Grassroots · Volunteer-Based · Non-Partisan
Knowledge is power.
The Public Research Initiative equips Michigan communities with accessible, aggregated research and government accountability information so residents can shape the decisions being made about their own townships.
A collective built on the belief that power comes from knowledge.
The Public Research Initiative is a grassroots, volunteer-based, non-partisan research organization with the base belief that power comes from knowledge.
We are a collective composed of academically-trained and activist-based researchers, community and political organizers, and concerned citizens from across the country.
Our mission is to empower the general public to enact real change in their communities through publicly available, aggregated information that fosters collective understanding of relevant societal issues and promotes active participation in shaping a better future for all.
Founded and led by Sabrina King Dougherty.
It starts with what a community needs, not a template.
We assist in the fight against unaccountable data center development in many ways, but it always starts with genuine, collaborative relationships with the residents living it. When people learn about the environmental, health, and economic impacts of these projects, education turns into action, and action turns into more education.
Listen First
We build real relationships in the communities we work with and let residents' needs, concerns, and fears set the agenda, not the other way around.
Research & Document
We dig into empirical, peer-reviewed research so residents have the answers they need when boards unfairly demand data from their own constituents.
Educate & Equip
We share reliable information on the environmental, health, and economic impacts of data centers, and teach residents how to research it themselves.
Organize & Show Up
From raising awareness to sending organizers to public meetings, we help turn education into action: residents speaking up at their own township board.
Data centers are expanding across Michigan, often without residents in the room.
PRI’s research documents a consistent pattern: decisions made without public input, costs passed to residents who were never asked, and relationships between officials and developers that have not been adequately disclosed. Our findings include executive orders fast-tracking construction, state tax exemptions extended before communities could respond, and a conflict of interest involving the developer behind the Saline Township proposal.
for residents living near existing Michigan data center facilities.
a one-gigawatt data center campus underway in Van Buren Township.
an AI facility built with a classified federal weapons laboratory, exempt from local zoning law.
nearly bypassed entirely for a major proposal before residents intervened.
Shared publicly while tabling at the No Kings Detroit rally, March 2026. Want the full research and sourcing? Reach out.
When residents need us, we’re there to help however we can.
Have questions about a data center proposal in your township? Want research on hand for your next board meeting? Curious about volunteering as a researcher or organizer? Get in touch. We’ll give you as much as we can.
