With three gold and three silver Excellence Awards from the International Economic Development Council, Michigan achieves its best-ever results ahead of the organization’s annual conference in Detroit

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is earning international recognition – and bringing home the gold – for its work to support vibrant communities across the state, develop and retain talent and build a future where everyone can “Make It in Michigan.” In its annual Excellence in Economic Development Awards, which recognize the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships, the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) honored the MEDC with three gold and three silver awards.

This year’s Excellence Awards recognize MEDC’s efforts to keep talented workers in the state and help more people see a future here through the Talent Action Team and Michigander Scholars programs; create and support attractive places where people want to live and work through the Match on Main program; provide entrepreneurs and innovators access to multiple grant funding opportunities focused on technology activations and unique access to the state’s world-class testing facilities through the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification’s Michigan Mobility Funding Platform; and connect businesses with the resources they need to grow and thrive, while nurturing the communities around them, as exemplified by the Ore Dock Real Estate – Rosewood Expansion project in Marquette.

“We couldn’t be prouder to celebrate the MEDC’s six IEDC Excellence Awards, including three golds,” said MEDC CEO Quentin L. Messer, Jr. “This recognition is really a Team Michigan recognition of the engagement and efforts of Governor Whitmer, bipartisan members of the state legislature, local and regional partners across Michigan and my tremendous teammates at the MEDC. Dedication and hard work by my MEDC colleagues are making positive difference across the state as Team Michigan revitalizes communities, develops talent and supports businesses of all sizes by executing the ‘Make It in Michigan’ economic development strategy. We look forward to exploring the future of economic development at the IEDC Conference in Detroit with our peers and sharing our ‘Make It in Michigan’ message with a global audience.” 

The Excellence Awards announcement comes ahead of the IEDC’s annual conference, which will be held in Detroit this September. According to the IEDC, “Detroit’s powerful story sets the stage for a high-impact experience where economic developers will come together to explore bold ideas, actionable strategies and transformative solutions.”

MEDC’s IEDC Excellence Awards

The MEDC received three gold and three silver Excellence Awards in categories that represent placemaking, talent solutions, mobility initiatives and small business support across the state:

• Ore Dock Real Estate – Rosewood Expansion Project (Gold Winner, Real Estate Development & Reuse): In September 2022, Ore Dock received $3.905 million from the MEDC’s Revitalization and Placemaking program to support this expansion in Marquette, which transformed a vacant and condemned structure into a dynamic, mixed-use development intertwining craft beverage expansion, housing and green space. With over $8.3 million in total investment, the project created six new jobs, added two new and renovated two existing residential units and activated vacant property in the historic downtown.
• Talent Action Team (Gold Winner, Talent Development & Retention and Silver Winner, Public-Private Partnership): The Michigan Talent Action Team (TAT) is the nation’s first public-private state talent coalition tasked with the goal of addressing worker shortages and fragmented workforce solutions in two key high-opportunity advanced manufacturing sectors: electric vehicles (EV)/mobility and semiconductors. Through March 31, 2025, the TAT has placed or trained more than 6,000 people for advanced manufacturing jobs across Michigan, invested more than $30 million in grants to PK-12 and higher education partners, engaged more than 15,000 PK-12 students in classroom and summer programs designed to introduce careers in advanced manufacturing, and created a 1,400-plus annual tech- and engineering-student pipeline for Michigan employer-partners.
• Michigander Scholars Program (Gold Winner, Postsecondary Education Partnership): The Michigander Scholars program is a groundbreaking public-private partnership spearheaded by the MEDC’s TAT and focused on the talent gap in the electric vehicle, aerospace/defense, semiconductor and transportation mobility industries. TAT launched the Michigander Scholars program in 2023 with five university partners and more than a dozen employer partners and has awarded more than 500 scholarships for students to stay in state for internship and postgraduate employment.

• Match on Main – 2021 Program Relaunch (Silver Winner, Recovery, Resiliency & Mitigation): The Match on Main program supports small businesses in select Michigan communities. Originally piloted in 2019, a comprehensive statewide evaluation in 2020 led to significant program restructuring and formal relaunch in 2021. This transformation expanded eligibility, simplified access and adapted funding priorities to better meet post-pandemic needs. Since 2019, the Match on Main program has awarded over $5.2 million to 188 small businesses in 80 communities across Michigan. Since relaunching in 2021, Match on Main has contributed to the creation of 384 new jobs and generated $18.3 million in Gross State Product. 72% of grantees reported improved business viability, and 66% experienced revenue growth, with an average increase of $58,000 annually. Notably, 91% of grantee businesses remain open.
• Michigan Mobility Funding Platform (Silver Winner, Multi-Year Collaborative Economic Development): The Michigan Mobility Funding Platform (MMFP) through the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification increases accessibility to capital and testing facilities for startups and entrepreneurs, cultivating an advanced mobility ecosystem in the state and establishing Michigan as a leader in next-generation mobility. The program helps businesses get connected to resources or partners in the public and private sectors, including matchmaking services and events for mobility companies. Since its inception, the MMFP has supported over 40 different companies receiving a combined $3.1 million in funding.

The six IEDC Excellence Awards build on other recent accolades for the MEDC’s placemaking and talent initiatives. Thanks to the MEDC’s support of the redevelopment of former RACER Trust properties in Flint, Lansing and Ypsilanti Township, RACER Trust selected the MEDC as a winner of a 2025 RACER’s Edge Award. The award was presented to the MEDC at the National Brownfields Training Conference in Chicago earlier this month. Additionally, in April 2025, the MEDC’s TAT was selected by Business Facilities to be part of its 2025 class of 10 statewide Economic Development Organization Award winners.

Learn why people and businesses are choosing to Make It in Michigan.