual progress report.  One D expects to be held accountable by the public, the investors, and the media.

One D will measure progress at the Mackinac Policy Conference every year in May.  The One D Champions Council, as an independent body, will evaluate our progress as a region prior to the Mackinac Conference, based on both objective facts and subjective information.  The One D partners will share, via the website, the media and other communications, progress in each of the five priority areas with the public.

What has happened since Mackinac?

• Formation of a Champions Council.  Led by Edsel B. Ford II and consisting of key business and community leaders, the Council was formed and will advocate for regional collaboration. Their primary purpose will be to help the One D founders track progress and validate the annual report at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference.  They are:
• Sandra Pierce, Charter One Bank
• The Honorable Damon J. Keith, US Circuit Court Judge
• Grant Beard, Trimas Corp
• Robert Rinney, Henry Ford Health Systems
• Josh Linkner, ePrize
• Maja Freij, ACCESS

• The “Actions for Regional Unity” have been formed to provide a framework for individuals and organizations to follow (see below).

• A Joint Board Meeting of all Founding Members’ organizations was held in December 2007.

• A full time director was hired and an office was established in January 2008.

• The One D initiative was funded for a three year period by five area foundations.

• Workgroups have been formed around each of the five priorities.  Two founding CEO’s serve as the co-conveners for each workgroup.  In addition, staff experts, foundation staff, and other regional experts in their respective fields, are serving on workgroups. 

• Objectives have been refined and strategies have been created to support the objectives of the five priority areas.  This is the heart of One D’s work.  Metrics are being developed to track our progress for each objective.  Where applicable and appropriate, metrics are being aligned with other organizations and foundations doing similar work to build consistency and collaboration within the region.

• Workgroups continue to meet, collaborate, expedite and facilitate one another’s work around the priority areas and making progress toward the strategies and objectives under each of the five priority areas.

• One D leadership continues to meet with the foundation community, regional political leaders, higher education institutions and other community groups to keep the public engaged in our work.

• One D leadership has connected to other regional collaborations to help regional progress in their particular areas.  Many of these groups would like One D to not only highlight their work, but to scorecard it annually along with One D’s work in the five priority areas.

• The first annual scorecard has been developed with long term goals, baseline data, supporting objectives and a report on the progress against objectives.  Specific progress under each priority is reported in the scorecard which was made available for distribution on May 28, 2008 at the Mackinac Policy Conference.

How to get involved:

The "Actions for Regional Unity" will join the work that individuals and organizations are already doing, concentrating the day-to-day effort toward the common good of the region by doing the following:

• Focus on the power of one voice – the common good of the region – rather than individual interests.
• Take ownership of the region’s future.
• Encourage regional thinking in every sector, private and public.
• Respect each other as equal partners.
• Reduce duplication of efforts to better utilize limited resources.
• Consider collaborative efforts to build efficiencies and expedite  complimentary work
• For more information on how to share your work or get involved, please visit www.oned.org or call 313.202.6309