...A Michigan think tank sees the writing on the wall and has been raising the
alarm. The once-powerful Michigan economy is in decline. Jobs are going
away and income is on the skids. The only hope: create a knowledge-based
economy.
...The think tank’s faith in the power of smarts is not unique. Many areas
seek to attract the best and the brightest. Indeed, the world’s higher-income
nations are increasingly based on knowledge and information, says the
Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development.
...And South Mississippi? Consider this:
...- It’s one of the few areas in the nation with a NASA center, and NASA has
traditionally been a bright spots for innovation and pushing that innovation into
the commercial sector.
...- It’s home to a university that has an international reputation in polymer
science, as well as significant operations from two of the state’s other research
universities.
...- It has university and federal expertise in multiple science disciplines, along
with technology transfer offices, business incubators, science and technology
parks.
...- Most schools in South Mississippi have improved their performance under
the state’s accountability plan, with the majority classified as star, successful
or high performing. None are failing.
...“I think South Mississippi has all the elements,” said Tony Jeff, president
and CEO of the Mississippi Technology Alliance, a group that champions
development of the state’s technology sector. He’s not alone in his assessment.
A true believer
...Knowledge-based economies are characterized by growth in high-
technology investments, high-technology industries and a highly educated
workforce. Examples are Silicon Valley, Boston, Research Triangle, Austin
and Huntsville.
...Charlotte Koestler, former executive director of the Stone County Economic
Development partnership, believes the Michigan think tank is right. She’s
made it her mission to tell the South Mississippi story to anyone who will
listen.
...“Those knowledge-based economies are the ones that are going to attract
higher income jobs, which in turn means the standard of living will be higher,”
said Koestler.
...It was the oil spill that brought it home to her. Bad as it was, it did shine a
spotlight on South Mississippi’s capabilities in marine science. With some two
dozen groups doing research in the field, they began playing a role at the start
and will continue to do so.
...Koestler is in good company. Her county is part of the Mississippi Gulf
Coast Alliance for Economic Development, which for five years has been
promoting South Mississippi’s science and technology activities, including
aerospace, marine science, geospatial technologies, advanced materials and
shipbuilding.
...The group maintains five Web sites dedicated to providing details on those
activities, and publishes this newsletter. Alliance members believe that while
they need to work in traditional ways to attract jobs, they also need to keep an
eye on the future and jobs that will dominate.
Five elements
...Jeff said there are five elements essential for a technology-oriented
economy. Looking at the area from Hattiesburg southward, it has the
research, workforce, mentors and others that are crucial and, theoretically at
least, the capital.
...The elements needed are innovation and a source for that innovation. That
means federal and university research, and South Mississippi has quite a bit.
...It also needs entrepreneurs, those interested in developing that research or
coming up with their own ideas to create start-ups. One of South Mississippi’s
business incubators is almost always full.
...“The fact that South Mississippi has been home to so many successful start-
ups, from Barq’s Root Beer to Triton (ATM’s) and Lazy Magnolia Brewery
just to name a few, is indicative of a strong entrepreneurial spirit,” Jeff said.
...There’s also a need for experienced mentors and managers. Jeff pointed out
that South Mississippi is the only location in Mississippi with a SCORE
chapter, a group of retired executives.
...The fourth element is service providers who can help start-ups, like lawyers
and accountants familiar with new enterprises. The last element is capital, and
that’s a part Jeff and others are still trying to develop through a network of
angel investors.
...Finally, it’s also crucial to have the workforce. When a company gets
started with a handful of people, growth means more will be needed.
The money issue
...A goal of economic development is not only to bring jobs to an area, but to
ensure those jobs increase income. For South Mississippi the numbers are
beginning to look better.
...The Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area (Hancock, Harrison and Stone
counties) and Pascagoula metro area (Jackson and George counties) both
improved their per capita income ranking vis-à-vis the rest of the country
between 2000 and 2009.
...In 2000, Gulfport-Biloxi was 249th among 366 metro areas. But by 2009 it
had climbed to 154. Pascagoula moved up as well, going from 317 in 2000 to
214 in 2009.
...The three metropolitan areas of South Mississippi, Gulfport-Biloxi,
Pascagoula and Hattiesburg, have a combined 214,080 in all occupations,
according to the most recent figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of
those workers, 94,740 are in occupations associated with a higher educational
attainment, such as management, business and financial, computer and math
and others. It’s still a long way off from the proportion found in a high-tech
mecca like Huntsville, where 111,490 of its 205,550 workers are in high-
education attainment jobs.
...And there’s still work that needs to be done on some of the basics for South
Mississippi. With the exception of Hattiesburg, the number of high school
graduates and those who hold bachelor’s degrees as a proportion of the
population trail the national average.
The future
...Koestler’s county doesn’t have a lot of the infrastructure of the more
heavily populated counties, yet it’s managed to attract an aquaculture
company working with marine science experts at the Gulf Coast Research Lab
in Ocean Springs, as well as a company producing its own energy source.
...And significantly, her county is sandwiched between major education
centers in Hattiesburg and Gulfport, and it hosts Mississippi Gulf Coast
Community College and its workforce training effort. She points to rural areas
around Huntsville that could not have predicted years ago they’d change so
dramatically.
...Koestler can envision the day when all of South Mississippi’s expertise
might be linked together in some type of virtual research center, complete with
technology transfer activities, incubators, parks and an apparatus to train the
next generation of workers.
...That’s not far removed from Jeff’s belief that the various elements that go
into creating South Mississippi’s sci-tech infrastructure need to organize into a
formal structure.
...Showing young people that there are exciting career opportunities in their
own back yard might go a long way towards improving the educational
attainment levels. - David Tortorano
October 2010
alarm. The once-powerful Michigan economy is in decline. Jobs are going
away and income is on the skids. The only hope: create a knowledge-based
economy.
