Advancing the Fifty States Initiative 

Measuring Progress of the Fifty 

States Initiative Report 

August 26, 2010 
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Contract Information 

This document was produced under contract to the Federal Geographic

Data Committee (FGDC):

Contract Number: 08HQCN0024/0001

PRIME CONTRACTOR

SUBCONTRACTORS
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Table Of Contents 

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................. 3

2 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................. 6

3 SUMMARY OF GEOSPATIAL PLATFORM REPORT......................................................... 8

4 GRANT RECIPIENT ONLINE SURVEY RESULTS............................................................. 15

5 STATE CASE STUDIES (AR, HI, ME, SC, AND VA)......................................................... 25

6 GIS INVENTORY & GEOSPATIAL MATURITY ASSESSMENT INITIATIVES ..................... 51

7 CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS..................................................................... 57

8 APPENDIX A: ONLINE SURVEY RESPONDENTS & QUESTIONS ................................... 60
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1 Executive Summary 

The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) administers the Cooperative

Agreement Program (CAP) to advance the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).  

This report examines how the Fifty States CAP grant category has improved

coordination on geospatial matters, and thereby positively impacted the growth of the

National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). Both quantitative and qualitative data about

how these grants benefited state government geospatial activities were analyzed.   

The three analyses summarized in this report are:

1) Geospatial Platform Analysis from existing state plans

2) Survey of Fifty State grant recipients  

3) Five case studies of states that have received grants

These analyses provide strong evidence that grants have been effective and useful for

advancing the objectives of NSDI at the state‐level and, by extension, advancing state

contributions to the NSDI. These indications are particularly evident in the results of a

survey of Fifty States grant recipients as well as in the case studies.

In addition, the GIS Inventory and the Geospatial Maturity Assessment efforts are

discussed.  Ways to make sure that meaningful measures on grant outcomes are

captured in a consistent manner would help measure the overall progress on geospatial

coordination and the effectiveness of the Fifty States Initiative.  The emerging

Geospatial Maturity Assessment (GMA) model holds potential and promise in this

regard.

The important findings that this study provides concerning the effectiveness of the Fifty

States CAP grants are as follows:

 State case studies show that the Fifty States CAP grants have been a critical

catalyst for planning, goal setting, and achievement.  They also indicate that

successful stakeholder outreach and involvement are key factors in the ultimate

success of a project and support for the plan.
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 Survey responses from past grant recipients indicate that the grant has

invigorated planning efforts, enhanced credibility with executive leadership, and

helped to engage local government, all which are essential to building a

sustainable NSDI.  

 Data on measures of state coordination collected for the period 2006‐09

indicates that most states have established a baseline level of coordination, but

that funding remains a primary concern.   

 Gaining the support of high‐level executives and legislators during the planning

process is an essential factor in advancing the coordination agenda.

 States often experience lags and setbacks associated with lack of funding, the

slow pace of organizational change, the time required for passage of enabling

legislation, and dependence on a high degree of cooperation and effort

(oftentimes voluntary) for the implementation of programs.

 State historical experiences and means of progressing toward greater

coordination vary widely, and there is no single path toward the goals of the

Statewide Spatial Data Infrastructure (SSDI) and NSDI.  In other words, states are

starting from different levels of coordination and proceeding in distinct ways, to

fit their particular circumstances.  Some of the drivers for these differences are

variations in: state political processes, levels of monetary and staff resources,

sense of urgency, ability of stakeholders to articulate the need for geospatial

data and data coordination, and organizational mandates and interrelationships.

 Most states have yet to adopt the concept and vocabulary of Geospatial

Platforms, with a couple of notable exceptions.  However, to varying degrees,
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their planning efforts have all touched on the prioritization of data, applications,

and services, in the context of the strategic and programmatic goals.  From these

planning efforts, certain things are evident:

o The seven traditional “Framework” themes are important to the states,

as are addresses and building structures

o Emergency management and homeland security applications are

mentioned more often than other applications as statewide priorities

o Services to support coordination (e.g. standards), geocoding, and hosting

and provisioning are in high demand

The key recommendation of this report is to build on the success and leverage the gains

made over the past several Fifty States CAP grant cycles with ongoing investment in the

planning and coordination process, and related efforts.  This includes expanded support

for and linking of the GIS Inventory and  GMA efforts to Strategic and Business Planning

efforts, as well as Return on Investment (ROI) efforts.  It also includes continued efforts

to increase awareness across federal agencies of the successful outcomes of the

planning process, and the value of products from the Fifty States Program for

coordinated place‐based strategies and contributions to NSDI.  By example, the US

Department of Transportation (USDOT) is following the FGDC GIS Strategic Planning

Guidelines to gather stakeholder input to identify issues and alternatives for realizing

the concept of “Transportation for the Nation” (TFTN) as a sharable national data set.
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2 Background 

2.1 OVERVIEW

Since the National Research Council coined the phrase National Spatial Data

Infrastructure (NSDI) in 1993, there has been a great deal of thought and considerable

effort made to advance what is still an incompletely defined concept. The Fifty States

Initiative aims to encourage the creation of NSDI by pursuing the notion that the NSDI

can best be achieved through active intergovernmental cooperation and coordination

built on a sound strategic and business planning process.

  

2.2 PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to assess how the Fifty States CAP grants may have

enhanced geospatial coordination and advanced the development of the NSDI through

the improvement of state government geospatial capacities. Coordination may produce

benefits, both internally within a state and externally with a state’s neighbors or federal

government partners.  This “Measuring Progress Report” assesses the Fifty States CAP

grant program and its impacts on furthering state geospatial coordination and, by

extension, the NSDI.   

2.3 SCOPE

The scope of this analysis is a multi‐faceted examination of the limited data available

from several sources. It provides both quantitative and meaningful qualitative

information that are individually and collectively suggestive of the success of the Fifty

States Initiative in improving geospatial coordination.

2.4 FIFTY STATES CAP GRANT CATEGORIES

The Cooperative Agreement Program (CAP) administered by FGDC provides federal funding

opportunities in support of NSDI, including two grant categories for states in support of the

Fifty States Initiative.  These grants (i.e. Fifty States CAP grants) purposefully seek to assist
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states to develop strategic and business plans to improve geospatial coordination in support

of their own statewide spatial data infrastructures (SSDI) and the NSDI.  As the 2010 CAP

guidance describes, state projects for this category are designed to help develop and

implement “statewide strategic and business plans that will facilitate the coordination of

programs, policies, technologies, and resources that enable the coordination, collection,

documentation, discovery, distribution, exchange and maintenance of geospatial

information in support of the NSDI and the objectives of the Fifty States Initiative Action

Plan.”  Fundamentally, the Fifty States Initiative recognizes the need to build the NSDI with

the essential involvement of state and local government partners.

Fifty States CAP grants have been awarded annually since 2006.  The FGDC has awarded

eight to twelve cooperative agreements of up to $50,000 each year, with the recipients

matching 50% of the award with funding or in‐kind services. In 2010, there were two Fifty

States CAP categories – Category 3 for Strategic Planning (5 grants of $50,000 each), and

Category 4 for Business Planning (5 grants of $30,000 each).
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3 Summary of Geospatial Platform Report 

3.1 SCOPE

The Geospatial Platform Report is summarized in this section.  The full report took a

fresh look at the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) including reflection upon

the geospatial platforms that are emerging or being prioritized amongst state

governments and similar jurisdictions, such as the District of Columbia (DC) and the US

Virgin Islands. Information about geospatial platforms was compiled from the existing

Strategic and/or Business Plans that have been developed with funding assistance from

the NSDI Cooperative Agreements Program (CAP) Fifty States Initiative.  It was also

supplemented by information from the ongoing GIS Inventory coordinated by the

National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC).  This information was used to

compile a State Summary Sheet for each state and to generate the summary graphs

showing Data, Applications, and Services, respectively, as included in this report.  

For this study, the primary information sources were the existing Strategic and/or

Business Plans undertaken with grant assistance and guidance from the Fifty States

Program.  Not all states have completed such plans, and based on a time‐boxed

approach to this study, other sources were not exhaustively searched.  Therefore, this

report was intended to be informative, not definitive.

To limit the study effort to the available timeframe, the main emphasis was on

gathering information about data, applications, and services as documented at the time

the state plans were published.  Therefore, it does not cover explicit outcomes and

results since the plans were completed.   

