Grand Rapids launches 'Just GR' planning with Aspen Institute support

Grand Rapids Mayor David LeGrand and city staff introduced Just GR Friday, a city-focused justice and public-safety initiative developed with technical support from the Aspen Institute.

The initiative will begin with a two-year planning phase followed by four years of implementation. Brandon Davis, director in the Office of Oversight and Public Accountability (also representing the equity and engagement office), said the project will combine cross-sector, neighborhood-level data with community engagement and governance to produce an action matrix of priorities.

"This project focuses on creating a safe and just Grand Rapids for all of our residents," said Amari Fuller, vice chair of the Just GR leadership council and community engagement specialist at the Michigan League for Public Policy. Fuller said the leadership council includes faith-based groups, education, public policy and mental-health representatives and will guide the work.

Doug Wood, Aspen Institute point person for the initiative, described the project as a "justice audit" and said the team will collect hyperlocal data at the census-tract level and attach cost indices to data points so the city can evaluate whether current investments are being targeted efficiently. "You do an annual justice audit, you do an annual justice reinvestment plan," Wood said, adding that annual analysis allows trend tracking and timely reinvestment decisions.

Project organizers said Corewell Health is serving as the local justice intermediary to provide on-the-ground coordination and that CorVel/Aspen technical assistance will provide governance and communications support. The leadership council has convened work groups on crisis-management operations, jail resource use and response, neighborhood conditions, and victimization/community asset mapping; staff said the teams are analyzing more than 150 data sets.

City staff told the committee the initiative is intended to complement — not replace — existing programs. Brandon Davis said the work will prioritize neighborhood-level recommendations and community ownership: "This is not just Aspen coming in and doing consulting, but the community owns this work." Organizers said findings from the data analysis will be shared with residents in the fall and could prompt a budget request if needed.

Wood said early private foundation interest (Ford Foundation, Kellogg and others) has supported planning and technical assistance; he estimated an ongoing annual audit and support cost at roughly $250,000 but said costs decline after the initial framework is in place because of economies of scale. "It's not about more money necessarily at all. It's really about how do you reallocate and target more efficiently and strategically," Wood said.

Organizers emphasized the project will be a model for other midsize jurisdictions, with Grand Rapids serving as a proof site. They said the Aspen network will enable cross-jurisdiction learning with other mid-size cities and counties implementing similar audits.

The committee asked about outreach to people who do not typically participate in policy discussions; Fuller and Davis said the project will rely on trusted community ambassadors, neighborhood events, and work-group representatives to reach elders, youth and other groups. They also said they will use community meetings, the neighborhood summit and expanded youth representation on the leadership council to gather local context for the data.

Next steps: the team expects to finalize an analytical findings report by August–September and to return with those findings to community groups in the fall. Organizers said they will post materials and updates on the project website and that community members can scan a QR code on presentation materials to get more information.

The committee thanked the presenters and invited members of the public and partners to continue the conversation after the meeting.