GIS Professional January/February 2010

8/8/2019 GIS Professional January/February 2010

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the

GIS P rofeSSIonal A publication of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association Issue 235 January/February 2010

IN THIS ISSUE

2 GISCorps

Seven years o volunteering3 GIS: A Cornerstone

o Enterprise ITStrategy

7 Book Review11 2010 Exemplary

Systems inGovernmentAwards ProcessNow Open

12 Dont miss yourONLY opportunityto attend theURISA LeadershipAcademy in 2010!

13 Welcome NewURISA Members

15 Presidents Column16 Mark Your

Calendar!

Welcome to the frstedition o THE GIS PRO-FESSIONAL, ormerlyknown as URISA NEWS.The publication, an exclu-sive eature o your URISAmembership, will continue

to be published every other month. (At some point inthe near uture, well ask

you i you wish to continueto receive a printed andmailed copy o the publica-tion or i an electronic ver-sion will be satis actory.)

With this issue, weare introducing twovolunteer eature Editors o

THE GIS PROFESSIONAL.Keri Shearer, GISP romCharlotte MecklenburgStorm Water in NorthCarolina, will contributearticles ocusing onhot topics, trends and

case studies. Com ortManyame, GISP, rom MidSouth Synergy ElectricCooperative in Texas, will

ocus on technology andapplications. I you havean idea or an article thattends toward either o those areas, please contactthem with your suggestion.

Remember that you canearn Contributions tothe Pro ession points or

your GISCI certi ication or renewal by contributingarticles to THE GISPROFESSIONAL!

This is YOURpublication and we want itto be valuable. Contributecontent. Share your ideas,suggestions, complimentsand criticisms.

Thanks or reading! Wendy Nelson,[email protected]

Note to URISA & Chapter editors this article was frst published in The Summit the WashingtonChapter Newsletter, Issue 19 (Summer 2009) see: http:// www.waurisa.org/thesummit/ TheSummit_Summer_2009.pd Reprinted with permission.

Commute by bus longenough and you see things.The route I take runs rom

the Seattle suburbs whereI live, to the KCGIS Center downtown, where I workas a GIS programmer. Its a

Cartographic Karma on Publicransportation

By Lisa Castle

nice quiet route with nicequiet commuters in themorning, were mostly stillhal -asleep, and in the a ter-noon, were mostlywell,brain-dead.

Its a commuter bus, butits still public transportation.So when some random guygets on at a downtown stopone a ternoon, plops downin the seat behind one o the regulars and says loudly,Hey, check this out! most

o us know better than tolook.

Okay, I know what youre thinking. This isntthat sort o horror story.

The guy pulledsomething out o hiscoat pocket, un oldedit, and said, I got thesemaps. See? That got my

attention. I was sittingacross the aisle a couplerows back and saw that it

continued on page 4


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October 2010 will mark theseventh anniversary o thecreation o GISCorps as aprogram o URISA. Since2003, we have attractedover 1,700 volunteers rom75 countries around theworld. Over 140 o thosevolunteers have been de-ployed on missions to 55

projects in 29 countries.These volunteers have con-tributed over 7300 hoursto these projects, providingGIS expertise in disaster response, capacity build-ing, spatial analysis, datacollection, geo-coding, andremote sensing to name buta ew.

During 2009, wedeployed 19 volunteersto 12 missions. While iveo those projects wereimplemented on-site, theremaining were remoteprojects where the volunteer worked rom their homeor work place, and in mostcases during weekends andweek nights. We completedthree K-12 projects inthe states o Tennessee,

Washington, and Iowa,and two projects in NewOrleans. The remaining2009 missions assistedprojects in DominicanRepublic, Zambia,

As this issue o THE GIS

PROFESSIONAL was closing, the

earthquake hit Haiti. Visit

www.giscorps.org or updates on

missions to support recovery.

Mozambique, Panama,North Korea, Nigeria, and

Vietnam.Currently, seven o our

missions are in progressincluding thetwo most recentprojects in NewOrleans andNigeria. The NewOrleans projectis in partnershipwith Universityo New OrleansDepartment o Planning andUrban Studies (UNO-PLUS)and a New Orleans basednon pro it organizationcalled NeighborhoodHousing Services (NHS).They were interested in

building a dynamic website so that they couldshare their data and buildsurveying capacity in severalneighborhoods. Ra aelFerraro, an ArcGIS Server Programmer rom Virginia,was selected and put intouch with both agencies.

The second projectcame to us rom theGeographical Resources

or Development Centre(GRDC), a non pro itorganization in Nigeria.They requested a volunteer to assist them in establishinga metadata clearing housenode. The recruitmentresulted in deploying AlisonFischer. Alison is rom BritishColumbia, Canada and

GISCorps Seven years of volunteering

currently lives in Tokyo,Japan. She is now in directcontact with GRDC.

The latest request or avolunteer came to us in late

December rom a non pro itorganization in France calledCartONG. They soughtthe assistance o a skilledremote sensing specialist tohelp in ine tuning a carbonsink model or a region in

central highland o Vietnam.The recruitment resulted indeploying Jason San Souci

rom Colorado and he isnow in direct contact withCartONG.

We also held our annualelection at the annualURISA con erence andadded two new membersto our Core Committee(CC). The CC is responsible

or: recruiting volunteers,building partnerships withlike-minded organizations,raising awareness aboutGISCorps, and searching or additional unding sources,among others. We believethat additional unding willenable us to expand theprogram urther, enhance

Joe Forrest, a GISCorps volunteer rom North Carolina, is teaching GIS to PRAD/FBR team in Thailand

The GIS P rofessional JaN/FEb 2010 P age 2


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ELEPHANT MORTALITIESMARCH - AUGUST, 2009

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our website, and also allowus to support projects/agencies that are unable topay or volunteers travelexpenses.

The GISCorps CC isworking on enhancingthe web site by addinga new inter ace or largedeployments. The newinter ace will automatevarious processes andstreamline the work low,which is critical whenrecruiting or emergencyresponse related missions.

Finally, we wouldlike to thank you or your

continued support o GISCorps. Please contactus at in [email protected] you are aware o anyorganizations in need o GIS volunteer assistance(and unable to pay or thoseservices).

For a complete list o our projects and storiesabout our volunteers,visit our website at: www.giscorps.org. More detailsregarding our recentprojects can be ound in our February Newsletter, whichis posted on our web site.

The intent o this article is togive an overview o the Cityo Charlottes strategy (withselections taken directly

rom the text o the Strate-gic Operating Plan or theO ce o the Chie In orma-tion O cer) and touch onother examples where GIS isidenti ed as a oundational

component o an enterprisearchitecture strategy.

A Quick Glimpse atCharlotteThe City o Charlotte is lo-cated on the US east coast,nestled on the southernborder o North Carolina.

