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Today, regional economic development organization The Right Place, Inc. hosted its 24^th annual Economic Outlook for West Michigan. The virtual event featured a year-in-review presentation by The Right Place, Inc. President and CEO Birgit Klohs as well as an in-depth economic analysis and forecast for West Michigan in 2021 by Jim Robey and the W.E. Upjohn Institute.

For the majority of 2020, companies across Michigan have been pivoting in a big way. Offices are no longer the communal spaces they once were. Teams big and small have transitioned to remote work; an entirely new landscape for some businesses.

During this Navigate 2020 webinar, Cohen and Sosa VerDuin share the results of their latest study for the first time and provide employers with new data to use in rethinking talent attraction, retention, and promotion.

For The Right Place, Inc.’s July session of its new Navigate 2020 webinar series, Sonja Johnson, Executive Director of the GVSU Van Andel Global Trade Center gave a brief overview of the current state of global trade.

The Right Place, Inc. hosted the second session of its new Navigate 2020 webinar series in mid-June. The webinar featured IHS Markit Executive Director for Automotive Advisory Services, Michael Robinet, who provided a deep dive into the new structures driving post-COVID automotive supplier strategy.

In mid-May, The Right Place hosted the first webinar in its new monthly series, Navigate 2020. Guest speaker Rick Mattoon, senior economist and economic advisor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, provided insight and answered questions surrounding the anticipated economic recovery in the U.S. following the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In early December, more than 450 business and community leaders joined The Right Place for its 23^rd Annual Economic Outlook for West Michigan. The 2020 Economic Outlook provided insights on regional, state, and national economic trends and projections, as well as current economic development conditions and activities.

In 2015, Forbes named Grand Rapids as the second worst city in the nation for African Americans to prosper. This came as a stark contrast to the long list of accolades the region receives on an annual basis. Our community has been tackling this topic head-on, but there is still a lot more work to be done. Which is why The Right Place recently hosted an Investor Breakfast at the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology (WMCAT) on the topic of Supplier Diversity.

The morning after giving her State of the State Address in Lansing, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer traveled to Grand Rapids for a special edition of our Investor Breakfast series. Nearly 400 members of the West Michigan business community joined us for the early morning event, where the governor shared her vision for the State of Michigan and held a Q&A session.

The 2019 Economic Outlook for West Michigan highlighted some fluctuations the economy saw in 2018, and forecasted slower growth than we’ve seen in recent years. However, the economy is predicted to remain relatively strong overall, and at this time, no recessions appear to be on the horizon.