ANN ARBOR – A Chicago summit on April 14-15 will look at ways to help communities to identify and capture government and nonprofit funds to help cushion the blow of a rapidly declining auto sector.

The summit is co-sponsored by the Center for Automotive Research and the University of Michigan. It is called Roads to Renewal: A Summit on the Changing Automotive Industry – How Communities Can Thrive and will be held at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel.

The summit will address the overall state of the economy, the automotive industry’s future, its impact on communities, and lessons learned from

the development of the auto industry in the southern region of the United States.

The U-M’s Institute for Research on Labor, Employment and the Economy will focus one afternoon session on ways automotive communities can receive assistance in the short run and plan for a future that transitions them away from a traditional automotive industry.

“Given the state of the U.S. economy and its current economic and social impact on traditional communities, this session will encourage communities to consider what their critical needs are and to determine what resources from federal and state agencies exist to assist with a transition,” said Lawrence Molnar, session moderator and associate director for Community and Economic Development Programs at IRLEE. “Communities need to consider their assets and plan thoughtfully for their future.”

Panel members include George Erickcek, senior regional analyst, W. E. Upjohn Institute; George Fulton, research professor, U-M Department of Economics; Ned Hill, professor and Distinguished Scholar of Economic Development, Cleveland State University, and Senior Fellow of the Metropolitan Policy Program at The Brookings Institution; and William Testa, vice president and director of regional programs, Economic Research Department, Federal Reserve

Bank of Chicago.

In addition to the panel, Stephen R. Forrest, U-M vice president of research, will address the morning plenary session. Other sessions will focus on how communities can build on their existing assets through partnerships, investment in education and support for innovation. An up-to-date listing of speakers and sessions is available on the summit’s Web site RegionalSummit.CARGroup.Org

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