A vast array o services areprovided or the Charlotte

GIS: A Cornerstone of Enterprise I Strategy Keri Schaber Shearer, GISP, Charlotte, North Carolina

Metropolitan region o over 2 million people, and even inthis economic downturn, weare still seeing a great deal o growth. Just like any city, our citizens, property owners,employers, workers, and visi-tors deserve and expect thehighest quality o citizen ser-vices that can be provided.

The City has many disparatesystems which help us pro-vide these services and amajority o data is locationbased, there ore, GeographicIn ormation System (GIS)technologies play a huge rolein service provision. Char-lotte has a team o GIS pro-

essionals (the GIS EnterpriseTeam) rom every business

unit in the city to representthe interests o their strategicoperating plans and to plan

or enterprise solutions. Thisis an award winning teamthat has set precedent withinthe citizen service realm andtechnology collaboratione orts. The GIS EnterpriseTeams o cial sponsor is the

Senior Business Team (SBT) or Charlottes enterprise,which is headed by the O -

ce o the Chie In ormationO cer.

What is the O fce o theChie In ormation O fcerand what is the purpose?Established in 2008, the

vision o the O ce o theChie In ormation O cer (OCIO) is to elevate thecity o Charlotte to an in-ternationally recognizedleadership role amongmunicipalities in the use o technology to achieve com-prehensive Citizen Service.Its mission is to improve

citizen service outcomesby acilitating technologyinvestments that enable col-laboration, seamlessness, ac-cessibility and responsivenessacross the citys distributedbusiness structure. The roleo the OCIO is to both sup-port and advance the citysbusiness priority, which is

continued on page 8

A map created by Lisa Matthies, a GISCorps volunteer romstate o New York, or South Luangwa Conservation Society (SLCS) in Zambia.



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was not just a map, it wasan old map.

Im looking to seei I can get something or these, the guy said. He

oisted the map onto theregular in ront o him andpulled out another one,un olded it and waved itin the general vicinity o another regular.

Uh, said the secondregular, his brain slowlyresurrecting itsel . Have

you tried Metskers?Whats that?

We illed him in about

Metskers, the iconic Seattlemap store, located -- a ter some discussion -- in iconicPike Place Market. In themeantime, hed pulled out athird map. Can I see that?I asked.

He handed it across theaisle, explaining that hed

ound a box o these oldmaps in his grand athersattic, that he was looking

to get someone to give himsomething or them, maybe

ive dollars each, that hewas heading over to visit hisson in the suburbs. I dontknow about that place what did you call it? he

said. Im just looking or someone to give me maybea little cash.

I examined the map ashe talked. 1800s vintage,

Rand McNally & Co. The Washington Territory. FullPostal Directions, Railroadsin the Territory, Counties,Lakes, Rivers, Etc., Etc., thecover proclaimed. He oundthis in an attic ? And hes gotmore ? Why didnt he bringthem all?

You should try theSeattle Historical Society,someone said, as I care ully

olded the map and handedit back. I gestured to see thenext one, and he handed itto me.

Nah, I dont knowabout that, the guy saiddubiously. I just wanna

you know, get ive bucks or each. No big deal. Hepulled out his wallet andopened it. See? This is myson. Im visiting him in the

suburbs. I glanced. Cutekid.

A couple o the regularsdiscussed the HistoricalSociety; a couple othershad lost interest and rebuilttheir personal Fortresses o

Solitude. I examined themap in my hands. This onewas ragile, 1910 Political

Map o Seattle . It lookedalmost like a blueprint, its

olds rein orced with whitetape, which had crackedand split.

Then the light hit itjust right and I saw theper orated mark. SeattlePublic Library.

Hey, I said. Thisone came rom the SeattleLibrary. Hadnt he gotten

on at the stop in ront o thelibrary?

Oh, uh, yeah. I triedto sell these back to them,but they didnt want them.Something about not havingcash or buying over thecounter or buying back their own stu . They said thesemaps were, um, released.

Yeah, I thought. Thats the ticket.

I handed back the bluemap, took the third, and asI did so, glanced across theaisle at the irst regular. Herolled his eyes. This guy is a nutjob.

This map was large,paper on abric. Map o the Oregon Districts andthe Adjacent Country.

Rand McNally WashingtonTerritory Map

James Wyld, Geographer to the Queen, CharingCross East, London. 1843.Delicate red and greenand blue shading outlinedthe various regions. It too,had a Seattle Public Library

mark and penciled callnumber.By now the rest o the

regulars had lost interest.They had been unable toconvince him o the meritso Metskers or the HistoricalSociety. Im just looking or someone to give me a littlecash or these.

Right. You said that.Okay, Ill bite. These are

pretty cool, I said. I mightbe interested.

Ill give you all three or ten bucks, he said.

Done. I handed him aten, he handed me the maps.

Great! He grinned,stood. We pulled up atthe last stop be ore theinterstate. The door suckedopen, and the guy got o .

I thought he was

visiting his son, said thedriver.

I think you just gotscammed, said one o theregulars.

I called the librarywhen I got home, and a ter explaining my story onceor twice, talked to Steve inHistorical Collections. Hewas very interested o course and said that

without seeing the maps,couldnt tell i theyd beenreleased, as the guy hadclaimed. We were bothdubious. We talked aboutsecurity versus accessibility,and how SPL tendedtoward the latter, despitethe act that items weremore likely to walk o .1910 Political Map o Seattle

Cartographiccontinued from page 1



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I gave him the guysdescription in case he triedit again, and promised tobring the maps in as soonas I could probably later that week or the next.

The next day a

Friday I took them in towork and had a bit o showand tell with some o mycoworkers. We managed notto pet them too hard.

I didnt take the mapsback that week, or the next.Li e sort o got in the way, andit was over a month be ore Icould get to the library.

On an overcast Maya ternoon, I rode the

elevator to the ninth loor o the Seattle Library. I waitedmy turn at the HistoricalResearch desk, then steppedup. Hi, I talked to Steveawhile back. I think I havesomething o yours. Ihitched a breath to inish my

explanation, but the gal cutme o .

The maps! she said. Inodded. We are really gladto see you! Come on back!

Jodee explainedthat because o whathad happened, they hadgathered all the maps andother small items in thecollection and placed them

James Wylds 1843 OregonDistrict Map

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under lock and key. Theywere still available to see,but now theyd be muchsa er rom neer-do-wells.

I handed the maps backto their right ul owners, andwe wondered. With all those

buses passing by literallynose-to-tail in rush hour along 4 th Ave. what werethe chances that the guywould randomly choose abus with a map person on it?

