Given Michigan’s long-standing rivalry with Ohio in sports as well as other arenas, it’s disappointing that Ohio economic developers do a better job, Donofrio said.
“I hear from CEOs across Michigan about how good at customer service they [in Ohio] are, how they get outreach from JobsOhio, their economic development agency,” Donofrio said. “How they get outreach from state government leaders on a consistent basis is by saying, ‘Come to Ohio, we want you to grow here. How can we help you? What barriers can we remove?’ They make it easy, right?”
Michigan, of course, has multiple economic development agencies at the state, county, and local levels. But Maureen Krauss, President and Chief Executive Officer of the non-profit Detroit Regional Partnership, said Ohio’s approach offers some real competitive advantages.
JobsOhio is a private nonprofit operating at the statewide level but pushes decision-making down to the local level through seven regional agencies. And in the key difference, Krauss said, JobsOhio provides funding for its many programs for 30 years into the future. That means agencies don’t need to adjust to ever-changing funding levels from each newly elected legislature.
“It’s very consistent, and that really lines up with how businesses think when they’re investing in your community,” Krauss said. “They’re not making a two-year commitment or a four-year commitment. But in Michigan, we don’t align our policies in our programs with the way businesses make investments.
“It’s been the approach to economic development, primarily at a statewide level, that has made the difference,” she said.
The money to support JobsOhio’s initiatives comes from a unique operation called the JobsOhio Beverage System. Launched in 2013, the entity acquired an exclusive 25-year franchise from the State of Ohio for the sale of spirituous liquor in the state.
That contrasts with the on-again, off-again nature of much funding in a purple state like Michigan, where changing administrations can send conflicting signals on funding and priorities.
“And I would argue that we need to be better at aligning with how business make their investments, because that provides companies with certainty on what’s going to happen during the course of their investment,” Krauss said.
Donofrio echoes that.
Business Leaders For Michigan’s Jeff Donofrio giving a Power Perspective at the 2026 Detroit Policy Conference.
