Strategic Initiative Fund (SIF)

Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS)

The initiative will expand the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS) into a Detroit-centered civic data platform-shared infrastructure that provides reliable, timely, and representative information to residents, community organizations, funders, and policymakers, while enabling more robust, coordinated engagement across the University of Michigan. Since 2016, DMACS has been cited in more than 500 media stories, used in over 40 peer-reviewed articles, and partnered with more than 25 U-M departments and 20 Detroit-based organizations. Its findings have helped inform major civic investments, including a $12 million commitment to the Detroit Eviction Defense Fund.

With support from the Strategic Initiative Fund and in partnership with community organizations and collaborators across the University of Michigan, DMACS will amplify community voices and translate rigorous research into actionable public knowledge that informs decision-making and strengthens civic engagement.

DMACS will expand and diversify the Detroit community partners co-designing its research, surveys, and dissemination, improving neighborhood engagement and access to actionable data across housing, health, jobs, civic life, and development. It will also strengthen U-M's interdisciplinary research and graduate training in community-centered, applied methods, increase the use of resident-centered evidence in policy and funding through public dashboards and rapid analyses, and stabilize infrastructure for more frequent, reliable data collection — building long-term sustainability through stronger governance and core capacity, and creating a replicable civic data model for Michigan communities.