Why West Michigan?

Simple, West Michigan is a national center for manufacturing excellence, life science discovery, and technological innovation. Long the home of office furniture giants Steelcase, Haworth and Herman Miller, the region is now the center of one of the largest investment in life sciences in the country. More than $1 billion has been invested in research and patient care– propelling Greater Grand Rapids onto the elite list of America’s top sustainable, knowledge-based economies. We are ranked globally:

· 13th World Knowledge Competitive Index
· 41st Regional Ratio of Knowledge Intensity
· 4th R&D Expenditures by Business
· 13th Primary and Secondary Education Expenditures
· 20th Economic Activity
· 24th Patents Registered per capita
· 36th Biotechnology and Science Employers
· 40th Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita

Culturally, a low cost of living, award-winning schools and diverse cultural options are just a few reasons why people choose West Michigan to live and work. Our region has a vibrant, big-city feel while retaining smaller-city charm in its neighborhoods, boutique shopping areas and tree-lined streets.

And at The Right Place it’s our mission to build on these strengths to further advance the economy. The Right Place is a regional non-profit economic development organization founded in 1985 and supported through investments from the private and public sector. Its mission is to promote wealth creation and economic growth in the areas of quality employment, productivity and innovation in West Michigan by developing jobs through leading business retention, expansion and attraction efforts.

From Tim Mroz, Senior Communications Director for The Right Place (the leading economic development organization in West Michigan)

New Blog for GRAPE

GRAPE stands for Grand Rapids Area Professionals for Excellence. We're a speaker's group dedicated to advancing educational topics of interest to the Grand Rapids Professionals.