Ecosystem Insights & Network Analysis
Why does GEM Connect use Social Network Analysis?
Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a data-based method for understanding how people and organizations connect and influence each other. For GEM Connect, it answers a specific question: who isn’t connected yet – and what would it take to change that?
The GEM Social Network Analysis has been conducted annually since 2023, creating a longitudinal picture of how relationships form and shift across Detroit Michigan’s advanced mobility ecosystem. GEM Connect uses this research to identify where gaps in access exist and where intentional relationship-building can open new pathways for groups and geographies that have had fewer ways in.
Research conducted by Orange Sparkle Ball in partnership with the Detroit Regional Partnership.
150
Organizations mapped across the 2025 GEM ecosystem
45%
Response rate from the Fall 2025 survey; strong signal for findings
5,834
Connections measured across the ecosystem in 2025
3 yrs
Longitudinal tracking from the 2023 baseline through 2025
“If you are outside the information flow, you are outside the opportunity flow.”
GEM Network Analysis
Orange Sparkle Ball, 2025
Network Analysis Key Findings: 2023 – 2025
From Centralized to Distributed
A meaningful structural shift
In 2023, connection density was 61.2% and concentrated among a small number of highly connected organizations. By 2025, density had shifted to 52.2% – more broadly distributed across the ecosystem as a whole.
Distribution Does Not Equal Access
The question GEM Connect asks
Broader distribution of connectivity is progress, but it doesn’t automatically reach groups and geographies that have had fewer pathways in. GEM Connect uses the SNA to identify where those gaps persist.
Two Lenses on the Same Data
Research team vs. GEM Connect
The research team tracks ecosystem health and the transition toward an innovation ecosystem. GEM Connect asks: who isn’t connected yet, and what would it take to change that? Same data, different questions.
The Trusted Connector Cohort is a Direct Response
Research driving program design
The GEM Connect Leadership Cohort was designed specifically to bridge the gaps the SNA reveals, cross-sector professionals who serve as on-ramps for people and organizations not yet connected to opportunity.
How GEM Connect Applies This Research
Identifying who isn't in the room
Which organizations, sectors, and communities remain on the periphery, and what is keeping them there?Locating missing connections
Where are the gaps across sectors, counties, and groups and geographies that have had fewer pathways in?Building targeted on-ramps
Which new connections, if built, would have the greatest impact on broadening participation?Designing the cohort
The GEM Connect Leadership Cohort was designed as a direct response to what the SNA reveals.Tracking structural change
Year-over-year data shows whether relationship-building efforts are producing real shifts in who is connected to the ecosystem.
Published Research & Resources
Network Analysis of a Mobility Ecosystem in Detroit, MI
Conference paper - Sunbelt 2024, Orange Sparkle Ball
Mapping the Detroit Mobility Ecosystem
Peer-reviewed case study - ScienceDirect
Understanding the Mobility Ecosystem
GEM article - Why network analysis was chosen and what it reveals
The Mobility Table Podcast: The Shift to an Innovation Ecosystem
Hosts Jeannine Gant & Bernard Swiecki with guest Meaghan Kennedy, Orange Sparkle Ball
Looking for something else?
To learn more, contact:
Jeannine Gant
Mobility Engagement Officer
Global Epicenter of Mobility