Detroit Regional Chamber > PlanetM Pivots Grant Program to Support COVID-19 Issues

PlanetM Pivots Grant Program to Support COVID-19 Issues

April 28, 2020
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Facilitating and utilizing strategic partnerships within the region’s automotive and mobility ecosystem have proven significant to acting swiftly amid COVID-19.

Recognizing the need to adapt to a changing situation, PlanetM, operating within the Michigan Economic Development Corp. has transitioned its most recent iteration of the Mobility Solutions Grant to directly address solutions to COVID-19 related issues. The grant program was initially designed last year to help mobility companies with the resources needed to deploy their solutions in Michigan.

For the time being the grants will focus on combating both short- and long- term effects of COVID-19 on mobility and seek to address issues like limiting human interaction, expanding no-touch technologies, delivering food and supplies, and integrating virus detection and prevention measures (i.e. safeguarding transit).

Partnerships are crucial to addressing these issues and so the intent is that organizations will seek out and identify complementary technologies and partners for these grants. The company criteria include deployment in the state of Michigan, as well as having a Michigan based partner on the project.

Past grant initiatives through PlanetM such as the City:One Challenge has created collaborative opportunities between business and local residents to come with ideas to solve mobility problems and help improve the quality of life for people living, working, and visiting the community surrounding the historic Michigan Central Station in Corktown.

In that same spirit of using partnerships to spur innovation, this new initiative will give some of the brightest minds in the region an opportunity to help solve what will undoubtedly be some of the most important and prevalent issues in this new reality we will all face together.

Applications for the COVID-19 Mobility Solutions Grant are currently being reviewed and winners will be announced on Friday, May 8.