Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Gray Swoope held a roundtable meeting with development leaders from across Southwest Mississippi Wednesday in Brookhaven to unveil PriorityOne. It is an enhanced, streamlined survey for business owners and executives designed to identify obstacles to growth and catalogue information that will be used to help draft competitive economic policies for the state.

The 27-question survey was developed by MDA with feedback from economic developers statewide in an effort to expand the reach of the organization's Business Retention and Expansion Program, which has been given more emphasis in the wake of the national recession.

"The market is telling is that if we don't take care of (businesses) we have, we're going to be hurting even more," Swoope said. "Existing businesses are the backbone of our state, and we've got to pay them attention."

Swoope said the PriorityOne survey, which is confidential to protect specific business practices, is flexible, free and easy to use. Data from a business' answers to the survey are entered into a statewide database that produces aggregate results, helping MDA develop better policies that will help businesses grow and expand.

"If they answer in the form of a negative, they're red-flagged, and it sends that information to the regional office so we can get out in front of it and say, 'Hey, we need to work on this,'" Swoope said. "You've got a set of 27 questions that not only gives (economic developers) guidance, but helps you develop a relationship with those businesses."

Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Cliff Brumfield said beta testing for PriorityOne has been conducted in Brookhaven among seven of the city's largest employers. Response to the new survey was positive, he said, with local developers learning valuable information about the city's economic base, including barriers to growth and some confidential development opportunities.

"We have maintained close contact with our large employers, but this program allows us to ask some pointed questions that don't normally come up in casual conversation," Brumfield said. "Issues in modern industry aren't always as obvious as a tick from an engine, and through these in-depth discussions, we can find areas for improvement."

The increased emphasis MDA has placed on its Business Retention and Expansion Program comes as a result of the global economic downfall, which has resulted in a sharp increase in job loss and fewer opportunities for businesses and industries to open new locations and expand into Mississippi.

Swoope said the issuance of warn notices and layoffs increased in the second half of 2008 by 230 percent over the same period in 2007.

"We've got to think of new ways to create economic wealth in our communities," he said.