While the states were given helpful guidance from FGDC and NSGIC on how to approach

their planning projects, they were not given explicit instructions on geospatial platforms,

since the Fifty States Program pre‐dates the adoption of this new lens for looking at
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NSDI and geospatial assets.   Therefore, any state‐to‐state comparisons based on the

information derived from the plans is not the intention of this study.  Rather, the

informative roll‐up view was the goal, while the individual State Summary Sheets stand

on their own merits.  At a minimum, the roll‐up view provides some useful insights, and

points to the ongoing need for a more comprehensive inventory of geospatial platform

assets of the NSDI.

3.2 BACKGROUND

At the federal level, the concept of “geospatial platform” is envisioned as a platform of

common geospatial data, applications, and services on a shared infrastructure, hosted

and administered by authoritative sources on certified federal data centers and the

commercial cloud (Source:  FGDC Coordination Group Meeting, 8 June 2010).  The term

“geospatial platform” is relatively new to the national GIS vocabulary, but the notion of

a platform is well established in Information Technology.  Independent of any explicit

national guidance, a number of states and other jurisdictions have adopted or

developed their own vocabulary for geospatial platforms.  

For example, DC defines a geospatial platform as follows:  “A platform is a base

technology (or technologies) on which other technologies or processes are built.  In

addition, it may be construed as a whole economic unit in terms of aggregating budget

costs to support it, including people, training, software, systems, and data.” (Source:  DC

GIS Business Plan, Draft Version 2, August 2009). Furthermore, DC subdivides its

platforms into data, applications, and services as part of its portfolio management

approach to its investment decisions.  In this way, DC’s approach is a microcosm of the

contemplated national modernization initiative, with the same need to inventory and

prioritize geospatial platforms for managing and improving the effectiveness and

relevance of investments, in a strategic context.
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3.3 RESULTS

The following bulleted points are not an exhaustive analysis of the study’s findings.  

They represent quick observations that may be useful in furthering the discussion of

geospatial platforms at the national level.  They follow the key sub‐headers of the State

Summary Sheets, including Data, Applications, and Services.  

DATA

 Not surprisingly, there is heavy prioritization of the seven original framework

themes, including Geodetic Control, Cadastral, Orthoimagery, Elevation,

Hydrography, Administrative Units, and Transportation.

 Other notable data priorities amongst the states include Addresses, and

Buildings & Critical Infrastructure data.

 While Broadband Infrastructure was not frequently prioritized, this is most

likely due to when the plans were written, and the limited involvement of

state GIS programs in broadband mapping prior to the American Recovery

and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

APPLICATIONS

 The top application priority across all of the states in the study was

Emergency Management / Homeland Security.

 There a number of other frequently prioritized applications, including:  

Economic Development; Environment; Community Planning; and

Transportation.
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SERVICES

 Given the role of State GIS Coordinators in most of the planning efforts, it is

not surprising that Coordination / Standards / Best Practices got the highest

priority

 Data‐oriented services of high priority included Basemap and Imagery

 Geocoding was also a high priority service, and so was Hosting / Provisioning

GENERAL

 Many of the plans focused on governance and organizational issues, and were

not specifically focused on data, applications, and services.

 The compilation team reviewed 53 plans from 38 jurisdictions for this study.

The following three charts summarize findings from the state plans that were analyzed

for information about Data, Applications, and Services.

 
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Data. The state strategic and business plans most often prioritized the seven original

framework themes.  
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Applications.  Emergency Management and Homeland Security applications were

identified as a priority in nearly half the state strategic and business plans reviewed for

this study.   
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Services. More than half of the plans reviewed identified coordination services as a high

priority.  This includes the implementation of standards and promotion of “best

practices” through the state.    
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4 Grant Recipient Online Survey Results 

4.1 INTRODUCTION

A brief online survey was distributed to State GIS Coordinators and other Fifty States grant

recipients on June 2, 2010 to gather information on results and outcomes stemming from

the grant assistance.  Forty‐two individuals responded to the survey from forty‐two states

and territories representing a 100% response rate for the states that received grants

between 2006 and 2009. (See Appendix A on “Survey Respondents & Questions”)

4.2 TANGIBLE RESULTS

The State GIS Coordinators and/or Fifty States grant recipients were asked to indicate

their level of agreement with several statements describing the grants.   Results show

that the grants were an important factor in achieving results in several areas, and

especially as a catalyst for the planning process in general.   The supplementary

comments provide further evidence that that the grants helped jump‐start the process,

focus efforts and convene diverse stakeholder working groups.   While several survey

respondents indicated that the grant did not provide adequate funding, the majority of

respondents indicated that the funding was enough to support a significant start in the

appropriate direction.  

   
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The State GIS Coordinators and/or Fifty States grant recipients were asked to indicate

their level of agreement with several statements describing the grants.

It is evident from the chart above that the survey respondents believed that the grant

assistance was an important catalyst for the planning process.  It enabled progress, and

helped to engage local government, which is essential to building a sustainable NSDI.  It

is also noteworthy that there was a measurable amount of disagreement (from roughly

10% of the respondents) on a few items, including ongoing momentum, the importance

of USGS Geospatial Liaisons, and the adequacy of the grant amount.

As a follow‐up question, survey takers were asked whether the grant was an important

catalyst for the results shown above.  In looking at the most positive results of the

planning process, “Greater Credibility with Executives and/or Budget Officials” it

0 10 20 30 40 50

Working Together More Effectively

Now

Engaged Local Government

Grant Amount was Adequate

Important Catalyst for Planning

USGS Liaison Important to Process

Momentum Continued After Funds

Spent

Worked as a "Resource Multiplier"

Enabled Progress

Strongly Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly

Disagree
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appears that 94% of survey takers who responded positively to this statement also

credited the grant with this outcome (29 out of 31 respondents who “agreed” or

“strongly agreed” to the statement believed that grant was a very important catalyst for

this result).  The grant is also credited with the fact that “Stakeholders are Working

More Effectively Together” as 93% of survey takers who responded positively to this

statement credited the grant with this outcome (31 out of 33 respondents who

“agreed” or “strongly agreed” to the statement believed that grant was a very

important catalyst for this result).  At the state‐level, these two items, i.e. stakeholder

collaboration and credibility with executives and budget officials, are critical success

factors for all of the other desired outcomes.

Which of the following tangible results can be attributed to the State Strategic

planning process?  

0 10 20 30 40 50

GIO Position Established

Executive Order

Legislation

Additional Staff Funding

Additional Project Funding

Greater Credibility with Execs

and/or Budget Officials

Stakeholders are Working

More Effectively Together

In Place

Underway

Too Early to Expect

Results
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The survey provided a temporal view of progress and tangible results as well.   In

filtering results by grant year, it becomes clear that some results happen quickly and

others take several years before measurable progress is apparent.  In looking at the

data, tangible results become more apparent after the planning process is completed.  

Some results are almost immediate as survey respondents indicated that “Credibility

with Executives and Budget Officials,” and “Stakeholders Working More Effectively

Together” improved dramatically right after the planning process was complete for each

“class” of recipients.  Following these short‐term outcomes, it most often seems to be

the case that it can take 3‐4 years before other results are identifiable (such as Executive

Orders or Additional Project Funding).

Tangible Results “in Place” by Grant Award Year

0 5 10 15 20

GIO Position Established

Executive Order

Legislation

Additional Staff Funding

Additional Project Funding

Greater Credibility with Exectutives and/or

Budget Officials

Stakeholders are Working More Effectively

Together

2006

2007

2008

2009
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4.3 MOST IMPORTANT OUTCOMES

The State GIS Coordinators and/or Fifty States grant recipients were asked to elaborate

on the most important outcome of their project, and to share any anecdotal information

that they thought would be valuable.  Specific outcomes and/or anecdotes were

mentioned by forty (40) of the respondents. Their responses are listed, below, under

sub‐headers that generally fit the described outcomes and/or anecdotes, as follows:

A. FUNDING SUPPORT

The resulting plan garnered financial support for implementation of geospatial

activities.  

1) IA:  Direct results of our Iowa Geospatial Infrastructure (IGI) plan funded with CAP

grant assistance: 1) $650k geocoding project for half of state;  2) $350k for state

agency GIS service bureau for two years; 3) coordinated web services; 4) linking

existing projects to IGI efforts ‐ LiDAR, orthophotography, transportation,

hydrography, geodetic control.

2) OH:  Business cases for imagery and parcel program to garner funding for both.

3) NC:  The GIS study led to preparation of the state geographic information

coordinating council GIS implementation plan which was supported by the

legislature and resulted in statewide funding for supporting coordination initiatives.

There is much greater appreciation for GIS and its value within the legislature.

B. AWARENESS AND CREDIBILITY

The plan increased awareness and support for geospatial activities among high level

executives, legislators, and stakeholders.   