We chatted or awhile

longer, then I exited thelibrary just as my last bushome pulled up to its stop.I sprinted and jumped onjust be ore the doors closed,and as I sat down, I checkedaround or nutjobs with

illicit maps.Lisa Castle is a Senior

GIS Programmer at the King County GIS Center in Seattle

Announcing GIS-Pro 2010: URISAs 48th AnnualCon erence or GIS Pro essionals

Since 1963, URISA mem-bers and riends haveconvened annually tolearn about, share anddiscuss all things geo-spatial. And now thename o URISAs annualcon erence has been updated to better refect that o-cus. URISA is pleased to announce GIS-Pro 2010: URISAs48th Annual Con erence or GIS Pro essionals. The rstcon erence under the new banner will take place Sep-tember 28-October 1, 2010 in Orlando, Florida.

Weve also made the con erence more accessible! URISAmembers can register or the con erence at the BEST

VALUE rate o $350! Nowhere else will you nd a world-renown GIS con erence that is so a ordable. Be sure tomake plans to attend now. Registration materials will beavailable soon.

For urther details, visit www.urisa.org or www.gis-pro.org



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Reviewed by: Patrick Kennelly, Visiting Associate Pro essor, Department o Geography, John A. Duttone-Education Institute,The Pennsylvania State University, and Associate Pro essor, Department o Earth and Environmental Science, C.W. Post Campus o Long Island University.

Peter Croswell, PMP, GISP,

ASPRS-MS, clearly stateshis purpose or writing thisbook in a box appearingon its back cover. I havewritten this book to serveas a guide and resource or GIS managers and sta . Myintention is to provide GISpro essionals and research-ers with a tool to make themmore e ective, to supportorganizational improve-ments, and to deliver in-creased bene ts to GIS user communities.

The book is organizedinto an introduction, tenchapters and thirteenappendices. In theintroduction, Croswelloutlines the ten chaptersand their uni ying themeo covering the technical,humanistic, societal,

inancial, and organizationalaspects o GIS planning,development, andoperational management.Chapter titles include: GIS Management

Overview and Context GIS Program

Development GIS Program

Organizational

Structure, Governance,and Coordination Human Resources Funding, Financial

Management, andMultiorganizational

Agreements GIS Program Legal

Issues Management o GIS

Program TechnicalElements

GIS O ice Operations,Service, Delivery andUser Support

GIS Projects and ProjectManagement

Guide to AdditionalResources or GISManagers

Apparent rom this listis that this book will notdetail other aspects o a

geographic in ormationsystem, such as systemcon igurations or GIS data.Croswell explicitly statesthis on the irst page o Chapter 1, indicatingthat instead the book will

ocus on organizationalstructures and people andstandards and policies.(p.1) As such, this book iscomprised o and a valuable

addition to discussions o components o GIS whichare underrepresented in theexisting body o literature.

Chapters vary inscope rom very broad toquite narrow. An exampleo a broadly rangingchapter would be GISProgram Organizational

Structure, Governanceand Coordination, whichsummarizes a lot o highlevel organizationalin ormation. In contrast,GIS O ice Operations,Service Delivery, and User Support ocuses more onthe goings-on in an o ice.Details here are as speci ic asthe well laid-out loor plan

or a GIS o ice presented as

an example in Figure 8.1 (p.180). Chapter 10 is uniquein its lack o a narrative.Instead, it provides lists o resources, including books,periodicals, pro essionalorganizations, internetresources, and a glossary o GIS management terms.

The range o topicscovered in this book willensure that any pro essional

working in the ield o GIS will bene it rom itsin ormation, even i (s)heis not in a leadership role.

Additionally, managers inthe industry, whether teamleaders, project managers,managers, or geographicin ormation o icers, will

ind use ul guidance andresources here. The reader should be aware, however,

that the broad scope o this book also results inlimitations regarding howdetailed Croswell canaddress topics related toany particular managementrole. For example, althoughconcepts use ul to projectmanagers are discussedthroughout the book, only

one chapter (GIS Projectsand Project Management)has this speci ic ocus.

Croswell illustrates hisideas in a clear and wellorganized manner using threedi erent techniques. The irstis igures, which o ten displaythe low o concepts, ideas,or work, but also includesummary diagrams o keyconcepts. The second istables, which include largeamounts o synthesizedin ormation. Some tablesadditionally unction asmatrices. These matrices listkey elements in title rows andcolumns, and then indicatewith dots or codes whichgrid cells o the matrix aremost relevant or certainvariables. For example,Table 3.3 (p. 66) providesa list o GIS programorganizational components,compared to program types.Codes entered in eachgrid cell indicate whether each relationship usually,sometimes, or rarely/never occurs.

The third method bywhich Croswell illustrates

Te GIS Management Handbook by Peter L. Croswell. Kessey Dewitt Publications: Frank ort, Kentucky. 2009.

Book Review



7/16

ideas discussed in the bodyo the book is by use o exhibits. These unctionin a manner similar totext boxes or sidebars,and discuss, classi y, or provide examples insupport o ideas presentedin the book. Topics range

rom classi ying disparatein ormation such asExhibit 1.1: Geographically

Related Program Areas inGovernment and UtilityOrganizations (pp. 12-13), to providing speci icexamples o topics suchas Exhibit 3.1: IllustratingOrganizational CultureImpact on a GIS Program(p. 74).

The thirteen appendicesare ull o practical anduse ul in ormation and

resources concerning the ollowing:

GIS Technology Statusand Trends

Types o Organizationsthat Use GISTechnology

Descriptions o Success ul GISPrograms in Di erentOrganizationalEnvironments

Examples o BusinessProcesses Improved byGIS

Suggested Format or GIS Standards andPolicy Manual

Summaries o KeyIn ormation TechnologyFramework Initiatives

Annotated Outline or

a GIS RequirementsDocument Cost-Bene it Evaluation

Examples Sample Position

Description Code o Ethics Descriptions o Sources

and Approaches or Training andPro essionalDevelopment

GIS Funding Vignettes Examples o User

Satis action Surveys

Although theseresources will obviously notprovide a custom it in allsituations, they should proveto be use ul starting points

or numerous practicalconsiderations which o tenarise.

The unique andimportant contributiono this book is the detailspeci ic to GIS whichCroswell brings tomanagement. Numerousbooks address managementin general or in ormationtechnology managementin particular, but this bookis the only to o er such adetailed level o GIS context

to the subject. Examples rom numerous GISorganizations are integratedinto a detailed management

ramework. A case in point is Appendix C, which discussesexemplary GIS programsin a number o di erenttypes o organizationalenvironments.

One interesting andrecurring perspectiveprovided by the author isthe time rame or whichnumerous trends havearisen in the GIS industry.For example,Croswell citesthat it has reallybeen over thelast 15 yearsthat most

public-sector organizationsand many privatecompanieshave moved away usingmore general IT jobposition descriptions andtowards ones speci ic or GIS pro essionals (p. 98).Documenting such trendsshould give younger GISpro essionals an interesting

perspective regarding whata recent and maturingindustry GIS is, especiallywhen put into the contexto their current experienceby Croswell, someonewho has experienced anddocumented the last 30

years o this change. Although outside the

authors objectives, what isnot present in this book are

hands-on exercises, topics or urther discussion, or other activities which wouldallow the GIS pro essionalto test or re ine his/her understanding o theconcepts presented here.

