Mississippi Development Authority & Mississippi Research Consortium – Mississippi Innovation Plan

Challenge

Mississippi is a central part of the American story. The state’s geography, history, rich African American culture, music, and cuisine have influenced and transformed the country. In addition to its positive contributions, the state has borne the brunt of some of the worst disasters in US history, including Hurricane Katrina’s landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2005 and the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Despite the hardships caused by these events, Mississippi has a wide range of assets that, if leveraged effectively, could contribute to the emergence of an innovation-based economy and position it as one of the most forward-looking states in the US. Universities are an essential means to that end.

Response

Looking to build on the state’s assets and expand on the 2021 Mississippi Science and Technology Plan, the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) and the Mississippi Research Consortium (MRC) engaged TIP Strategies to prepare a ten-year strategic innovation plan. Strengthening ties among the four principal research institutions that comprise the MRC (the University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State University, the University of Mississippi, and Jackson State University) and the associated networks that capture and retain the technology emerging from them was the focus of the federally funded planning effort. However, the state’s best option for building a more vibrant and future-focused economy is to invest in all of its existing innovation assets. These include federal facilities (such as the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center and the associated innovation hub, ERDCWERX, in Vicksburg; NASA’s Stennis Space Center on the Gulf Coast; the US Department of Agriculture’s Stoneville research center in the Delta); major defense industry employers (ranging from Ingalls Shipbuilding to Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics); a wealth of smaller, high-growth firms (including Indegene, EdgeTheory, Camgian, Hyperion Technology Group, and General Atomics); and its human capital assets (entrepreneurs, STEM workers, professors, and students). The Mississippi Innovation Plan provides targeted recommendations for maximizing these assets along three lines: optimizing technology transfer systems and processes, strengthening the innovation ecosystem to grow and attract research-intensive companies, and improving the foundational supports (workforce, education, placemaking, and infrastructure) that underlie economic success. The plan’s implementation will help set Mississippi on a transformative path through economic reinvention, creativity, and a commitment to innovation.