1) NH:  The most important outcome was producing a document that can be

referenced when advocating for GIS activities to people or agencies that are

unfamiliar with New Hampshire's GIS organization.
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2) UT: Strategic plan lends serious credibility to efforts of our state coordination and

clearinghouse efforts. Provided an excellent opportunity to connect at a higher level

with partners within the state and develop together a collective vision of what needs

and requirements were for geospatial technologies.

3) AR:  Provided mechanism for communications with state leadership and

stakeholders.

4) WY:  The CAP grant gave Wyoming the opportunity to complete a process already

begun by the previous oversight group, the Wyoming Geographic Information

Advisory Council, and allowed us to hire consultants to help us transform the work

already begun into the template documents provided by the FGDC. We ended up

with a comprehensive and polished Strategic Plan and Business Plan and were even

able to use the funding to hire a professional public relations firm to help us

formulate an Education Plan.

5) MA:  our efforts gain credibility just by virtue of having federal grant funding ‐ the

grant adds a perception of the project having received outside review and approval.

6) TX:  Probably the most important outcome was a greater awareness of the need for

revision of geospatial governance structures in Texas.

C. GOVERNANCE AND ORGANIZATION

As a result of the plan, geospatial governance in the state has been structured and

formalized.

1) CO:  Provided a framework for fitting subsequent projects into. For example, we are

developing a GIS data governance plan, which could be called a business plan in 50

states parlance; or we're creating stewardship plans for specific data sets (e.g.,

community anchor institutions/structures, NHD, etc.).

2) DC:  Expansion of the DC GIS Steering Committee to include more agencies/partners.

3) CA:  GIO position established.
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4) MN: The visibility of GIS among executive and legislative branch leaders has been

remarkable. Most important has been establishment of legislation to create the MN

Geospatial Information Office and the GIO position.

D. UNIFIED VISION, GOALS, NEEDS, AND PRIORITIES

The planning process and resulting plan helped create a shared geospatial vision

amongst community members.   

1) ID:  Unified vision and concrete business plan galvanized disparate community

2) MT:  While our strategic plan was never specifically used to jump start any project or

process it did identify common goals and needs of the enterprise

3) WI:  Worthwhile products out of good and common intentions.

4) PA:  Engaged the geospatial community, established priorities that a council should

work on in its first year, and provided an opportunity to comment on revised

versions of a draft House Bill that would form a council.

5) ME: The forums and sharing of priorities for strategic plan, and the ability now to

implement using the business plan.

6) OR:  Council concluded that significant new investment is needed in program now.

E. COORDINATION, COOPERATION, COLLABORATION, AND SHARING

The planning process and resulting plan set the stage for improved collaboration

among the state’s geospatial stakeholders.   

1) NY:  Our agency Director has been able to use the Plan to gain cooperation from

other agencies.

2) DE:  An important prod to get us working on strategic plans.

3) VT:  The most important outcome was that the state established a formal

relationship for interagency and departmental spatial planning. This has resulted in

real savings to the state thru shared software and hardware purchases etc. Also,
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now that the state can speak with a single coordinated voice the local and regional

community is able to come to a single POC for spatial issues and discussions.

4) WA:  In just the short time these plans have been created they are already being

leveraged in: state agency internal GIS planning discussions and activities; on the

Governor’s efforts to implement information technology (IT) shared services; and in

discussions on ways to streamline the delivery of government IT services.

5) HI:  The SP and BPs funded by the CAP are allowing HIGICC to be more effective in

engaging our stakeholders in activities and discussions relevant to our mission (e.g.,

conferences, workshops, seminars, etc.). As a result of the 2008 CAP, the Council

recruited more non‐Board members to take active roles in the governance of the

council and in organizing and managing its affairs; the 2010 CAP is enabling the

council to bring together stakeholders from across the state and across sectors to

tackle common issues related to the imagery framework data layer. This will serve as

a template for HIGICC to tackle other framework data themes in the future, and will

reaffirm the council's role as a coordinating and enabling body.

6) AZ:  It helped us get our act together with our strategic and business plans. We had

been talking about it, but the grant allowed us to get it done.

7) VA:  The project provided the glue to help advance the collaborative efforts needed

in Virginia.

8) MO:  Provided funds that could be targeted to support the development of the

Geospatial network of professionals and users and the subsequent involvement of

these individuals in the planning process

9) IN:  1.) Enabled our geospatial community to be prepared for and react to

opportunities, such as Statewide Orthophotography project, NHD, and others. 2.)

Grant is one of the only opportunities available to help fund business planning and

development.
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10) KY:  The Commonwealth Geospatial Strategic plan is MISSION CRITICAL for better

procuring resources and moving along a path of continued growth and leadership in

geospatial.

11) SC:  This grant was crucial to help build relationships with local government, which

in turn has led to higher degrees of data sharing – government‐ to‐government.

Without it we might be perhaps 20% along the way of where we are now.

12) MD:  It's important to note that recent success in GIS coordination and progress

between state and local governments are a result of many separate but related

actions. Key ‐ repeat key‐ was the Strategic Planning process that actively

encouraged and rewarded local participation. This has led to other more tangible

successes.

13) MI:  Process is providing GIS stakeholders additional opportunities for coordination

and collaboration around the State.

14) USVI: Catalyst to cooperation with federal agencies and other states.

15) WV:  2004 CAP ‐ First public map services published for WV. 2006 CAP ‐ Creation of

WV Association of Geospatial Professionals (statewide GIS user group). Reactivation

of WV GIS Steering Committee and WV GIS Policy Council. Catalyst for state GIS

strategic plan that should be completed in 2010. 2008 CAP ‐ High resolution

statewide road and structures data integrated into national mapping databases.

Creation of statewide geocoding service. 2010 CAP ‐ FGDC Metadata training with

Marshall University project lead.

16) FL:  We have a plan; it was created by a valid group of GIS stakeholders, and not

forced upon us by others.

17) LA:   The involvement of many stakeholders that had not participated in other GIS

coordination efforts.

18) CT:  Great process and documents created which are continually referred to.
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19) OK:  The response to our stakeholder survey gave us a strong indication of how

important GIS coordination and providing various GIS support services is to the GIS

community.

20) IL:  Statewide GIS coordination was essentially non‐existent in Illinois at the time the

grant was received. Consequently, the grant brought together a "grass roots"

planning group that operated independently and outside of any structured

organization. While the "grass roots" group was very productive and collaborative in

their planning effort ‐ it has been difficult sustaining the momentum of the planning

effort since no structured organization has "ownership" of the strategic plan. The

Illinois GIS Association (ILGISA) is currently evaluating their ongoing role with the

various sections of the Illinois GIS Strategic Plan.

NE:  Seed funding for enhanced collaboration.
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5 State Case Studies (AR, HI, ME, SC, and VA) 

5.1 ARKANSAS

Geospatial Strategic Business Plan: Arkansas Geographic Information Office (AGIO)

5.1.1 Prior t o Project

Arkansas has had a rich history with GIS deployment by state government that dates

back to the early 1990’s and President Bill Clinton’s governorship.  Statewide

governance is overseen by the Arkansas GIS Board and statewide data activity and

coordination emanate out of the Arkansas Geographic Information Office (AGIO).  Prior

to 2009, the AGIO was located within the Department of Information Systems (DIS), but

in 2009 it was re‐organized into its own, small, independent agency reporting directly

into the Governor’s office.

The AGIO currently has five full‐time staff, which are supplemented by interns and

contract workers who are dedicated to the administration of the streamlined sales tax

program which funds their positions.  The state’s Geographic Information Officer, Shelby

Johnson, directs the AGIO.  Key activities and initiatives of the AGIO include:

 Management, maintenance and expansion of the statewide GeoStor database

and clearinghouse.  The GeoStor is widely used and the AGIO has formally

trademarked the name to help build its brand.

 Administration of the Arkansas Centerline File (ACF) program.  For the past 8

years the ACF program has been constructing a statewide road centerline file

from the contributions of Arkansas’s 75 counties.  This database will be

completed during the summer of 2010.

 Administration of the County Assessors Map Program (CAMP) that has been

supporting county‐based parcel development for the past decade.  Initially, the

AGIO has provided equipment, software and technical support to counties, but
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increasingly it’s looking for means of providing financial support.  This financial

support included a “county parcel grant program” during the first half of 2010.  

As with ACF, AGIO staff members spend considerable time on‐site providing

direct technical support to county personnel to help build local capacity.

