| ...That South Mississippi is a player in the geospatial industry is not a matter of debate – it has been since the early ’70s. But what other areas of the country have a dog in the hunt, so to speak, and how does South Mississippi stack up? ...Data shows that the industry is widely dispersed, but there are a few areas that are leaders in the field. And while Mississippi is not the largest, it has a few things going for it that make it unique. In fact, one observer thinks the approach Mississippi has taken could let it take off. Competition ...The geospatial technology field is one of America’s critical technologies, particularly for the nation’s defense industry. Imaging and sensor systems play a crucial role in cutting-edge weapons systems, and their role in non-military systems is increasing. ...Considering its importance, it’s surprising little has been done to quantify the centers. ...In some industries it’s relatively easy to determine clusters. The Aerospace Industries Association knows the states and metro areas with significant aerospace activities (Alliance Insight, Q4 2006), and the American Shipbuilding Association and Maritime Administration can pinpoint areas with high concentrations of shipbuilders (Alliance Insight, Q1, 2007). ...But tracking the geospatial industry is more difficult. ...One magazine, Geospatial Solutions, mapped the industry through an analysis of subscribers. The January 2005 series, “Mapping the Geospatial Community,” found geospatial technology firms are widely distributed. California has nearly twice the number of geospatial firms as second- ranked Colorado, which has nearly double the number of firms as third-ranked Texas. Virginia, Georgia and Florida each has more than 5 percent of the total number of geospatial firms. ...The magazine found a correlation between the clusters and the presence of university research. ...Mapping the location of federal geospatial research labs is another way to determine possible clusters. In October 2006, the Department of Commerce’s Defense Industrial Base Assessment about the U.S. imaging and sensors industry had an appendix listing 43 federal labs and research centers that perform geospatial-related RDT&E: California has eight; Maryland six; Virginia five. Ohio and Alabama three each; and Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico and Washington, D. C., each have two. Mississippi is among 11 states with one federal geospatial RDT&E facility. ...But that is just a sampling, and Mississippi has more. Mississippi’s foothold ...Mississippi got a toehold in the industry thanks to Stennis Space Center. Established in the early 1960s, the Mississippi Test Facility was responsible for testing Saturn rockets. But in 1970 NASA announced its Earth Resources Laboratory would locate at MTF with the mission of finding applications for data acquired from remote sensing equipment and invited other government agencies to use the site for research operations. The Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Navy both set up geospatial-related activities. ...The state decided in the 1990s to take steps to nurture the growth occurring at Stennis. In 1994 the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology was established to serve as an incubator for technology startups. In 1998 the state established the Mississippi Space Commerce Initiative to make the state a leader in remote sensing. In 2003 MSCI became part of the University of Mississippi’s Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions. ...While Mississippi may not have the largest cluster, it may be unique. South Mississippi has several universities involved in the field and a state that has made it a goal to become a leader. Mississippi has systematically put together a geospatial cluster that one observer thinks is about to take off. ...“What we are seeing here is unprecedented,” said Carl Schramm, president of the Kauffman Foundation. “This industry cluster has been methodically put together piece by piece. When the market forces kick in, this cluster is going to take off faster than others created by chance.” – Tcp July 2007 |