NATCHEZ &045;&045; A recent study has concluded the region needs to aggressively recruit industries such as advanced polymers, digital media and higher education, ones that have higher wages and a promising future.

The study, commissioned by the Southwest Mississippi Partnership and prepared by consultants TIP Strategies of Austin, Texas, said one key to attracting such industries will be to market the area’s strengths &045;&045; most of all, the trained and trainable workforce that exists here.

The partnership is a group of economic development leaders from 10 southwest Mississippi counties, including Adams County, who are seeking to create a marketing strategy for the entire region.

Toward that end, the partnership hired TIP Strategies to conduct the study, a draft form of which was recently presented at a partnership meeting in Summit.

Some counties’ organizations, such as the Natchez-Adams County Economic Development Authority, have already gotten the results of their own studies on which industries to target.

But Michael Ferdinand, EDA executive director and past president of the Southwest Mississippi Partnership, said it’s always helpful to compile such information in one place.

&uot;It answered a lot of questions we already knew the answers to&uot; in terms of what industries to target, such as metal fabrication, Ferdinand said. Still, he added,

&uot;it’s a wide-ranging study … with lots of valuable information. It reinforces what we already knew.&uot;

Ferdinand and EDA Chairman Woody Allen both agreed the real proof of the study’s value will be what’s done with it now that it’s finished. The partnership plans to meet Oct. 22 &uot;to discuss where to go from here,&uot; Ferdinand said.

Allen said he has discussed with the consultants the possibility of coming to speak to Natchez-Adams EDA officials about how they can apply the study’s findings locally. &uot;The question is what we’re going to do with it after we’ve got it,&uot; Allen said.

The study was done by interviewing local leaders and stakeholders in different industries, analyzing demographic and economic data, and analyzing local and nationwide economic trends. Its findings included the following:

4The advanced polymer industry is an attractive target because &uot;all packagers are under increasing pressure to develop cheaper, more resilient, more environmentally friendly and lighter materials for their products,&uot; according to the study. That industry could be courted by strengthening the science curriculum in community colleges and providing lab or incubator space for such firms.

Local leaders could also help by establishing joint degree programs, distance learning and the like with community colleges and the University of Southern Mississippi.

4To recruit digital media firms, leaders should establish a digital media program at Alcorn State University, establish a digital incubator and establish a film and sound digital recording and production studio.

4To foster higher education, local leaders should support high education and raise its profile, identify programs and research that might benefit the region’s economy and include local school districts in plans for the region’s economic and academic advancement.

4To attain short-term success, southwest Mississippi needs to focus at least partly on industries that already have some presence in the region and can withstand long-term shifts in the nation’s economy.

Those industries include specialty foods, packaging, pharmaceuticals, logistics and distribution, metal fabrication and the automotive industry.

4Attention should also be given to retiree attraction, outdoor recreation and the film and music industries in order to lure new residents, cement southwest Mississippi’s &uot;sense of place&uot; and expand consumer spending.

4Southwest Mississippi’s marketing message should be that the area has a workforce that can meet the demands of industries in an increasingly competitive economy.

Marketing would be done with an updated Web site, prospect folders, area profiles targeted to specific industries and press packets, among other things.