 Absent a recurring orthoimagery program, the AGIO has played point on

organizing and orchestrating the three statewide flyovers that took place 2001

and 2006.  AGIO work involved coordinating funding, performing contracting and

quality control and publishing the final results through GeoStor.  In addition, the

AGIO publishes the 1994‐1996 orthoimagery that was created before the agency

was formed.

 The AGIO also plays a key role in ensuring that GIS technology and data are

available and effectively used in supporting the governor’s priorities.  Key issues

where GIS has been deployed include economic development, public safety and

emergency response and environmental protection and natural resource

management.  The AGIO’s role has included both supporting state agencies and

working directly for the governor’s office, for example, in responding to

emergency situations such as floods or tornados.

Perhaps the most beneficial aspect about Arkansas is that the AGIO has helped to build

and foster an extremely strong “data sharing culture.”  All public agencies and local

governments freely share their data and recognize the value of doing so.  Unlike some

other states, the AGIO has not had to fight “data holdouts” and has been freed to

continue promoting the free flow of data across the state.

5.1.2 Project Overview

The AGIO’s strategic planning project was squarely focused on their key challenge which

is ensuring that there is an adequate and sustainable funding stream for framework

data development and maintenance.  In spite of the AGIO’s strong track record, they do
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not have any funding that is directed towards data development, maintenance and

improvement.  Rather, office operations and staff are funded and any data efforts are

provided via staff labor (e.g., road data improvements come via AGIO staff working with

counties).  There are no funds available for updating orthoimagery or tackling new

initiatives such as improving elevation data.

Project Vision. The overarching strategic goal of the Geospatial Strategic Plan was

simple, direct, and focused on the funding challenge: To provide recurring funding for

continual investment in, and improvement of the Arkansas Spatial Data Infrastructure.

5.1.3 Project Activities

Stakeholder Participation. Arkansas performed two distinct and complementary

“stakeholder outreach” activities as part of their strategic planning process.  First, there

was directed outreach to inform “key leaders” that were identified by the AGIO on the

geospatial strategic planning process.  Key leaders included the heads of industry trade

organizations (e.g., the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce, the Arkansas Association of

Counties, etc.), the heads of important state agencies (e.g. Arkansas Economic

Development Commission, Arkansas Assessment Coordination Department, State

Budget Director, etc.) and public officials such as legislators and county judges.  In all, 17

key leaders were interviewed and informed of the strategic planning effort.  Critically,

the AGIO was thinking ahead to the support they would need to carry out the

recommendations in the report.  The key leader interviews were an investment in

building that support.

Second, the AGIO performed a series of five, traditional “stakeholder information

gathering” sessions around the state.  In all, 165 people participated in these sessions

and had an opportunity to hear about the strategic planning effort and offer their

perspective, ideas and input to the effort.
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Other Project Activities. Other project activities included writing the plan, building cost

models for elements of the plan and then vetting the plan with the State GIS Board and

other project participants.  A key milestone was an hour long presentation at the

Arkansas GIS Forum’s Bi‐annual Conference held during the fall of 2009 in Eureka

Springs.  At that meeting the recommendations of the plan were presented to the full

GIS stakeholder community and it was determined that there was broad consensus that

this was an appropriate slate of recommendations and a reasonable approach.

What’s in the Plan? The plan highlights that the State GIS Board and AGIO’s mission, as

chartered in their enabling legislation, is explicitly to: “...coordinate completion and

maintenance of shareable statewide framework data...”  The plan then identifies that

existing funding is not adequate to complete this mission.  The plan goes on to identify

the four priority framework themes identified by the GIS stakeholder community as

needing the most improvement.  These are: orthophotography, parcels, road

centerlines and political/administrative boundaries.

The plan finishes with a “mini‐business plan” for each of these four layers.  The mini

business plan contains information on:

 Data set background

 What improvements to the data set are required

 The approach to make those improvements

 The costs to make the improvements

 The benefits that the state will realize from investing in the improvements

Overall, the plan proposes creating three new positions within the AGIO that are

dedicated to framework data maintenance and calls for an annual funding increase of

approximately $1.5 million, with $1.15 million of that being devoted to a recurring

orthoimagery program.  The plan proposes a one‐time $7.5 million investment to

complete statewide parcels.  This program is envisioned to be carried out over a 5‐year
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term with the state providing 70% of the funding to counties that agree to pay the 30%

balance. Thus, the Arkansas approach was to lay out the real costs of building and

sustaining high quality framework data.  While these funding levels are ambitious by

state government “GIS standards,” they are well supported by the expected benefits

that are outlined in the plan.

5.1.4 Project Outcomes

The AGIO has remained extremely proactive in putting the proposed plan of action in

place and in early June, 2010 a series of high‐level advocacy activities was initiated.  

These included:

 Briefing the “key leaders” who were interviewed as part of the planning process

on the findings and “next steps” during a luncheon meeting on June 8, 2010

sponsored by the GIS Users Forum.

 Briefing Governor Beebe’s Chief of Staff, Morril Harriman, on the plan contents

and “next steps” during a one‐on‐one meeting on June 8, 2010.  During the

meeting Mr. Harriman relayed that the Governor supported the

recommendations of the plan and instructed the AGIO to include the

recommended funding as part of their “budget request” (without promising that

the request could be funded).

 Providing a briefing on the plan and testimony before the Legislative Joint

Advanced Communications and Information Technology sub‐committee on June

9, 2010.

 Interestingly, in early June, 2010 the Geospatial Strategic Business Plan appeared

in the popular press and associated blogs as part of a heated campaign for the

statewide Land Commissioner’s office.  Both candidate recognized the plan and

sparred over elements of how it might be implemented, and what its true costs

were.  In spite of the controversy, the plan itself was never critiqued and one
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would conclude that both candidates supported the recommendations within

the plan.

Things That Worked Well.

 Stakeholder outreach and input were highly successful.  Arkansans were

engaged and participatory and the AGIO was successful in engaging senior

leaders from the outset.   

 The project was conducted in partnership with a contractor hired to help

conduct the planning process with the AGIO being highly engaged.  Ultimately,

the combination of the AGIO’s sincere involvement tempered by the consultant’s

“outside perspective”, were key to delivering an effective and objective plan.

 The AGIO had a game plan for what would be done with the plan after it was

completed.  This allowed advocacy to carry out the plan’s recommendations to

begin immediately following the publication of the plan.  In addition, senior

leaders were aware that the plan was coming and were expecting it.

Problems That Were Encountered.  No major problems were encountered in executing

the planning process.  The one problem that might be identified was the timing of this

initiative on the heels of the significant economic downturn facing the country.  

Ultimately, the main recommendations were for further funding support and this came

at a time when money was tighter than ever – in spite of Arkansas’s prudent fiscal

management which has dampened the overall impact of the economic situation on

state government.  In the event that full funding is not obtained in FY2011, Arkansas

conducts an annual budgeting process, and if necessary the AGIO will seek to fully fund

the recommendations in a future fiscal year (e.g., FY2012).
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Successful Outcomes. The ultimate outcome and the net results of this effort will

become apparent with the completion of the state’s FY2011 budgeting process.  The

hope is that there will be some level of increased funding for framework data within the

AGIO budget. Although the project was only formally completed in May, 2010 it is

considered a strong success by the AGIO, the State GIS Board and Arkansas GIS Users

Forum.  The plan was formally adopted by the State GIS Board in March of 2010, and

subsequently, the plan was also endorsed by the Arkansas Society of Professional

Surveyors in June, 2010 and an endorsement from the County Assessors Association is

pending.  The AGIO is also actively seeking plan endorsements from the State Forestry

Association and the State Realtors Association.

5.2 HAWAII

Geographic Information System Strategic Plan: Hawaii Geographic Information

Coordinating Council (HIGICC)

5.2.1 Prior t o Project

Geospatial technology has been in use throughout the State of Hawaii for many years. In

1999 the Hawaii Geographic Information Coordinating Council was formed as a 501.c.3

not‐for‐profit organization to provide coordination of geospatial activities among the

wide range of GIS users in the state.  According to the HIGICC website, “HIGICC is a

private non‐profit organization of professionals and students from the federal, state,

county, education, and private sectors of Hawaii’s GIS community. Our goal is to provide

coordination of GIS activities among a wide range of GIS users in order to avoid

duplication of effort, promote data sharing, and maintain data standards throughout the

state”.

Numerous state and all four major County government agencies use the technology and

generate a rich collection of geospatial data which is used in a variety of map making,

analysis and web viewing applications. One of the biggest challenges for HIGICC, in part
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due to the disparate geography of the islands and the unofficial nature of the Council,

has been coordination and communication about geospatial activities.

