eCities 2011 is now OPEN!  If you have a username and password, click here to get started.

eCities is an annual research study that examines community-level factors that influence entrepreneurship, economic development, and job growth. Local communities who participate in the project receive benchmarking reports showing their performance at creating inviting business environments and encouraging entrepreneurial growth. The focus of the project is to learn and share the “Best Practices” to attract entrepreneurial development and create business growth. Understanding the best practices and utilizing these concepts across Michigan will have a positive impact on the state’s economic future.  For information and results from previous years, please visit our archives.

If you are a city, township, or village that wishes to share in the best practices of communities to promote entrepreneurial growth and economic development, please contact Tim Davis, by email at ecities@umd.umich.edu or phone at (313) 593-4060 to participate in eCities.  Also, we will be launching eCounties this summer.  More information coming soon.

The following organizations have graciously provided assistance to the eCities project: