In a speech to the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual Mackinac Policy Conference on Thursday morning, Bill Ford, executive chairman for Ford Motor Co., said trends in transportation, manufacturing and green technology offer an opportunity for Michigan to emerge as a global innovation center. He also announced two initiatives to help young innovators by providing space to create and promote their ideas and inventions. One new initiative is the Motor City Innovation Exchange, a collaboration among Ford's intellectual property licensing group, the new TechShop Detroit workshop, Wayne State University's TechTown and AutoHarvest to help entrepreneurs commercialize their creations. It provides a showroom to display and pitch inventions.

http://www.freep.com/article/20120601/COL06/206010480/Tom-Walsh-Bill-Ford-to-city-state-Don-t-sugarcoat-fiscal-reality-deal-with-it
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/05/31/ford-on-mackinac-michigan-can-be-silicon-valley-of-high-tech-auto-future/
http://www.torquenews.com/397/ford-engenders-entrepreneurial-innovation-techshop-plus
http://wkzo.com/news/articles/2012/jun/01/ford-chairman-addresses-conference/
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2012/05/31/037884-not-invented-here-what-ford-is-looking-for-with-new.html