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MetroGIS is involved in efforts to promote and expand sharing of
geospatial data and knowledge at the local, regional, state, and national
levels. Its model for collaboration and data sharing is studied widely.
MetroGIS's leadership has testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. Congress
and has presented at national conferences about MetroGIS's efforts and
accomplishments. Some of MetroGIS's affiliations with other organizations are
described below.
The Metropolitan Council has served as a primary sponsor of MetroGIS since its inception in 1995. On July 28, 2006, the Council reaffirmed the value it realizes from MetroGIS’s existence by unanimously adopting a resolution of continued commitment. This resolution establishes measures of accountability and expectations to guide the relationship between the Council and MetroGIS. The Council had ten years previously adopted a similar resolution of commitment on February 8, 1996, through which the Council committed significant financial and staff support to the regional data sharing initiative that soon after became known as MetroGIS.
The July 28, 2006 action was preceded by a 5-month program evaluation that began Spring 2005 which was conducted by the Council’s Internal Auditor. The resulting Evaluation and Audit Report, released in October 2005, found that MetroGIS was a cost effective means for the Council to obtain the data it needed from others. The report also identified several organizational topics for further investigation. A workgroup of the Council was created and began meeting in January 2006 to address the additional issues. The chairperson of the MetroGIS Policy Board was a member of this five person workgroup, along with the Council’s representative to the MetroGIS Policy Board and three other Councilmembers. After a 4-month investigation, the workgroup concluded that no changes were warranted to MetroGIS’s organizational structure. The topics investigated by the workgroup are documented in its report to the Council’s Community Development Committee, dated April 2006.
From MetroGIS’s inception in 1995 through December 2005, the Metropolitan Council, as MetroGIS's primary sponsor, had invested in excess of $2.8 million in staff and non-staff costs to support MetroGIS’s “foster collaboration function”, in addition to sharing its data freely with other government organizations.
The Governor's
Council on Geographic Information coordinates the development of geographic
information technologies throughout Minnesota. Its mission is to promote
efficient and effective use of resources by providing leadership and direction
in the development, management and use of geographic information statewide. The
Council makes recommendations in areas including, but not limited to: policies,
institutional arrangements, standards, education and stewardship.
Staff from the Governor's Council and MetroGIS work together from time
to time on projects of mutual interest. MetroGIS offers information and support
to the Council and its members as requested. Several of MetroGIS's leaders also
serve in leadership roles for the Governor's Council.
The Minnesota GIS/LIS
Consortium is a forum for communicating information to, and improving
cooperation among, those interested in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and
Land Information Systems (LIS) in the State of Minnesota. Members include GIS
users in local, regional, state and federal government agencies; business and
industry; and educational institutions. Its mission is "to develop and support
the GIS professional in Minnesota for the benefit of our state and its
citizens."
The Consortium hosts an annual statewide conference, and establishes
committees that deal with specific GIS/LIS-related issues in Minnesota. The
concept of creating a regional data sharing collaborative for the Twin Cities
was first proposed at the annual Consortium conference in 1995. This idea,
which evolved into the MetroGIS initiative, was well received and quickly
gained momentum from this well-attended forum. Many GIS professionals involved
in MetroGIS are also active in the Consortium. The Consortium's quarterly
newsletter also plays a key role in MetroGIS's outreach efforts.
MetroGIS received designation as an I-Team in August 2002
The I-Team
Geospatial Information Initiative (I-Team Initiative) was a joint project of
the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), Federal Office of Management and
Budget (OMB), the Council for Excellence in Government, Urban Logic, TIE,
NSGIC, NACO, and other strategic partners. The program was abandoned around 2003 when the FGDC forged an alliance with the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) in an attempt to
address the institutional and financial barriers to development of the NSDI (National Spatial Data Infrastructure).
The aim of the I-Team initiative was to create the incentive to attain a coherent set of institutional and financial incentives to make it easier for all levels of government and the private sector to
collaborate in the building of the next generation of framework data. These are also among the objectives of the FGDC's alliance with NSGIC. The foremost goals are to help all
levels of government and the private sector save money, migrate from
existing legacy systems, make better use of existing resources, and develop
the business case for additional public and private resources needed to achieve the vision of the NSDI.
The National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) was created by
executive order in 1994 and put under the direction of the U.S. Geological
Survey's Federal Geographic Data
Committee (FGDC). The NSDI is defined as the technologies, policies, and
people necessary to promote sharing of geospatial data throughout all levels of
government, the private and nonprofit sectors, and the academic community.
MetroGIS's mission is similar to that of the NSDI at a regional level.
MetroGIS leadership has participated in NSDI's 1996-97 Framework
Workshop series and on standing NSDI committees. MetroGIS has been the subject
of three NSDI-related grants. A Benefits Study Grant was issued
to study the benefits of sharing geospatial data and information on a regional
scale using MetroGIS as the case study. An
NSDI Framework Demonstration Grant
was issued to develop a fair-share financial model and investigate an
appropriate organizational structure for MetroGIS. An
NSDI Web Mapping Services
Grant was also awarded to MetroGIS.
MetroGIS is a proponent of the NSDI vision. NSDI's seven Framework
Functions are a fundamental driver of MetroGIS's policies to establish
custodial roles and responsibilities necessary to sustain effective sharing of
data commonly needed by the MetroGIS community. MetroGIS is also actively
fostering and facilitating, via participation in the MN Governor's Council on
Geographic Information initiatives, the notion of statewide policy consistent
with NSDI's concept of seven Framework Themes, in particular, for parcel data
and administrative boundaries. See the NSDI Framework Handbook for information
about seven Framework Themes and seven Framework Functions. In addition to
working with state interests, MetroGIS is seeking out opportunities to
collaborate with federal agencies. In December 2001, MetroGIS brought together
the Chief of TIGER and the owners of MetroGIS's endorsed regional street
centerline dataset to investigate integrating this locally produced data into
TIGER. MetroGIS has also encouraged the proponents of The National Map to
partner on matters of common interest.
As the concept of the NSDI evolved, the FGDC saw the need for a
nonfederal organization to foster geographic data coordination. It sponsored an
initiative in 2000 that led to the formation of the National GeoData Alliance
(www.geoall.net) in 2001.
The goal of the National Geodata Alliance (GDA) is to foster trusted
and inclusive processes to enable the creation, effective and equitable flow,
and beneficial use of geographic information across the U.S. and around the
world. MetroGIS staff and participants played an integral role in the formation
of the Alliance. MetroGIS joined the GDA as a charter institutional member in
July 2001. MetroGIS Policy Board Chair Victoria Reinhardt was appointed to the
GDA's National Board of Trustees in November 2001 to represent regional
government interests.
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