5.2.2 Project Overview

In 2008, HIGICC was successful in receiving a grant from FGDC CAP grant program to

develop the future goals and objectives of the community in the form of a Strategic

Plan. The effort was overseen by a Steering Committee comprised of members of the

HIGICC board and the process was facilitated and documented by Applied Geographics,

Inc, of Boston, Massachusetts.  In 2010, the Council was successful in obtaining a second

CAP grant from the FGDC to support the development of a statewide geospatial

business plan.

The project vision was to assess this mission statement and the performance of HIGICC

over the past decade and make recommendations for improvements.  

Key Project Goals. Key project goals were to:

 Develop actionable and achievable plans that could focus the energies of the

Hawaii’s geospatial stakeholders and members

 Obtain “buy in” from stakeholders

 Raise awareness of HIGICC

 Reach additional sectors of the community throughout the state

HIGICC Mission Statement. HIGICC strives to bring together and continue to build the

geographic community into a cohesive, recognized coordinating body that facilitates the

use, development, sharing, and management of geographic data and communicates the

value of geographic information to citizens and decision‐makers. In the State of Hawaii,

GIS is recognized and effectively used as an invaluable tool by the government, business

and the citizens for understanding and managing our aina (environment). The Hawaii
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GICC is a shared mechanism for the diverse community to identify, explore, and solve

problems using geospatial technology and information.

5.2.3 Project Activities

Geospatial Council Steering Committee Meetings. Six conference calls/meetings were

held with the steering committee throughout the project duration. Participants included

members of the council representing all of the major stakeholder groups in Hawaii.

These sessions also worked to further define the key strategic goals, vision and to

identify the programmatic goals outlined in this document.

Stakeholder Sessions. Five informational gathering sessions were held around the state

as group visioning sessions to identify and clarify goals and to define the needs of all of

the stakeholder groups in Hawaii. One session was held in each of the three counties of

Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii, and two sessions were held on Oahu County.  Invitations were

sent out to nearly four hundred individuals that were envisioned as potential

stakeholders of the effort. These groups included federal, state, and county government

staff, utility companies, non‐profit entities, the University and K‐12 educational sector,

and private companies.

Individual Interviews. In addition to the stakeholder workshops individual/small group

interviews were also held with a number of people and agencies to gather additional

input. These interviews included meetings with the USGS Hawaii and Pacific Basin

Islands NSDI Partnership Office, State of Hawaii, Office of Planning, Counties of Maui,

Kauai, Oahu, the City and County of Hawaii, Pacific Disaster Center, and the University of

Hawaii.

Online Web Survey & Questionnaire. An on‐line questionnaire was developed to reach

out to people who did not attend the sessions and to ask more detailed questions of

those who did attend the sessions.  Over 110 individuals responded to the survey. The
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survey results are incorporated into the requirements section of this document, but it is

important to note that the survey was not a scientific survey. The survey was a

voluntary effort that provided a data point for decisions made, was considered

representative, but may not be statistically accurate.

5.2.4 Project Outcomes

Things that Worked Well. The project achieved great stakeholder participation.  The

information sessions held in each county were well attended and provided a valuable

forum for sharing ideas and gathering feedback.  The online survey collected responses

from over 100 members of the stakeholder community.  Drafts of the plan were posted

on a Wiki site where individuals were free to provide detailed input and changes directly

to the documents.  

 HIGICC listened well during the planning process.   

 Stakeholder input was considered carefully and shaped the implementation

priorities.   

 HIGICC acted on the plans almost immediately following completion of the

documents.  

Problems Encountered.

 It was difficult to maintain project momentum after the information gathering

phase was completed.  

 The volunteer council had many other demands on their time which ultimately

impacted the ability to comply with the project schedule and intensive writing

demands.

 With diverse group of stakeholders, it was difficult to prioritize the focus and

direction of the business plan.   
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 The State CIO was not involved in the planning process; in hindsight, it would

have been valuable to gain support from this office early on.  

Successful Outcomes. Completion of the Strategic Plan and subsequent business plan

components was a major success for the Council. In the first 10 years of the HIGICC

there has never been an explicit public agenda for action.  Agendas for action have

anecdotally been based on: (1) the interests of the incoming officers, particularly the

President; (2) any urgent issues that arose (3) GIS Day activities; or (4) conference

planning and implementation, in those years in which a conference (GISMAP or PacGeo)

was held. This plan set forth the primary agenda of action and activities for the Council

for the next three to five years. 

According to the June 2010 online survey of Fifty States grant recipients, the Strategic

Plan and Business Plan are allowing HIGICC to be more effective, engaging stakeholders

in activities and discussions relevant to the Council’s mission.  As a result of the 2008

grant:

 The Council recruited more non‐Board members to take active roles in the

governance of the council and to help organize and manage activities

 Membership increased across all sectors, including education (both K‐12 and

higher education), one of the identified underserved sectors

 Recognition of HIGICC’s role in the geospatial community was evidenced by an

almost doubling of attendance at its annual meeting compared to last year

5.3 MAINE

An Integrated Land Records Information System (ILRIS) for the State of Maine

Maine GeoLibrary, Maine Office of GIS

5.3.1 Prior t o Project

Maine was not starting from scratch when they received their Fifty States Strategic and
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Business Planning (CAP Category 3) grant from FGDC in 2007.  They were building on a

foundation going back at least 20 years. The state has a legislatively established GIS

council, known as the Maine Library of Geographic Information Board (a.k.a.

GeoLibrary).  In advance of the grant application, the GeoLibrary had identified the need

to provide access to information about property parcels and their context with adjoining

lands, and had started on the conceptualization process.  In addition, the GeoLibrary

and the Maine Office of GIS (MEGIS) contributed their own resources to get the process

underway.

The State GIS Manager, Michael Smith, directs the Maine Office of GIS (MEGIS), which is

within the Office of Information Technology.  In the context of NSDI, a number of

milestones are recognized by Mr. Smith as being valuable to statewide coordination and

infrastructure‐building efforts, including:

 Data Catalog deployment in 1998, making it easier to get data, statewide.

 USGS digital base layers statewide availability in 1998, providing consistent base

map data.

 USGS Black & White Digital Ortho Quads (DOQs) statewide availability in 1999,

providing consistent orthoimagery for multiple purposes.

 Enterprise GIS database deployment in 1999, providing easier access to Maine‐

specific data.

 USGS Digital Raster Graphics (DRGs) statewide availability in 2000, providing

widespread access to digital topographic maps.

 Maine Library of Geographic Information (GeoLibrary) created by law in 2002,

promoting data custodianship and common access to public geographic
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information to all levels of government and to the public.

 Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) with ESRI in 2008, providing access to a GIS

software pool across state agencies.

5.3.2 Project Overview

For this grant‐supported project, Maine’s emphasis was distinctly weighted toward a

GIS‐based integrated land records information system (ILRIS), focused on developing an

accessible statewide repository of property parcel data.  A specific outcome of the

project was a multi‐part plan for “An Integrated Land records Information System for

the State of Maine.”  This plan comprises content that spans both strategic and business

planning elements, focusing in on specific requirements for a statewide property parcel

data collection.

Project Vision/Mission Statement. In the Maine context, the vision and mission

statement is referred to as the “Conceptual Core” of the intended strategic direction

and desired outcome.  From the plan document:  

The Maine GeoLibrary seeks to develop a system of unified property records across the

state.  The basic principles of this initiative can be summarized in three key assumptions

about what a final system should include and about how these records should be

aggregated and maintained.  These include:

 Creation of a statewide parcel composite

 Development of a perpetual maintenance system and network to ensure these

records are kept current

 Adding value to these data through technical association of individual records

with other data sources through extended attribute sets.
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Stakeholder Participation. In Maine, there is a split responsibility for land records at the

local level, with tax records and parcel geometry managed by towns, while deeds and

transfers are managed by the counties.  For the state to achieve its goals for statewide

property parcel data, outreach to local government was essential as part of this process.  

Forums, surveys, and written correspondence were used for outreach to stakeholders,

statewide.  Participation included local, county, and state governments, private sector,

private citizens, and universities.

5.3.3 Project Activities

The Maine ILRIS multi‐part plan document was “developed as the result of input from

multiple forums, meetings, and discussions with geographic users and potential

stakeholders from all levels of government and the private sector, both within and

outside Maine. “   MEGIS hired a contractor to organize six (6) forums, to utilize both

online and paper surveys to collect input from stakeholders, and to draft the plan

document.

