Frequently Asked Questions

What is One D?
One D is collaborative initiative that supports regional progress in Southeast Michigan by connecting, convening and influencing change. One D focuses on five overarching priority areas: Economic Prosperity, Educational Preparedness, Race Relations, Regional Transit and Quality of life.

One D’s mission is to connect the community of Southeast Michigan together for the purpose of:
• Increasing awareness about the state of the region
• Communicating how the region is progressing against itself and against other large metropolitan areas in the country
• Increasing collaboration and reducing redundancies
• Increasing awareness of important programs and projects in the region
• Sharing best practices
• Encouraging local foundations, businesses, civic and other organizations to focus on regional priorities and a common path

One D's function is to keep the focus of the community on regional challenges and progress in these five areas and to encourage collaboration and action toward change. We do that in three ways:

"How are we doing as a region?"
One D publishes a regional scorecard of indicators with comparisons to other metropolitan areas.

"What’s being done in the region?"
One D collects information about programs, events and initiatives that are happening within the community that support progress against our priority areas and indicators.

"What do you think?"
One D hosts key learning groups, website discussion forums and regional update meetings to increase participation and awareness of important initiatives in Southeast Michigan.

Who is One D?
One D is lead by Edsel B. Ford II and the Chief Executive Officers of eight regional, civic organizations:

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.
Paul Tait, SEMCOG/Metropolitan Affairs Coalition

The One D Director is Kathleen Bushnell Owsley, CAE.
For more information, contact One D director, Kathleen Bushnell Owsley at 313.202.6309 or at kat.owsley@oned.org

How is this initiative different?
One D is not an organization.
One D is a collaborative initiative focusing on regional issues.
One D convenes, connects and influences people and organizations around regional goals and objectives.
One D seeks to connect the region to vital information about how the region is doing and what is being done in the region in support of progress for SE Michigan
One D strives to decrease redundancies and connect similar projects and initiatives together greater efficiency and effectiveness.
One D prioritizes regional progress over individual community or organizational needs
One D’s priority areas were chosen via extensive surveying of the public. Over 10,000 people in Southeast Michigan responded to surveys and participated in focus groups to yield the five priority areas of One D.

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 Fund

How can One D support 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. Every day One D strives to find new ways to allow other organizations to share their work and experience and to connect to projects and organizations that support similar work. One D also supports the progress of the goals and priorities by providing methods of convening and communicating.

How do organizations become a part of One D?
There are many ways to become a part of the One D initiative. We are looking for programs and organizations that meet certain criteria that align with the mission of One D. They are:

• Work must be regional in scope;
• Work must be aligned with one or more the five One D priority areas;
• 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?
Through more than 75 indicators, we can track the progress we are making against ourselves and against other metropolitan regions. All the metrics are quantitative measures that that will be tracked over time. Annually, One D will publish a new scorecard with updated data and, in some instances, new indicators.

How can one person make a difference?
• Familiarize yourself with the One D regional scorecard to learn more about how SE Michigan fares in key indicators.
• Have a particular area of interest and want to learn more about organizations that are doing the work? Check out the One D program profile area and get connected to the organizations that are doing the work.
• Urge your elected officials to learn more about the regional scorecard and to adopt behaviors that support regional progress.

Finally, follow and encourage others to follow the Actions for Regional Unity:

• Focus on the power of one voice – the common good of the region – rather
• than individual interests. Encourage elected officials to do the same.
• Take ownership of the region’s future.
• Encourage regional thinking in every sector, private and public.
• Respect others equal partners.
• Reduce duplication of efforts to better utilize limited resources.
• Consider collaborative efforts to build efficiencies and expedite complimentary work.
• Tell us about your work! Upload information on your program or organization to the One D profile section including a brief description of the project, photos, contact information.
• For more information on how to share your work or get involved, please visit www.oned.org or call 313.202.6309, or email kat.owsley@oned.org