As such, this book wouldneed to be combined withother resources i one were

I am sure a GIS pro essional would

re er to this book o ten, and would be

able to understand where an aspect o

interest fts into the overall ramework

o management.

considering using it in amore structured learningenvironment, such as theclassroom.

I believe that Croswellhas ul illed his objective

in creating a book to serveas a guide and resource toGIS managers and sta . Iam sure a GIS pro essionalwould re er to this booko ten, and would be ableto understand where anaspect o interest its into

the overall rameworko management. Moreimportantly, (s)he couldunderstand how the uniquecontext o GIS projects arelikely to result in specialconsideration beyondtypical needs o in ormationtechnology managementby re erring to the authorsextensive collection o examples, templates, and

other resources.

To purchase your copyo The GIS ManagementHandbook, visiturisa.org/gisbookorder



8/16

comprehensive citizen ser-vice. The team must lead,guide and direct initiatives

or project unding alterna-tives, IT standards, the CitysIT architecture plan, en-hanced in ormation securityand IT processes. The Chie In ormation O cer leads thistalented group and sits ashead o the Citys Technol-ogy Governance Policy (andSBT as stated previously) tocoordinate technology initia-tives and investments acrossdepartments. The OCIOsStrategic Operating Plan

ollows a three year cycle in

which oundation systemswere identi ed and/or es-tablished, putting processesin place to ormalize thearchitectural cornerstones,competency centers andstandards. The plan is toembed best practices, enablecultural change and drivebene t realization (City o Charlotte OCIO StrategicOperating Plan FY 2010).

What are the cornerstones?The City o Charlottes CIOannounced a our corner-stone approach to better citizen services. One o themajor goals o the city enter-prise is to leverage existingtechnologies across systems,obviously to realize savingswithin the business process.The our cornerstone o-cal points are: EnterpriseResource Planning (ERP),

Work Order and Asset Man-agement (WAM), CitizenRelationship Management(CRM), and GeographicIn ormation Systems (GIS),connected via Service Ori-ented Architecture (SOA).Figure 1 is a symbolization o this approach.

What are the OCIOTechnology Strategies?The City uses a balancedscorecard approach, astrategic, orward-looking

ramework to organize andimplement per ormancemeasures. Each team andbusiness unit aligns their operating plan with the cor-porate balanced scorecardthemes and underlying ob-jectives and the City CouncilFocus Areas. (Originationand History o balancedmeasures approach maybe ound at http://govin o.library.unt.edu/npr/library/papers/bkgrd/charlotte.htmand City Council Focus areasmay be ound at www.Char-meck.org)

An Enterprise Architecture review reportwas completed or the City o Charlotte in an e ort to seek

greater clarity in technologyproject management rolesand responsibilities. TheOCIO drives accountabilityand visibility in IT projectexecution by puttingappropriate benchmarks in

place within the businesswork low or governanceteams across the City.Processes are being created

or project managementand technology activitiessuch as coaching, mentoringand consulting. The OCIOis working directly withteams and is instrumentalin driving towards acitywide IT architecture.

This architectural approachis known in the industry asService Oriented Architecture(SOA). The SOA approachwill serve as the oundation

or compatibility o presentand uture core businessapplications. Table 1 isan example provided or the OCIO 2010 iscal year balanced scorecard, showingthe alignment o speci ic

2010 iscal year strategicthemes and initiatives or the OCIO with three o theCitys Corporate ServiceDelivery PerspectivesRun the Business, ManageResources and DevelopEmployees. These strategicthemes and initiatives aredirectly linked to seveno the Citys CorporateObjectives. The initiatives

identi y tactical areas or achieving the overall strategyo the OCIO and ultimatelysupporting the overall Citystrategy or comprehensivecitizen service. The tacticsare based on an architectureapproach to comprehensivecitizen service that strives or organizational trans ormation

Figure 1. The Technology Foundation fgure shows the Architecture Cornerstones coupled with a Service ori-ented Architecture integrationapproach and employee ca-pabilities are investment area

ocal points that will drive benefts realization in 2010 (City o Charlotte OCIO Stra-tegic Operating Plan FY 2010)

Cornerstonecontinued from page 3 with discernable outcomesand bene its throughcollaborative investmentsand orchestrated IT: 1)collaboration standardsand governance to leveragecommonalities across the

enterprise businesses; 2)seamlessness through ServiceOriented Architecture (SOA)to reduce divisional barriersto exchange in ormation or citizen service; 3) accessibility,(eGovernment) to enableaccess in ormation and datano matter the origination;and 4) responsiveness, beginapplication consolidationto respond better to

change using deeper core Capabilities (City o Charlotte OCIO StrategicOperating Plan FY 2010).

The strategic directiono the O ice o the CIO iscomprised o a three year strategic map that beganin FY2009 with launchingessential Building Blocks,continues with establishingthe business technology

Foundation in FY2010, andwill proceed with Expansionin FY2011.

What technology initiativeshave been identifed or the2010 fscal year?There are our areas identi-

ed or the current 2010 scal year. These speci c ini-tiatives outline the plannedprogress or business priority

and operating strategiesacross the board (copieddirectly rom the City o Charlotte OCIO StrategicOperating Plan FY 2010).

In ormation Security: En-hance in ormation securityand privacy with the ormaladoption o the ProtectedData Policy. The plan is to in-



9/16

crease opportunities througheducation and collaborationand boost the capacity tomanage and monitor secu-rity incidents.

Enterprise GIS ProgramSupport: Advance the im-plementation o standards,policies and procedures,and outline best practices

or the Citys Enterprise GIS.This means strengtheninginvestments in geospatialdata storage, managementand quality; also, ocus onthe needs o the GIS pro es-sional sta through ormaltraining, mentoring, andsupport or less ortunate de-

partments; evolve new andexisting collaboration withstrategic partners to ensureshared services.

SOA Integration Middle-ware: Guide the imple-mentation o integrationmiddleware or a SOA ap-proach. This will allow or reusability throughout busi-ness processes and enhancethe ability to inter ace across

disparate systems and en-hance ability or businessintelligence and analysis.SOA middleware is essentialto build the systems bridgesneeded or operationalseamlessness.

Enterprise Applications: Demonstrate easibility

or customer relationshipmanagement (CRM) andenterprise resource planning(ERP) systems that maximize

seamlessness in citizen ser-vice delivery.

Also, the 3 year OCIOstrategy is broken out intostrategic themes, notingeach years ocus. Thisestablishes a technology

oundation to provide or the uture o the Citys enterprisearchitecture, best practices,and governance processes.This will enable the Cityto have greater ability toexecute the major IT projectsthat are required to realizecomprehensive citizenservice success ully. TheOCIO Strategic OperatingPlan or this iscal year (2010)includes the ollowingexplanations.