The forums were held in far‐reaching locations around the state, and were attended by

a wide array of stakeholders.  To ensure broad participation, the forums were

advertized in theme‐specific media not typically dedicated to GIS, such as the

publications of municipal professional societies.

Interaction with FGDC during the course of the project was minimal.  This was a nice

thing in the opinion of the state, because federal oversight did not dictate the direction

of the project.  Nonetheless, the effort remained true to FGDC objectives to reach out to

diverse stakeholders and approach the project from a statewide perspective.

5.3.4 Project Outcomes

The project was considered successful by the State GIS Manager and GeoLibrary, and

has moved on to implementation of the goals established during the planning process.  
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It directly enabled Maine to line‐up support for a pilot project in Hancock County, which

includes Bar Harbor, a world renowned tourist destination.  These implementation

efforts will contribute to national objectives related to the cadastral data layer of the

NSDI.

Statewide coordination has already changed as a result of this project.  For example,

Maine has adopted plan recommendations for theme‐specific workgroups for

coordination (i.e. Parcels/Cadastral Data, LiDAR and Ortho Imagery), and generated

successful grant proposals to help implement the ILRIS specification.

Things That Worked Well.

 MEGIS held wide‐ranging public forums throughout the state, and some targeted

forums just to certain business sectors.

 Public feedback periods were provided by posting draft plans on the web and

allowing public review.

 A contractor was hired to help conduct the planning process.

 The contractor was guided by an active representative stakeholder group.

 Most importantly – the plan will not just be a report filed on a shelf, as

evidenced by current implementation efforts.

Problems That Were Encountered.

 There was a change of state GIS coordinators right at the beginning of the

planning project, with a learning curve for the new person.

 Maintaining focus over long periods of time with volunteer steering group was

difficult.
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 There was a long period between drafts to review, and a feeling of starting over

at different junctures along the way.

Successful Results.

 An updated strategic and business plan for Maine was produced, aligned with

Fifty States objectives, finished in May 2009 and available at

www.maine.gov/geolib.

 The strategic plan content and business plan content were combined into the

multi‐part document titled, “An Integrated Land Records Information System

(ILRIS) for the State of Maine,”  including four main parts,  as follows:

 Conceptual Framework

 Functional Specification

 Promotional Plan

 Research and Findings

 Workgroups were realigned for theme‐specific coordination to meet strategic

plan needs (i.e. Parcels/Cadastral Data, LiDAR and Ortho Imagery).

 MEGIS successfully lined‐up support for a pilot project to implement the ILRIS

plan with a prototype integration model.

 In 2010, MEGIS received a substantial grant ($200k) to expand the pilot ILRIS

cadastral efforts into other counties.  

5.4 SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina Geographic Information Systems (SCGIS) State Outreach and Strategic

Plan, South Carolina Geographic Information Council (SCGIC)

5.4.1 Prior t o Project

South Carolina’s history in the development and use of Geographic Information Systems

(GIS) spans a period of more than 30 years.  There is a well‐developed GIS community of
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stakeholders that includes distinguished public and private sector participants, and

leading academicians.  

Key GIS milestones in South Carolina that preceded this project include the following

selected items:

 1976: GIS taught at University of South Carolina

 1978: State Mapping Advisory Committee (SMAC) established

 1983: City of Greenville implemented GIS

 1997: SC Department of Natural Resources (DNR) established a Data

Clearinghouse

 1997: Standing Committee on Geographic Information (SCGI) formed

 1999:  Needs Assessment on statewide GIS undertaken

 2001: Strategic Plan for Statewide GIS Technology Coordination in South Carolina

developed

 2006:  South Carolina Geographic Information Council (SCGIC) formed

 2007:  State GIS Coordinator hired

 2008:  FGDC Cooperative Agreements Program (CAP) assistance received to

support a new strategic plan and statewide outreach

5.4.2 Project Overview

A key project goal was to proactively overcome any perception that the planning

process was insular to state agencies.  Emphasis was placed on statewide outreach,

especially to local government, to help determine shared priorities across the entire

state for GIS programs and initiatives.  The project was seen as a consensus‐building

exercise to help coordinate and prioritize data building efforts across jurisdictional

boundaries, and to support decision‐making.  It was also seen as an opportunity to

improve communications with leaders across the state, by developing talking points that

would resonate with non‐GIS people.
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Project Vision/Mission Statement. The general consensus amongst the GIS

stakeholders who participated in the planning process was that the mission statement

from the 2001 plan, while generally relevant, was too generic to rally action‐oriented

support.  A new mission statement was developed and adopted as follows:  

Lead the nation in collaboration and utilization of geospatial resources which

achieve statewide goals to positively impact the lives of South Carolinians.

Stakeholder Participation. In South Carolina, the planning effort was led by the State

GIS Coordinator, but a conscientious effort was made to reach out to diverse GIS

stakeholders across the state.  There were 96 people from 26 counties that attended

the five Regional Stakeholder Outreach Workshops in the autumn of 2008.

Demographically, over 50% came from local government, with the remainder coming

from the private sector, academia, and other levels of government (state and federal).

In addition to workshop outreach, 38 people from 11 counties responded to an online

survey that was conducted during November 2008.  A report on the survey results was

produced during late January – early February 2009.The demographic breakdown of

survey respondents was very much like the workshop attendees. While not a huge

number of respondents, the participating counties represent 64% of the state’s land

area, and 71% of its population.

5.4.3 Project Activities

The planning process took place during the second half of 2008 and the first half of

2009.  Activities included meetings, research, presentations, regional workshops, on‐line

survey, one‐on‐one interviews, public comment on preliminary findings and

recommendations, and iterations on draft versions of the plan document.  Some specific

examples include the following activities:
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 Kick‐off Teleconference  

 SCGIC Meeting in Columbia  

 Regional Stakeholder Outreach Workshops (5)

 Interviews (8)

 Report on Preliminary Findings

 Public Review and Comment on Preliminary Findings

 Online Survey Questionnaire

 Background Research and Document Review

 Attendance and Strategic Planning Discussion at SCARC Conference in Columbia

 Public Review of Goals and Vision

 Review of Goals and Vision by SCGIS Council

 Final Draft of Strategic Plan reviewed by SCGIS Tech Committee

 Presentation to SCGIS Council

5.4.4 Project Outcomes

According to Tim De Troye, the South Carolina State GIS Coordinator, “This grant was crucial to

help build relationships with local government, which in turn has led to higher degrees of data

sharing – government‐to‐government.  Without it we might be perhaps 20% along the way of

where we are now.” (From 2010 Fifty States Survey of State GIS Coordinators)

Things That Worked Well.

 The Regional Workshops and the input and discussion from these outreach

sessions were very successful.

 A seasoned contractor was hired to help conduct the planning process and

facilitate the workshops.

 The one‐on‐one interviews provided in‐depth insights to what was working in

the state, what might be done better, and what issues existed.

Problems That Were Encountered.
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 Variations in policies at the local level in relation to data sharing and/or selling

practices have bearing on cross‐jurisdictional initiatives to build regional or

statewide datasets.

 At the local level, some areas have GIS capabilities, and some do not.

 Poor financial conditions across the state tempered expectations of what could

realistically be achieved.

Successful Results. The strategic planning process enhanced and augmented ongoing

communication and outreach efforts led by the State GIS Coordinator with the support of SCGIC.  

It spurred follow‐on activities by interested parties, including a local university that undertook

an effort to gather GIS success stories from around the state.  Most importantly, based on input

from the planning process and the specific recommendations of the State Outreach and

Strategic Plan, five pilot projects were launched, as follows:

 Multi‐county pilot project to make street centerlines fully routable for all roads,

to serve as a model for statewide implementation; this is a collaborative effort

between SC Department of Transportation (SCDOT) and local counties.

 Multi‐county property parcel data pilot, to aggregate and integrate property

parcel data across several adjoining counties, as a model for regional and

statewide aggregation.

 Statewide orthoimagery Web service, to provide access to existing aerial ortho‐

image data, which is being collected at the local level with state and federal

support; this effort is led by the SC Budget and Control Board.

 Address points pilot project, to develop a statewide address points layer with

voluntary participation from local government organizations and value‐added by

SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC);  an Information

Flyer on Address Points was produced by the State GIS Coordinator.
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 Statewide geocoding service, also in collaboration with DHEC, to leverage shared

address points with accurate locations by providing a geocoding service  to state

and local data partners; this provides value‐added by the state back to local

government and other data partners.

