The Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District (SMPDD), through the leadership of the local officials comprising its Board of Directors and through the synergy of its staff, has grown to be one of the largest and most diversified regional planning entities in the United States. Assisting 15 county and 37 municipal governments, the Districts geographic service area encompasses Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Marion, Pearl River, Perry, Stone and Wayne Counties. Since its beginning in 1967, SMPDD continually evolved to meet the needs, discover opportunities and anticipate the trends challenging the economic vitality, environmental integrity, and overall quality of life enjoyed in South Mississippi.

The District perceives its function as a change agent to add value to the information and resources it possesses, and by doing so, accomplish its mission of "providing the information and technical capacity needed for private and public sector leaders in Southern Mississippi to make informed decisions and to take effective actions to encourage and accomplish planned development of the region's human, economic, political and natural resources."

The basic mission of SMPDD's Community Development and Planning Division is to identify and capitalize on the development potentials of the fifteen counties. The Division operates from SMPDD headquarters on the Gulf Coast in Gulfport and is organized into six functional areas.