Establish Architecture Cor-nerstones: Progress imple-mentation o new systems

or work order asset manage-ment (WAM) and enterprise

resource planning (ERP). Cre-ate a timeline and budgetaryestimate to implement CRM.Chart the integration o GISto enable all new systems tobe locationaware. Clari yand re ne the enterprisearchitecture roadmap usingserviceoriented architecture(SOA) and cornerstone tech-nologies.

Embed Program Best Prac-tices: Create competencycenters that support enter-prise applications across busi-ness units. Drive adoptiono best practices or projectand vendor management, ITport olio management, andbusiness process manage-ment. Continue to de ne ITstandards or applications,data sharing and in rastruc-ture. Institutionalize collabo-ration with recognition andreward collaborative actions.

Drive Benefts Realization: Focus on organizationaland cultural change as theprimary enablers o techno-logical change. Strengthenthe alignment o technol-ogy investments with Com-prehensive Citizen Serviceprinciples and Council Focus

Area plans. Add ollowupprocesses in governanceprocedures to enable track-ing o progress and bene tsrealized. Provide guidelines

or strategic technology se-lection.

What technology initiativeshave been identifed or the2011 fscal year?The oundation or the enter-prise IT architecture ramesIT investments or currentand uture scal years. Theelements such as the ar-chitectural cornerstones aswell as a rich, robust Mas-Figure 2. GIS Enterprise

Team Program Logo

Table 1. FY2010 OCIO Strategy Map with Alignment to Corporate Strategy (City o Charlotte OCIO Strategic Operating Plan FY 2010)

Corporate Objectives FY 2010 OCIOStrategic Themes OCIO Initiatives

C o r p o r a

t e T h e m e s

ManageResources Invest in In rastructure

Establish Architec-ture Cornerstones

Move Toward implementing new WAM and ERP SystemCreate timeline and budget to imple-ment CRM

Run TheBusiness

Develop CollaborativeSolutions

Plan GIS Integration with BusinessSystemsRe ne the architecture roadmap or SOA & cornerstones

Enhance Customer Service

Drive Benefts Re-alization

Focus on organization & culturechange or technology changeStrengthen alignment o IT invest-ments with City Strategy

Optimize Business Pro-cesses

Add ollow-up processes in gover-nance proceduresProvide guidelines or strategic tech-nology selection

DevelopEmployees

Promote Learning &Growth

Embed ProgramBest Practices

Drive adoption o best practices or ITmanagement areasContinue to de ne IT StandardsCreate competency centers or enter-prise applications

Recruit and RetainSkilled, Diverse Work-

orce

Institutionalize collaboration with rec-ognition & rewards

Achieve Positive Em-ployee Climate

Promote Employee Wellness

Spotlight on wellnessParticipation in wellness program

continued on page 10



10/16

ter Address Data Programcombined with technologyroadmaps set the direction

or expansion. For scal year 2011 ve areas are keys tosuccess (City o CharlotteOCIO Strategic OperatingPlan FY 2010).

Enterprise ArchitecturePlanning: Leading the de-velopment and implemen-tation o the architectureor blueprint or the use o in ormation technology tosupport the Citys and keybusiness unit Strategic Op-erating Plans. Developing

strategies to advance the col-laborative use o technology.

In ormation Security : Pro-tecting in ormation, in orma-tion systems and technologyinvestments rom unauthor-ized access, use, disclosure,

wondered what others weredoing in this realm o inte-gration, a quick search o theinternet shows many other organizations going throughsimilar thought processes tosupport services and busi-nesses or their agencies and

customers, driving e ortsand best practices to cutthrough the di culties andboundaries o providing thebest business intelligence tousers and hope ully realizingsavings and better businessprocess management.

Congdon (2009) reviewsthe exponential businessbene its o GIS related toERP and Work and Asset

Management. The discussionsurrounds integrated GISand SAP (http://www.sap.com/index.epx) work orcemanagement system ando ers an example o howthis so tware option and

The ESIG Awards recognizeexceptional achievements inthe application o geospatialin ormation technology thathave improved the deliveryand quality o governmentservices.

Why participate?

I believe the award hasdone two things or me pro-

essionally. The rst relatesto leadership. The awardwas a source o pride or my team and rein orced theteams belie in my ability topull all the pieces together to develop a product worthyo national recognition and

2010 Exemplary Systems in Government Awards ProcessNow Open

their ability to be success ulin their roles. The secondrelates to credibility. Manyo the Districts senior lead-ers have little experiencein GIS. However, many o these leaders are amiliar with URISA. Receiving thisaward has rein orced their

decision to entrust me withthis large, complex projectand has demonstrated thatI can deliver despite thestatistics related to ailedand overly expensive ITprojects. - Don Nehmer,Capital Program BusinessManager, Milwaukee Met-ropolitan Sewerage District,

Cornerstonecontinued from page 9

disruption, modi cation or destruction. Goals o in or-mation security ocus oncon dentiality and privacyprotection, in ormation in-tegrity and in ormation avail-ability.

Program Management:Leading the developmento major business technol-ogy programs to includeplanning, organizing andmanaging resources in a col-laborative environment toachieve success ul, sustain-able solutions in areas thatinclude GIS, CRM, business

intelligence (BI) and master data management (MDM).

Process Management: Leading optimization o management, operationaland business support pro-cesses that avoid unctional

silos and deliver e cienciesand e ectiveness or seam-less citizen service.

Port olio Management:Managing the collectiono in ormation technologyinvestments and guiding de-

cisions about the investmentmix and policies that matchthe investments with theCitys Business Priority.

What are the benefts o interwoven Integrationacross/throughcornerstones?

At a glance, the bene ts o interconnecting data be-tween business oundationsystems, and having GISidenti ed as one o the maincornerstones, is an excit-ing acknowledgement or the hard work and naturalcollaboration that the GISpro essionals in the GIS com-munity are well known or. I

WI: SewerView, 2009 ESIGEnterprise Systems Category- Distinguished System

It was an honor to receivethe ESIG award rom URISAthis past year. By par-ticipating in the ESIG awardprocess we were able to

exercise another reason toevaluate our system, by do-ing so we were able to ndways to improve our currentsystem. We also received lo-cal media exposure becauseo the ESIG award, thishelped us in orm the For-syth County public o howwe were applying GIS or

public sa ety in their county.This award also validated allo the hard work and devel-opment that went into thissystem, this helped the GISdepartment orti y a trustwith the Forsyth County Ad-ministration. - John Kilgore,GISP, GIS Director, Forsyth

County, GA: GIS MobileEmergency Response Sys-tem (ERS), 2009 ESIG SingleProcess System Winner

ESIG Applications willbe accepted throughMay 3, 2010. For de-tails, http://www.urisa.org/2010esigapplication



11/16

GIS are driving synergyacross divisions, lesseningissues o scalability over time, and integratingdisparate systems. Theauthor also adds advice onhow integration o GIS with

ERP adds clarity to publicworks process, coordination,communication andresponsiveness to rune ective citizen services.

