Hancock County, Mississippi

Economic Development Strategy

Hancock County is the smallest county on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in terms of population. However, the Hancock County Development Commission (HCDC), which is tasked with economic development efforts in the county, enjoys a vastly different position from many similar agencies in this uncertain post-recession climate – the Commission has serious financial assets and solid funding behind it. With this knowledge in mind, the HCDC has decided to rethink roles and responsibilities and embark on an aggressive strategy and plan of action.

Throughout its 300-year history, Hancock County, Mississippi has capitalized on its coastal location, forests, and farmland to provide an economic base and strong quality of life for its residents. Part of the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area, the County is one of only 37 places in the country to receive this designation. The County is also home to NASA-Stennis Space Center, a federal and commercial installation with over 5,000 civil servants, contractors, scientists and engineers. In 2005, Hancock endured the greatest challenge in its existence – as “ground zero” for the landfall of Hurricane Katrina – one of the worst disasters in U.S. history. Slowly but surely, the County is recovering from the effects of Katrina and rebuilding its homes, businesses, and economy.

To build upon this momentum, in November of 2009, the HCDC contracted with Market Street Services to facilitate a Strategic Plan Retreat with top HCDC staff. It was determined that the HCDC can be the catalyst for positioning the County as a strong regional economic development leader, without impairing any of its existing relationships with other community and economic development organizations. As the next stage of this process, HCDC again selected Market Street in late 2010 to lead the County in the development of a five-year Economic Development Strategy.

The process begins with an intensive research phase assessing Hancock County’s competitive position against three benchmark counties for a number of criteria. A target cluster and marketing analysis follows to identify priority business sectors for the County to pursue and the most effective way to market for these clusters. All the research feeds into the development of the strategic plan itself. The final step in the process is the determination of the phasing, cost and metrics for implementation of the strategy.

At the completion of the process, Hancock County will have a strategic blueprint to enable it to continue its emergence from the tragedy of Katrina to become one of Mississippi’s most dynamic coastal areas.