5.5 COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

GIS Strategic Plan: 2010‐2015, Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN)

5.5.1 Prior t o Project

For over a decade, the Commonwealth of Virginia has promoted the development of

geographic information to support a variety of applications including environmental

protection, healthcare, land use, economic development, transportation, natural and

historic resources, public safety and emergency management.  To better coordinate

these activities and promote sharing of geographic information, the Virginia Geographic

Information Network (VGIN) was established in 1997.  VGIN is part of the Integrated

Services Program (ISP) within the state’s IT agency, the “Virginia Information

Technologies Agency”.   

VGIN operates in tandem with the Public Safety Communications group and is closely

aligned with the states information technology and 911 business needs.  VGIN’s

activities are primarily funded by the Wireless Services Board (WSB) which supports the

Commonwealth’s orthophotography and road centerline data programs.  

VGIN provides application services including geospatial project management, geospatial

application hosting, geospatial needs assessment, and consulting.  VGIN also provides

data services to the Commonwealth including orthophotography and road centerline

basemapping, enterprise metadata services, web map services, and other enterprise

data coordination.

VGIN’s services are approximately divided as such:

 Application Services: Geospatial Application Services (5% of current work)
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 Data Services: Geospatial Data Management (60% of current work)

 Geospatial Coordination: Enterprise Geospatial Coordination (30% of current

work)

 Policy: Enterprise Geospatial Policy such as model and standards development

(5% of current work).

VGIN’s resources include:

 Orthophotography:  Since 2002, VGIN has provided high resolution statewide

aerial photography to promote economies of scale and data sharing  

 Road Centerline: VGIN provides a consistent and seamless statewide digital

dataset of all roads, sourced from 911/local data and the state DOT.  

Coordination of this effort with the DOT is progressing and is a high priority for

VGIN.   

 Metadata Portal: Online portal for discovering and sharing geospatial data and

metadata for the Commonwealth.  This application is open to government and

public users.

 Statewide Coordinator:  The presence of a statewide coordinating office allows

Virginia to coordinate activities amongst the diverse agencies and stakeholders.

 VGIN Staff: VGIN has full‐time geospatial professionals who provide outstanding

services to the Commonwealth.

5.5.2 Project Overview

In 2009, the Commonwealth received a Fifty States CAP Grant to support, along with

funding from VGIN, the development of a statewide geospatial strategic plan.  

Touchstone Consulting Group assisted with the strategic planning process and the

creation of the Strategic Plan.
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During the strategic planning process, six strategic initiatives were identified with three

overarching organizational goals. The broader goals will guide VGIN toward its vision of

“Using geographic knowledge to create a better Virginia.”

Mission Statement. “Using Geographic Knowledge to Create a Better Virginia.”

Key Goals:

GOAL 1: Coordination and Collaboration ‐ Provide greater coordination and facilitate

collaboration within the geospatial community.

Initiative 1: Develop and maintain geospatial standards.

Initiative 2: Oversee the development of a Commonwealth‐wide geospatial

clearinghouse that connects all levels of government and other VGIN

stakeholders.

GOAL 2: Communication ‐ Increase communication and outreach to the general public,

decision makers, and the geospatial community.

Initiative 3: Facilitate geospatial educational opportunities.

Initiative 4: Provide marketing advocacy and outreach by acting as the primary

champion of GIS in Virginia.

GOAL 3: Creative Services ‐ Continue to create a platform for spatial solutions in the

Commonwealth.

Initiative 5: Provide framework basemap data layers to augment the current

orthophotography and road centerline data layers.

Initiative 6: Identify and develop innovative technical solutions.

5.5.3 Project Activities

The strategic planning process in Virginia was a joint effort of VGIN and its diverse

stakeholder community.  GIS stakeholders include the VGIN Advisory Board, VGIN staff,

local government, state government, federal government, planning district commissions

(PDCs), non‐governmental organizations (NGOs), public safety, academia, the private

sector, and the general public.  
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Planning Methods. VGIN collected and analyzed information from this diverse

community through a variety of methods including:

 Meetings with VGIN staff

 One‐on‐one stakeholder interviews

 Online stakeholder surveys

 Regional town hall meetings and webinars around the Commonwealth

This approach provided the following key components of to the strategic plan:

 A big‐picture view of the current state of VGIN’s work and GIS in the

Commonwealth, including its strengths and weaknesses

 A future vision for VGIN, one that aligns its day‐to‐day work, its mandate, and

the many expectations from stakeholders

 A clear list of goals and initiatives for VGIN to focus on in the coming five years.

Meetings with VGIN Staff. VGIN staff supported the strategic planning process by

validating the themes voiced by the geospatial community.

One‐On‐One Stakeholder Interviews. In general, stakeholders expressed a high level of

satisfaction with the geospatial resources in the Commonwealth.  Suggestions for

improvements focused on better coordination of often disparate groups to avoid

duplication of effort.

The Online Survey. To help identify priorities for the Commonwealth and direct tasks

for VGIN, the stakeholder community was invited to participate in a 16‐question online

survey focused on attendance, GIS use in the Commonwealth, geospatial needs, and

feedback to VGIN on how to improve services to the Commonwealth.  In total, 167

individuals participated in the survey from local, state, and federal agencies, Planning
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District Commissions, NGOs, academia, the private sector, utility companies, and others.   

A majority of respondents were from local and state government.  

Town Hall Meetings. These meetings were held at four locations (Culpeper, Richmond,

Roanoke, Tidewater) across the Commonwealth and were the most valued component

of the planning process.   The meetings aimed to validate the themes and patterns

voiced during the survey, articulate a long‐term geospatial vision for the

Commonwealth, and align VGIN’s day‐to‐day work, mandate, and stakeholder

expectations.

5.5.4 Project Outcomes

Things That Went Well. According to the state coordinator, the Town Hall meetings

were the most valued component to the process.  In the Town Hall forum, stakeholders

discussed topics freely and provided the feedback necessary to help focus the plan.  

Problems Encountered.

 Just before the project commenced, the Commonwealth lost two champions for

statewide geospatial coordination, the CIO and Secretary of Technology.   

 The process for getting the contract approved took much longer than anticipated

and slowed down the momentum set in place by the grant award.   

 There was almost no project participation by the general public.

Implementation Plan. The strategic planning process and stakeholder feedback helped

VGIN to prioritize the strategic initiatives.  While all of the initiatives would provide

value to the geospatial community in the Commonwealth, the following initiatives were

deemed the highest priority and the plan recommended taking action in these areas

first:

1. Provide Framework Basemap Data Layers to augment the current

orthophotography and road centerline data layers.
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2. Develop and maintain geospatial standards and best practices.

3. Oversee the development of a Commonwealth‐wide geospatial clearinghouse

that connects all levels of government and other VGIN stakeholders.

Successful Outcomes.  Although the project was just completed early this year

(endorsed by the VGIN Advisory Board on January 6, 2010), the plan is considered a

success by the community and the Commonwealth’s geospatial coordinator.  Part of this

success may be attributed to the fact that the Fifty States CAP program had been in

place for several years and the Commonwealth was able to learn from prior “classes”

and take into account some of the key “lessons learned” during other strategic planning

projects.   For example, during the planning process the Commonwealth made

stakeholder involvement a high priority to ensure that the plan represented the diverse

needs the entire community.   This required that the stakeholder community be made

aware of the plan and the need for their contribution long before the project was ever

initiated.

The completion of the strategic plan has helped to focus and formalize efforts toward

statewide “Coordination, Communication and Creative Services” among stakeholders

and will provide valuable input to the Commonwealth’s business plan update.
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6 GIS Inventory & Geospatial Maturity Assessment Initiatives 

6.1 Characterization of the Geospatial Maturity Assessment (GMA)

The Geospatial Maturity Assessment (GMA) is an objective baseline assessment

methodology that will be used to routinely monitor and validate a state’s geospatial

business performance capabilities.  Currently, no comprehensive statewide Geospatial

Maturity Assessment model exists, so FGDC is providing funding assistance to support

the development of a GMA.   Without it, decision‐makers in each state (e.g., state Chief

Information Officers (CIOs), Geographic Information Officers (GIOs) or equivalents,

Governors, legislators, etc.) have little sense of the extent and value of geospatial assets

and capabilities within their state. These assets and capabilities include, but are not

limited to, the following components:

 Geospatial Coordination and Collaboration

 Geospatial Data Development (documentation and maintenance)

 Geospatial Asset Discovery and Access (sharing and distribution)

 Statewide Partnership Programs

 Participation in Pertinent National Partnership Programs and Initiatives

 Geospatial Policies, Standards, Guidelines and Best Practices

 Geospatial Training, Education and Professional Networking Activities

 Governance, policy, management and planning

 Enterprise Integration and Design

 Societal Impacts

The GMA will help solve these deficiencies by serving the following purposes:

 Become the 3rd generation of the NSGIC State Summaries starting in 2010

 Inform other national assessments such as the PEW Grading the States Report

Card, ASCE Infrastructure Report Card, the Digital Government Survey and COGO
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Geospatial Report Card, through access to GMA results posted by individual

states and/or the national compilation

 Create policy components necessary for state‐level strategic and business

planning activities, score cards (or other metrics) and other actionable items

 Reveal cross‐agency and enterprise geospatial investment opportunities to

Governors, Legislators and other decision‐makers; these items can be reviewed

independently, placed within the State Strategic Plan or otherwise leveraged

 Enable GMA components to be assembled into or from more detailed Report

Cards;  alternatively, county GMAs, if and when they begin to surface, may feed

pertinent assessment categories in the state GMA

 Offer a framework for enhancing awareness and assessment of local to state to

federal capabilities

 The GMA results can help guide the Federal Geographic Data Committee's

visioning and any resulting programs, such as the Fifty States Initiative

NSGIC will not conduct a 2010 State Summary due to the impending release of the GMA

which will be supported for the foreseeable future.