An example selected romthe Oil and Gas industry,

Abou-Ghanem and Ar aj(2008) examine howbusiness processes can strive

or better optimization ande iciency improvements by

managing with ERP systems or work low coupled withthe power o GIS to gainlocation based in ormation.The authors state casestudies and techniques

or integration as well aspossible bene its realized

rom such system usion. An example pertaining toCRM and GIS Integration,

Williamson (2008), talks

about the challenges andissues related to technology,commercial products, andorganizational issues o GISand CRM embedded in a

local authority customer

contact center businessactivities. Petrecca andLaCombe (2009) presenthow integrated enterpriseGIS technologies evolvedto reveal the power o GIS both knowinglyand unknowingly. Theproduct called IndyGIS was developed or

unctionality and e iciencyto address problems,enhance processes, andremove hurdles o businessconnectivity. Taking a lookat the bene its resulting

rom connection o ERP

and business processmanagement, Horwitt(2009) discusses how thistype o integration lower costs, can reduce inventory,and con er time savings.Think about being able totrack, monitor and measurekey per ormance indicators(KPIs) or any type o business public or private,across the business or any

location or product at anytime (thus an opportunity or tying in GIS and expandingthe capability o businessanalysis or the enterprise).

Closing CommentI chose the City o Charlotteexample, mostly because Iknow it intimately and it a -

ects my day to day businessoperations here at Charlotte-

Mecklenburg Storm Water Services and activities o the GIS Enterprise Teamwhich runs the GIS Enter-prise Program or the City o

Charlotte. The GISpro essionals andbusiness leaders or the city recognizedearly on that GIScould and shouldsupport the daily ac-

tivities, however until recent

years, it was not targetedas such an important build-ing block and awarenesshas been elevated to senior business members becauseo several commitmentsmade by the GIS pro essionalsta and their willingness toget the job done and workhand in hand to bene t oneanother. This team o pro es-

sionals has worked acrossand through some verydi cult hurdles to sync upsystems and data. It is under-stood that good data is thekey to good citizen service.There are many examples o the GIS community at the

city and within the Char-lotte-Metro Region, comingtogether to aid in com-munication. We have manyapplications and a wealth o data sources which supportdaily activities, like Mecklen-burg Countys public dataportals which support vitalcity and regional activities onCharmeck.org (a ew mainexamples are POLARIS, Geo-Portal and DataWarehouse).Our STREETS committeewhich allows regional entitiesto assist in supporting our excellent street centerline

eature database. A Googlebased intranet-applicationnamed Virtual Charlotte,which ties citizen in ormationwith tax data, street center-line, address location, withour enterprise GIS spatialdata warehouse ramework

datasets, and Charlottes De-partment o Transportationwork order system, 311 callcenter database, emergencyCADD event system, andreturns reports in just a ewseconds. Since the 1990s,the Charlotte-MecklenburgStorm Water Agency hasdepended on data collected

rom aerial photography or its utility billing (calculatingimpervious sur ace total per

parcel). Solid Waste Services or the city use GIS or every-thing rom tracking vehicleactivities rom daily routingand pickup to special pickups(bulky items or instance).Engineering & PropertyManagement and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities havecollaboration applications,data and services that sup-

About thisEditor

Allow me tointroducemysel ; I amKeri Schaber Shearer, a new co-editor

or URISAs GIS Pro es-sional Newsletter. I havescores o interests thatencompass the geospa-tial realm o technology,geographic activities, andanalysis. This newsletter gives me an opportunityto share ideas, hope ullygive back to the GIS Com-munity, and keep updatedon the latest GIS tech-nologies. I have been in

the eld o GIS or over 10 years, 8 o which havebeen with the City o Charlotte. Right now I amthe GIS Enterprise Team

Vice-Chair or the City o Charlotte or the 2010 s-cal year and my job titleis IT Manager, with thepurpose o coordinatinge orts or Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services technology needs

or the City o Charlotte,North Carolina. I am aproud graduate o Mitch-ell Community College(AS) and UNC-CharlottesGeography and Earth Sci-ences Program (BS andMA). Also I am a member o the Charlotte-Metro-politan GIS User Groupand URISA. Feel ree tocontact me with articlesubmissions or ideas or articles or this newsletter via email: [email protected].

port capital improvementproject collaboration and linkproject management data toa spatial inter ace. These twoentities are in the planningstages or ArcGIS and City-

continued on page 12

It is understood that good data is

the key to good citizen service.



12/16

Join the latest group o GIS pro essionals who have com-pleted the URISA Leadership Academy. The ULA will be pre-sented this June in Baltimore.

Ive been working in the GIS eld or 15 years and thiswas, by ar, the most valuable and comprehensive trainingI have received. No matter how much you think you knowabout GIS management, you will learn more than you ever thought possible. - Scott A Weisman, GISP, GIS TechnicalServices Manager, Tallahassee Leon County GIS - ULA Grad-uate, December 2009

For program and registration details, visit www.urisa.org/ula

Dont miss your ONLY opportunity to attend the URISA Leadership Academy in 2010!

June 14-18, 2010 Baltimore, Maryland

December 2009 ULA Graduates in Seattle

Cornerstonecontinued from page 11

works application to support WAM. The Planning Depart-ment uses GIS to supporttheir area plans with docu-mentation linked to spatiallocation and they use GIS toassist with creation o plans,an example is the GeneralDevelopment and Environ-mental Development Plansvia utilization o customextensions and CityGreen. So

you can see these examplesjust scratch the sur ace o how, across the board, GIS isin used within the business

or a myriad o purposes toin orm and communicate. It

is interesting to know thatGIS is recognized more thanjust as an application, a da-tabase, or group o techies,but as a system o systemswhich support this local

government, the region, andits users every hour o everyday. It is exciting to see GISdirectly in the spotlight.I you have examples o integration, business intel-ligence, business practices,applications, policies, stan-dards, and/or strategic plans,or any other ideas that youwould like to share with thereaders o this newsletter,

eel ree to send them to myemail address or publicationconsideration, [email protected].

Special thanks mustbe given to the wonder ul

OCIO Team who preparedthis report, and especiallyJe Stovall, our CIO andgreat visionary or the Cityo Charlottes technology

uture. Also, thank you to

Twyla McDermott who withher patience, guidance,and orward thinking haschallenged us, this hasallowed our GIS Communitywithin the city and region tocultivate and blossom.

