MIHI hosted 43 in-person community meetings in each region of the state. Each meeting invited residents and local leaders to discuss their unique challenges and priorities for equitable, affordable and reliable high-speed internet service. A total of 949 Michiganders participated in the meetings and a survey was used to collect feedback from residents regarding their biggest broadband barriers and their priorities for addressing digital equity. The feedback collected from the 823 completed surveys was used to inform the draft BEAD Five-Year Action Plan and the Digital Equity Plan.

MIHI hosted a series of monthly virtual roundtable meetings in 2023 to gather input from key stakeholders across Michigan including representatives from community organizations, tribal nations, local governments and internet service providers. View the recordings and feedback materials below.

For residents who were unable to attend the in-person community meetings, MIHI created a Community Meeting in a Box (CMIB) to help communities to conduct their own meetings. Each CMIB included presentation slides, data collection tools and a guide to facilitate discussions with residents on their broadband needs. The CMIBs enabled 45 additional communities and groups to participate in the listening tour. The feedback collected from the CMIBs was used to inform the Digital Equity Plan and Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Plan.