...The think tank’s faith in the power of smarts is not unique. Many areas
seek to attract the best and the brightest. Indeed, the world’s higher-income
nations are increasingly based on knowledge and information, says the
Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development.
...And South Mississippi? Consider this:
...- It’s one of the few areas in the nation with a NASA center, and NASA has
traditionally been a bright spots for innovation and pushing that innovation into
the commercial sector.
...- It’s home to a university that has an international reputation in polymer
science, as well as significant operations from two of the state’s other research
universities.
...- It has university and federal expertise in multiple science disciplines, along
with technology transfer offices, business incubators, science and technology
parks.
...- Most schools in South Mississippi have improved their performance under
the state’s accountability plan, with the majority classified as star, successful
or high performing. None are failing.
...“I think South Mississippi has all the elements,” said Tony Jeff, president
and CEO of the Mississippi Technology Alliance, a group that champions
development of the state’s technology sector. He’s not alone in his assessment.
A true believer
...Knowledge-based economies are characterized by growth in high-
technology investments, high-technology industries and a highly educated
workforce. Examples are Silicon Valley, Boston, Research Triangle, Austin
and Huntsville.
...Charlotte Koestler, former executive director of the Stone County Economic
Development partnership, believes the Michigan think tank is right. She’s
made it her mission to tell the South Mississippi story to anyone who will
listen.
...“Those knowledge-based economies are the ones that are going to attract
higher income jobs, which in turn means the standard of living will be higher,”
said Koestler.
...It was the oil spill that brought it home to her. Bad as it was, it did shine a
spotlight on South Mississippi’s capabilities in marine science. With some two
dozen groups doing research in the field, they began playing a role at the start
and will continue to do so.
...Koestler is in good company. Her county is part of the Mississippi Gulf
Coast Alliance for Economic Development, which for five years has been
promoting South Mississippi’s science and technology activities, including
aerospace, marine science, geospatial technologies, advanced materials and
shipbuilding.
...The group maintains five Web sites dedicated to providing details on those
activities, and publishes this newsletter. Alliance members believe that while
they need to work in traditional ways to attract jobs, they also need to keep an
eye on the future and jobs that will dominate.
Five elements
...Jeff said there are five elements essential for a technology-oriented
economy. Looking at the area from Hattiesburg southward, it has the
research, workforce, mentors and others that are crucial and, theoretically at
least, the capital.
...The elements needed are innovation and a source for that innovation. That
means federal and university research, and South Mississippi has quite a bit.
...It also needs entrepreneurs, those interested in developing that research or
coming up with their own ideas to create start-ups. One of South Mississippi’s
business incubators is almost always full.
...“The fact that South Mississippi has been home to so many successful start-
ups, from Barq’s Root Beer to Triton (ATM’s) and Lazy Magnolia Brewery
just to name a few, is indicative of a strong entrepreneurial spirit,” Jeff said.
...There’s also a need for experienced mentors and managers. Jeff pointed out
that South Mississippi is the only location in Mississippi with a SCORE
chapter, a group of retired executives.
...The fourth element is service providers who can help start-ups, like lawyers
and accountants familiar with new enterprises. The last element is capital, and
that’s a part Jeff and others are still trying to develop through a network of
angel investors.
...Finally, it’s also crucial to have the workforce. When a company gets
started with a handful of people, growth means more will be needed.
The money issue
...A goal of economic development is not only to bring jobs to an area, but to
ensure those jobs increase income. For South Mississippi the numbers are
beginning to look better.
...The Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area (Hancock, Harrison and Stone
counties) and Pascagoula metro area (Jackson and George counties) both
improved their per capita income ranking vis-à-vis the rest of the country
between 2000 and 2009.
...In 2000, Gulfport-Biloxi was 249th among 366 metro areas. But by 2009 it
had climbed to 154. Pascagoula moved up as well, going from 317 in 2000 to
214 in 2009.
...The three metropolitan areas of South Mississippi, Gulfport-Biloxi,
Pascagoula and Hattiesburg, have a combined 214,080 in all occupations,
according to the most recent figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of
those workers, 94,740 are in occupations associated with a higher educational
attainment, such as management, business and financial, computer and math
and others. It’s still a long way off from the proportion found in a high-tech
mecca like Huntsville, where 111,490 of its 205,550 workers are in high-
education attainment jobs.
...And there’s still work that needs to be done on some of the basics for South
Mississippi. With the exception of Hattiesburg, the number of high school
graduates and those who hold bachelor’s degrees as a proportion of the
population trail the national average.
The future
...Koestler’s county doesn’t have a lot of the infrastructure of the more
heavily populated counties, yet it’s managed to attract an aquaculture
company working with marine science experts at the Gulf Coast Research Lab
in Ocean Springs, as well as a company producing its own energy source.
...And significantly, her county is sandwiched between major education
centers in Hattiesburg and Gulfport, and it hosts Mississippi Gulf Coast
Community College and its workforce training effort. She points to rural areas
around Huntsville that could not have predicted years ago they’d change so
dramatically.
...Koestler can envision the day when all of South Mississippi’s expertise
might be linked together in some type of virtual research center, complete with
technology transfer activities, incubators, parks and an apparatus to train the
next generation of workers.
...That’s not far removed from Jeff’s belief that the various elements that go
into creating South Mississippi’s sci-tech infrastructure need to organize into a
formal structure.
...Showing young people that there are exciting career opportunities in their
own back yard might go a long way towards improving the educational
attainment levels. - David Tortorano
October 2010
Economic development
Having the 'smarts' to succeed
Having the 'smarts' to succeed
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