Mississippi can and should succeed at this new way of competing. There are already some well-developed clusters in the state, such as furniture. One of the clusters with unusual growth potential is communications and information technology. The foundations for CIT are already present in the region. However, CIT is not strong enough in areas such as specialized physical infrastructure, related and supporting industries and cluster awareness and cooperation.
Strong leadership is needed from the private sector to realize the cluster's potential.
Upgrading the Mississippi CIT cluster not only will create jobs but create better jobs, while spurring innovation in other industries. The cluster-based approach to economic development should supplant the model of bidding for plants. The same approach needs to be extended to other clusters, which will encompass all parts of the state, to help upgrade Mississippi's economy as a whole. I am encouraged by the beginning of a true private-public partnership taking shape in Mississippi. During my visit last May, the readiness of members of the different parts of the community to embrace a new economic strategy was striking.