Re erences Abou-Ghanem, M. and

Ar aj, K. (2008) SAP/GISIntegration Case Studies &Techniques. http://www.uqu.edu.sa/ iles2/tiny_mce/plugins/ ilemanager/

iles/4260086/3/65_E_Mosta aAboughanem_KSA.pd . (last accessed 1/6/2010)

Congdon, K. (2009) TheExponential BusinessBene its O GIS. Field

Technologies Online. http:// ieldtechnologiesonline.com/article.mvc/The-Exponential-Business-Bene its-O -GIS-0001?VNETCOOKIE=NO.

(last accessed 1/6/2010)Horwitt, E. (2009) ERP

and BPM integrationlowers costs, reducesinventory http://searchmanu acturingerp.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid193_gci1373671,00.html (lastaccessed 1/6/2010).

Petrecca, R. and LaCombe,J. (2009) Enterprise GISIntegration in Indianapolis:

An Evolving, Cutting-EdgeSolution.http://www.indy.gov/EGOV/COUNTY/ISA/SERVICES/GIS/ABOUT/PAPERS/Pages/integration.aspx. (last accessed1/6/2010)

Williamson, F. (2008) GISand CRM Integration ina Local Authority. http://www.agi.org.uk/SITE/UPLOAD/DOCUMENT/Events/AGI2009/papers/FelicityWilliamson.pd (lastaccessed 1/6/2010)



13/16

Ahmed Baha Abukhater,GISP,Redlands, CA

Elissa Keys Adams GISP,TrigonEPC, Lakewood, CO

Phyllis Ayling,Meadowview, VA

Jason Barnes,Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA

Benjamin Bland ord,University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

Bradley Allen Boltz,BS,Department of Defense, Denver,CO

Edwin Butterworth,Alexandria, VABeth Carpenter GISP,Kirkland, WA

Tim Crago,Valtus Imagery Services, Calgary, AB, Canada

Jay Cummins,GISP, Glen Allen, VA

Juan H Declet-Barreto,Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ

Jaime Sue Giesen Cleveland, GISP, Thornton, CO

Peggy Gross,Ben Lomond, CA

Lucinda L. Hendricks,GISP,

Brunswick County GIS, Bolivia,NC

Jenni er Holland,U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, TX

Chris Holmes,Michael Baker Jr Inc, Beaver, PA

Nichole Hutchins GISP,The Schneider Corporation,Indianapolis, IN

David Johnson,Alachua County Dept of Public Safety,Gainesville, FL

Sherry Johnson,Global Investors,Naples, FL

Brent A. Jones,ESRI, Redlands, CA

Phillip Hunter Key,Glynn County Board of Commissioners,Brunswick, GA

Henry Martin Kyle,GISP, Sierra Systems Group Inc, Vancouver,BC, Canada

FEDERAL AGENCy MEMBERU.S. Census Bureau

CORPORATE MEMBERS

Platinum Corporate Member ESRI

Gold Corporate MembersCDM

Data Trans er Solutions, LLC

BC AssessmentManatron

Merrick & CompanyMichael Baker Corporation

OGIn o.com, LLCOrion Technology, A Division o Rolta Canada Limited

PictometryPinnacle Mapping Technologies, Inc.

Pixxures, Inc.The Sidwell Company

BUSINESS MEMBERS

Silver Business MembersInner Corridor Technologies/ Teach Me GIS

eGPS Solutions Inc

Colorado CustomWare, Inc. (CCI)

Geotek MappingGeoWise Limited

GIS Innovations LTD.Kessler GISMGP, Inc.

Munsys, Inc.North River Geographic Systems, Inc.

Open Technology GroupSpatial Data Research

Spatial Focus Inc.Tetra Tech

Tyler Technologies Eagle Computer Division VERTICES LLC

Wellar Consulting

Kris Larson,GISP, CDM, Helena,MT

Wenjun Li PHD,University of Massachusetts Medical School,Worcester, MA

Sarah R Linden,DeKalb County,Department of Public Works,Atlanta, GA

William Eric Linzey,NOAA-National Geodetic Survey,College Park, MD

Daniel Madding,North Carolina Department of Agriculture,

Raleigh, NC Denise Mayes,Duquesne, PA

James Mc Andrew,Bethlehem, PA

Paul Mcbride,Anderson, IN

Tammy Mc Cracken,Spatial Engineering, Inc., Rincon, GA

Sargent Mc Donald,City of Arvada, Arvada, CO

Steven R. Miller,LogiconGeodynamics Services,Westminister, CO

Tim Muhs GISP,AICP, NorthCarolina Department of Agriculture, Raleigh, NC

Barry Napier,USDA Forest Service,Salt Lake City, UT

Amy Noreuil,George WashingtonUniversity, Washington, DC

Michael Omohundro,Parsons Brinckerhoff, Honolulu, HI

Chip Parks,Iredell County NC,Statesville, NC

Joy C Pasquarelli,GISP,

Mendham, NJ Suzanne C Pass,GISP, CDM,

Brighton, CO

Ryan F Pecharka,B.S., City of Prattville, Prattville, AL

Tammy Peterson,Valtus Imagery Services, Calgary, AB, Canada

Chris Pettit,Future Farming Systems Research Div Parkville,North Carlton, Australia

Susan Port,Ontario Chapter,Toronto, ON, Canada

Iris Prophet,Anchorage, AK,

Robert C. Pruyne,Jr. GISP,Newmarket, NH

Eric Reece,Decatur, GA

Khemarith So,MS, USFWS,Newport, OR

Welco me New U RI SA Members

Kip White,City of Boulder,Boulder, CO

Michael B Williams,GISP, Land OLakes, FL

Peter Witt,GISP, Enviro Spatial LLC, Seattle, WA



14/16

For most o you readingthis, the time o traditionalholiday celebrations arepast. But in my neck o thewoods, now is the timewhen we gather to celebratea tradition that, while notuncommon around theglobe, is unique in America:the Carnival Season. Carni-val is a tradition that helpsto de ne my hometown,New Orleans. For the resi-dents and countless visitorsalike, it is a tradition thatunites us in the commongoal o celebrating les joie de vivre .

The Encarta Dictionarytells us that traditions arelong-established action(s)or pattern(s) o behavior in a community or groupo peoplethat ha(ve)been handed down romgeneration to generation,and a body o long-established customs andbelie s viewed as a set o precedents. URISA has

several traditions thatde ine, unite, and make our association unique in thegeospatial realm. As URISAnears its 50th birthday,I thought about thosetraditions that have evolvedwithin our association. Threethat were obvious to mewere the traditions o GIS

education, GIS communitydevelopment, and GISethical behavior.

Tradition o GIS Education A review o URISAs tradi-tions is incomplete withouta look at URISAs past. Anexcellent synopsis o our associations history canbe ound on the website athttp://www.urisa.org/about/history. URISAs ounder,Ed Horwood, along withothers, had the oresight tosee that those individualswho chose a pro ession inGIS would require an orga-nization to support them.

