Michigan Research

January 2026

From tracking food hardship to training neighbors as tech consultants, University of Michigan researchers are working across Detroit, Ann Arbor and beyond to understand poverty’s barriers and test what actually works. Explore this edition featuring Poverty Solutions, a university initiative that partners with communities and policymakers to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty through action-based research.

What’s on This Page

Rx Kids’ “cash prescription” aims to give babies a stronger start

Watch the video on YouTube
By Eric Shaw
The time around childbirth is one of the most economically vulnerable periods in family life—and one of the most critical for infant development. Rx Kids delivers unconditional cash to ease that strain, and U-M researchers are measuring what changes.

Read about giving babies a stronger start.

Action-based research to prevent and alleviate poverty

By Kristin Seefeldt
Incoming Faculty Director of Poverty Solutions at U-M
Associate Professor of Social Work and Public Policy
From a guaranteed income pilot in Ann Arbor to a prenatal cash program expanding statewide, Poverty Solutions partners with communities to test what actually works. Incoming faculty director Kristin Seefeldt shares how the initiative is tracking food hardship, evaluating safety-net changes and demonstrating what universities can do when scholars work alongside the people they study.

Read about the research partnership tackling poverty in our backyards and beyond.

Two people collaborate in a classroom or meeting room with a Poverty Solutions, University of Michigan logo at the top. The text "Driving Change Through Action-Based Research" is prominently displayed across the bottom of the image, emphasizing a focus on community impact and research.

Detroit’s digital divide meets its match in neighbors helping neighbors

By Eric Shaw
Over coffee on Detroit’s north side, Martina Hinton-Jones helps a fellow entrepreneur plan merchandise and marketing—for free. She’s part of a U-M program training neighbors to become tech consultants.

Read about closing the digital divide one business at a time.

Two people sitting at a table with laptops and water bottles, sunlight streaming through a window with outdoor view.

Impact Stories: Research at Michigan

A row of suburban houses with porches and chimneys lines a residential street under a clear blue sky, with cars parked along the road and leafless trees visible in the background.

U-M Research Reveals What Actually Keeps Detroit Homeowners in Their Homes

From homeownership programs to repair grants to consumer protection tools, Poverty Solutions has spent nearly a decade building evidence for what actually stabilizes Detroit’s housing market. Read what the research found.

By Eric Shaw

Aerial view of a cityscape featuring a mix of tall buildings, mid-rise structures, and residential areas surrounded by green trees, under a clear blue sky.

What a guaranteed income pilot reveals about gig workers in Ann Arbor

What happens when gig workers get $528 a month with no strings attached? They spend it on necessities—and something harder to measure shifts too. Read about Ann Arbor’s guaranteed income pilot.

By Eric Shaw

A car drives through an intersection in an urban area on a cloudy day, with steam rising from a manhole and city buildings, trees, and streetlights in the background. A large sign overlays the image, reading “A report from the U-M Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS)."

Ten Years of Listening to Detroit

When COVID hit, U-M researchers had answers within days—because they’d been listening to Detroit for years. Read about a decade of surveys shaping decisions across the city.

By Eric Shaw

Two tall historic buildings stand side by side in a downtown area, with trees and cars lining the street in front. The center of the image is shown in full color, highlighting the golden tones of the buildings, autumn leaves on the tree, and a bright blue sky, while the surrounding area is in black and white.

When AI Meets Poverty: U-M Researchers Chart a New Course

AI could help families find housing before eviction strikes—or deepen the inequalities they already face. A U-M team maps both possibilities. Read about charting a new course where AI meets poverty.

By Eric Shaw

A child wearing a green shirt and a large camouflage backpack with a red pocket is boarding a yellow school bus on a sunny day, with trees and cars lining the residential street in the background.

What It Takes to Find a Student Facing Homelessness

A bus driver notices a student boarding at a motel. That single observation can connect a family to support—but in most districts, it never happens. Read about what it takes to find and help students facing homelessness.

By Eric Shaw

About Michigan Research

Michigan Research is the University of Michigan’s flagship monthly e-newsletter, produced by the Office of the Vice President for Research. Each edition spotlights groundbreaking U-M research and scholarship that addresses critical challenges, sparks innovation and shapes the future across a range of disciplines.