The Department of Economic Development and the Research and Development Center presently duplicate only a limited number of activities, but service areas are moving toward greater duplication. PEER recommends reorganizing the department and the Research and Development Center to capitalize on the state’s scarce economic development resources. Despite having competent developers and an executive director whose qualifications exceed those set by law, the department’s effectiveness is impaired by failure to maximize agency resources, failure to seriously assess program effectiveness, lack of accountability concerning agency achievement, questionable use of “jobs-created” numbers, and a serious employee morale problem.
For a paper copy of this report, contact PEER by telephone at 601-359-1226 or by e-mail at reports@peer.ms.gov.