A large part o the sup-port envisioned by URISAs

ounders included educatingthose who create GIS, aswell as the users and thosethat champion GIS projects.Over the decades, URISAresponded to its membersneeds or knowledge by cre-ating a catalogue o twenty-six educational workshops:http://www.urisa.org/work-shops. These workshops,taught by URISA memberswho are certi ed instructors,range rom introductory toadvanced, and represent anincredible asset to URISAstradition o GIS education.

Another one o URISAseducational traditions isthe Annual Con erence. For

orty seven years, URISAmembers have convenedannually to learn, shareand present on all thingsgeospatial. This year,URISA introduces a newtradition: GIS-Pro 2010:

URISAs 48th

AnnualCon erence or GISPro essionals. This

years Con erenceCommittee is hardat work revampingcon erence contentand presentationmethods by adding newways to learn, network, andconnect with geospatialpro essionals rom across the

globe.

Tradition o GIS CommunityDevelopmentBy their very nature, tradi-tions are participatory.Observers o current tradi-tions pass on the traditionsto those that will carrythem into the uture. Inthe case o Carnival, thosethat preserve traditions likethe masque balls and thesecond-line brass bandsrealize that keeping tradi-tions alive requires supportboth rom and or the com-munities that practice thosetraditions.

URISAs tradition o supporting and advancingthe GIS community isno di erent. Prior tothe ormation o URISA,Horwood and his peerswere a loose group o urbanplanners and in ormationsystem pro essionals.They had no establishedcommunity to providerein orcement or their research or their advances inthe evolving computerizedgeospatial analysis ield.Once URISA was ormed,

the activities o theassociation set intomotion the customsthat would serveas the oundation,or traditions, or URISAs communityo members.

Examples o those traditionsthat persevere today includethe URISA Chapters, theURISA Journal , and perhaps

most important, theprovision o networkingopportunities or like-minded individuals witha passion or GIS. Newer traditions that serve todevelop the GIS communityinclude attaining aGIS Pro essional (GISP)certi ication, volunteering

or the GISCorps, andparticipating in the on-line

member discussion orumsand blogs.

Tradition o GIS EthicalBehaviorEvery year in New Orleans,Carnival traditions are chal-lenged to see i they canstand the test o time. Sometraditions, such as excludingclub members based on raceor gender, have thank ully

allen by the wayside. Other traditions, such as the datethe Carnival season starts(January 6) and the dateit ends (Mardi Gras, or FatTuesday), are deeply rootedin religious observances andcelestial occurrences, andthus are more permanent.Carnival traditions thatpersevere are ones that are

URISA raditions

Kathrine Cargo

Presiden ts Col umn



15/16

fexible, yet rooted in anunwavering oundation,providing the ramework tosustain the holidays corewhile incorporating the in-evitable changes that occur over time.

URISAs tradition o promoting ethical behavior by geospatial pro essionalsis one o the oundationalprinciples o the association.Horwood recognizedthat turning digital datainto in ormation can haveunintended consequencesi used in a non-ethicalmanner. URISAs traditiono promoting and ollowingthe GIS Code o Ethics(http://www.gisci.org/code_o _ethics.aspx) o ers

Digital Orthophotography Digital Planimetric and

Topographic Mapping Aerial Photography LiDARGIS Services

Specializing inphotogrammetric and GISservices since 1954

www.surdex.com

520 Spirit of St. Louis Blvd.Chesterfield, MO 63005tel 636-368-4400

its members and all GISPsguidance to always do rightby and with GIS. The GISCode o Ethics, rooted inseveral theories o ethicalbehavior, may evolve likethe Carnival traditions

that change in response tosocietal advances. However,the oundation o the Code,with its basis in morality, isin lexible, and thus allowsthe tradition o GIS ethics tobe sustainable and robust

year a ter year.For both Carnival and

URISA, traditions providea touchstone or historicalperspective and the

ramework to move orward.Over the years, URISAstraditions have supported

its members in the ever-changing landscape o geospatial analysis. Theyhave assisted the GIScommunity to advance tothe point that GIS is nowconsidered a pro ession.I believe that traditions

which support and nurtureevents and communities asunique as both Carnival andURISA should be embracedand practiced with greatregularity, and with passion.I hope as URISA members,

you agree. Happy Carnival, yall!

By Twyla McDermott, GISP and Michael Waltuch, GISP



16/16

Mark YourCalendar!

March 8-11, 201014th Annual GIS/CAMATechnologies Con erence

Little Rock, Arkansas

May 3, 2010Submission deadline or ExemplarySystems in Government Awards

June 14-18, 2010URISA Leadership AcademyBaltimore, Maryland

August 16-18, 2010URISA/NENA Addressing Con erence

Charlotte, North Carolina

September 28-October 1, 2010GIS-PRO 2010 URISAs 48th AnnualCon erence or GIS Pro essionalsOrlando, Florida

PRESIDENT Kathrine Cargo, GISP-Orleans ParishCommunication [email protected]

PRESIDENT-ELECT Cy Smith, GISP-State o [email protected]

IMMEDIATE PAST-PRESIDENT Hilary Perkins, GISP AICP-East-West GatewayCouncil o Governments, St. Louis, [email protected]

SECRETARY Cynthia Braddock-Boulder County (CO)

Assessors O [email protected]

TREASURER

Greg Babinski, GISP-King County (WA) GISCenter [email protected]

Carl Anderson, GISP-Fulton County (GA)[email protected]

Clare Brown, GISP-Montgomery WatsonHarza, New Orleans, [email protected]

David DiBiase, GISP-Penn State [email protected]

Michael W Lovett, GISP-CDM Camp Dresser & McKee, Maitland, [email protected]

Sandra Majewski, GISP-Las Vegas MetroPolice [email protected]

Twyla McDermott, GISP-City o Charlotte (NC)[email protected]

Karen RM Stewart, GISP-ESRI Canada, Vancouver, [email protected]

Urban & Regional In ormation Systems A ssociation

701 Lee Street, Suite 680Des Plaines, IL 60016

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PaIDURISA

THE GIS PROFESSIONAL A publication o URISA The Association or GIS Pro essionals.URISA is a non-pro t pro essionaland educational association thatpromotes the e ective and ethicaluse o spatial in ormation andin ormation technologies or theunderstanding and managemento urban and regional systems. Itis a multidisciplinary associationwhere pro essionals rom all partso the spatial data community can

come together and share concernsand ideas.

URISA Headquarters701 Lee Street, Suite 680Des Plaines, IL 60016Phone (847) 824-6300Fax (847) 824-6363in [email protected]

SubmissionsManaging Editor Wendy Nelson,Executive Director,[email protected] Editor Com ort Manyame, GISP,[email protected] Editor Ker i Shearer, GISP,[email protected]

GIS Professional January/February 2010

Documents