Press Release

Detroit Future City Moving From Eastern Market Location, Plans for New Office and Organizational Structure Underway

July 29, 2013

Detroit Future City officials announce they are moving from their Eastern Market Home Base located at 2929 Russell Street by August 1.

Plans are underway for the Detroit Future City Implementation Team to be in a new storefront space by October, but in the meantime, the DFC leadership is continuing to develop a dynamic organizational structure and staff for implementation.

“The Eastern Market location served us well while we were developing the Strategic Framework plan, but we’ve decided it will be best to establish a new location that can accommodate our changing needs for the implementation of the Framework,” said Detroit Future City, director, Dan Kinkead.

Kinkead says the new location has been identified and they are in negotiations with the building owner. He expects to be able to share more details about the new Implementation Home Base in the coming weeks.

In the interim, the Home Base Staff will temporarily relocate to the offices of Detroit Future City partner Hamilton Anderson Associates. They are based in downtown’s Paradise Valley District.

The Detroit Future City phone number will remain the same: 313-259-4407, as will the email address: info@detroitfuturecity.com. Team members will continue to answer questions about the Framework, schedule meeting requests, and help Detroiters make a connection to Detroit Future City.

The content from the Strategic Framework will also remain accessible. The Framework can still be downloaded at: www.DetroitFutureCity.com. A reference copy will remain available at 80 locations across metro Detroit including all Detroit Public Library branches. Our information Roadshows will also continue to be exhibited across the city.

Building an Implementation Team

Kinkead along with Senior Program Manager Heidi Alcock through their first 11-weeks have conducted hundreds of meetings.

“We’ve met with institutions, organizations, and individuals eager to understand how Detroit Future City fits into their decision-making, and how we, collectively can bring the Framework to life,” said Kinkead.

He went on to say they have been creating their Implementation Platform, establishing a vision, tactics, and priorities; while also identifying staff, defining budgets, and outlining an organizational structure.

One of the most important duties they have had is developing an organizational structure that can bring the Strategic Framework to life.

“The Detroit Future City vision is to leverage and catalyze the transformative potential of the Framework with: Strategic Coordination, Fiscal Sustainability, and Improved Quality of Life,” said Kinkead. “Using an inclusive implementation structure that offers authorship and contribution by all stakeholders is the formula for success.”

Organization Structure

Detroit Future City officials have developed an organizational structure using the Five Planning Elements found in the Strategic Framework—Economic Growth, Land Use, City Systems, Neighborhoods, and Public Assets—as its foundation.

For each of the five planning elements a Working Group is being assembled. Each working group will have:

  • A Detroit Future City team member responsible for leading the working group,
  • Expert technical resource team members well-versed in the planning elements,
  • Civic engagement and communications resources to connect with stakeholders,
  • Collaborators comprised of institutional peers, experts, and vested contributors who are prepared to add value to the implementation process.

Each Working Group will serve as a point of entry for Implementation Partners that Detroit Future City officials describe to be organizations, institutions, and individuals already driving change for Detroit.

Together, the Working Groups and Implementation Partners will collaborate to exchange ideas for change and strive to align efforts with the guiding principles of the Strategic Framework.

Kinkead and Alcock are the leadership team overseeing the daily activities of the organization and have direct lines to funders and the organization’s fiduciary, which is the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.

An Advisory Board will bring an informed and broad cross-section of stakeholders together to provide guidance and insight to the organization.

The Detroit Future City Implementation Team will use three primary tactics to catalyze the movement needed to improve the quality of life and create a sustainable city. They are:

  1. Engagement: Build on the robust Civic Engagement process developed throughout the planning effort. Connect with stakeholders and partners to identify and coordinate activities/projects that will bring the strategic framework to life.
  2. Projects: The Detroit Future City’s Implementation Team will prioritize and coordinate their involvement in projects with following designations:
    • Endorsements: Projects or initiatives underway that the Detroit Future City Implementation Team recognizes for their alignment with the Strategic Framework.
    • Partnerships: Projects or initiatives that align with the Strategic Framework, in which Detroit Future City partners with, informs, and in some cases identifies resources for, implementers to execute critical projects.
    • Execution: Projects or initiatives led and executed by the Implementation Team that align with Strategic Framework. Here, Detroit Future City will play a leadership role contributing capacity for important endeavors for which current capacity may not exist. Each effort will be documented to provide open source information to inform local stakeholders.
    • Policy: Work with the appropriate public agencies to advocate for regulatory reform that brings about new systems, approvals, and methods for decision-making.

Project Tracking

The Detroit Future City team has already begun to track projects occurring throughout Detroit and categorizing them by planning elements; creating a Charter for each which includes 1.) Objectives, 2.) Means & Methods, 3.) Resources, 4.) Schedule, 5.) Metrics, and 6.) Evaluation.

Each project will be assigned to one or multiple Working Group leads that will work with the Implementation Partners to inform decision-making using the Detroit Future City Strategic Framework.

What’s Next?

It’s expected that in August Detroit Future City will:

  • Bring three Detroit Revitalization Fellows on board to be part of the implementation team
  • Introduce the Founding Members of the Detroit Future City Advisory Board
  • Announce its new storefront location.

About Detroit Future City

Detroit Future City is a comprehensive strategic framework that outlines recommendations to leverage Detroit’s strengths and assets and coordinate investment and resources regarding economic growth, land, neighborhoods, infrastructure, and civic engagement. Detroit Future City is a guide for decision making that helps stakeholders – community groups, philanthropy, business entities and economic developers, government, investors, and more – make decisions using a shared vision that improves the quality of life for all.

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