6.2 GIS Inventory:  System Utilization by State and Local Governments

The GIS Inventory, formerly known as “Ramona”, is a data‐rich inventory managed by

NSGIC of data sources across all of the states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the

Virgin Islands.  This tool is made available to each state so they can better understand

their user community and has been in use in various forms for over 5 years.  It is

administered by the states, but includes individual inputs from private, municipal,

county, state, and other users.  In current practice, it is mostly voluntary to use it, and

there is a great deal of variability across the states, due to their rate of adoption of the

tool, the method in which it is used, and the incentives employed (if any).   
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The variety of participants from different stakeholder groups and the varying usage

patterns have resulted in a non‐uniform distribution of responses, with no single

characteristic approach from state‐to‐state.  For example, in some states, participants in

the GIS Inventory may have been with state agencies, focusing on statewide data sets.  

In other cases, the participants might have included counties that inventories geospatial

data files within their respective jurisdictions. This is partly to be expected given the

nation‐wide scope, where it takes time to achieve normalization, consistency, and

reliability of results.  Nonetheless, the results are already substantive and measurable,

and a new version of the GIS Inventory interface is due in September 2010.   

Utilization could be expanded and enhanced with incentives and funding assistance.  

The GIS Inventory provides valuable information for assessing Geospatial Platforms

across levels of government and other stakeholder groups, and insights into the

feasibility of federated scenarios based on the availability of and access to authoritative

sources of geospatial data.

The list of NSGIC “framework data” includes 25 layers that are closely related to the list

of FGDC Framework themes.  The NSGIC framework layers used in the GIS Inventory are

listed below [NOTE: An asterisk (*) indicates that the layer is one of the 7 FGDC

Framework themes]:

 Boundaries(*)

o American Indian Reservation

o Cities/Towns/Villages

o Civil Township or Equivalent

o Counties/Parishes

o State

 Elevation(*)

o Bathymetric Contours
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o Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS)

o Contours

o Digital Elevation Model (DEM)

o Digital Surface/Terrain Models (DSM/DTM)

o High Accuracy Reference Network (HARN)

o Spot Elevations

 Imagery/Base Maps/Earth Cover

o Digital Orthophotography/Orthoimagery (*)

o Land Cover

 Inland Waters

o Hydrography (*)

o Watershed Boundaries

 Location

o Address Points

o Geodetic Control Points (*)

o Geodetic Networks

o Geographic Place Names

 Planning/Cadastral

o Parcel/Cadastral/Land Ownership (*)

o PLSS Townships & Sections

 Transportation (*)

o Airports & Airfields

o Railroad Lines

o Roads/Street Centerlines

(*) Denotes FGDC Framework theme in the list above

The following charts provide a quick glance at the adoption rate for the GIS Inventory.
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0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

<10 Users

10‐20 Users

21‐30 Users

31‐50 Users

>50 Users

Number of States

Number of Users Documenting Data per State

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

<10 Layers

10‐20 Layers

21‐30 Layers

31‐50 Layers

50‐100 Layers

100‐200 Layers

>200 Layers

Number of States

Number of NSGIC Framework Layers per State
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0 5 10 15 20 25 30

<10 Layers

10‐50 Layers

50‐100 Layers

100‐200 Layers

>200 Layers

Number of States

Number of Other Data Layers per State
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7 Conclusions & Recommendations 

The following are the important overarching conclusions and recommendations from

this study:

Conclusions

 The Fifty States grants have enabled progress that would not otherwise have

been achievable.  The funding has served as an important catalyst for statewide

geospatial planning and “jump started” geospatial coordination activities in

nearly every state.   

 States have credited the Fifty States grants with helping geospatial programs and

activities achieve greater credibility with state executives and budget officials.  

This recognition has, in many cases, led to additional support for activities such

as pilot implementation projects.

 The Fifty States grants have helped to formalize efforts toward and improve

statewide coordination, communication and collaboration among stakeholders.  

For example, a number of states have formed theme‐specific workgroups to

further engage stakeholders and effectively address plan needs.

 Tangible results can take time to materialize.  While some outcomes are quick to

follow the completion of the strategic planning process, others, such as

executive orders, legislation, or additional project funding, can take 3‐4 years to

come to fruition.   

 Planning is cyclical, and plans need to be updated.  For example, the plans

developed in 2006 are approaching five years in age, and will be in need of

updating.
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 With regard to data needs, the strategic and business plans have revealed that

the seven original framework themes remain a priority in nearly all states.  These

include Geodetic Control, Cadastral, Orthoimagery, Elevation, Hydrography,

Administrative Units, and Transportation. In addition, Addresses, Building

Structures, and Critical Infrastructure are priorities with many states.

 Emergency management and homeland security applications remain a top

application priority across all of the states, and services that support statewide

coordination (e.g. standards), geocoding, and hosting and provisioning are in

demand.

Recommendations

Build on the success and leverage the gains made over the past several Fifty States Cap

grant cycles with ongoing investment in the planning and coordination process, and

related efforts, as follows:

 Ongoing review of progress, success factors, and the causes of setbacks and

delays.  

 Periodic revision and updating of the Strategic and Business Plan Guidelines and

associated expectations to meet evolving national objectives; for example, the

concept of Geospatial Platforms and associated Data, Applications, and Services

are not explicitly addressed in the current Guidelines, which were last revised in

2009.

 Catalog and foster exchange of information, lessons learned, best practices and

success stories among states and federal partners; continue with state case

studies as a vehicle for information exchange.
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 Provide funding to stimulate the refreshment and advancement of prior plans or

to establish new ones, in recognition of the cyclical nature of planning.

 Expand support for and link of the GIS Inventory and GMA efforts to Strategic

and Business Planning efforts, as well as Return on Investment (ROI) efforts.

 Increase awareness across federal agencies of the successful outcomes of the

planning process, and the value of products from the Fifty States Program for

coordinated place‐based strategies.

 Encourage federal agencies to utilize the FGDC GIS Strategic Planning Guidelines

for their own geospatial outreach initiatives, as is US DOT for the Transportation

for the Nation (TFTN) initiative.
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8 Appendix A: Survey Respondents & Questions 

The following list represents the respondents to the June 2010 survey of Fifty States CAP

grant recipients:   

State Name Organization

AR Learon Dalby AGIO

AZ Gene Trobia AGIC

CA Mary Cook‐Hurley CGIA

CO Jon Gottsegen Colorado Office of Information Technology

CT Michael Varney State of CT ‐ DOIT / GISC

DC Barney Krucoff Office of the Chief Technology Officer

DE Mike Mahaffie Office of State Planning Coordination

FL Richard Butgereit Florida Division of Emergency Management

GA Danielle Ayan Georgia Tech Research Institute

HI Arthur Buto Hawaii Geographic Information Coordinating Council

IA Jim Giglierano Iowa Geological Survey

ID Gail Ewart Department of Administration

IL Dan Wilcox Illinois Department of Transportation

IN Phil Worrall Indiana Geographic Information Council

KY Demetrio P. Zourarakis, PhD Kentucky Division of Geographic Information

LA Craig Johnson Louisiana Geographic Information Center

MA Christian Jacqz MassGIS

MD Kenny Miller Department of IT

ME Michael Smith Maine Office of GIS

MI Paul Harmon Center for Shared Solutions and Technology Partnerships

MN David Arbeit Minnesota Geospatial Information Office

MO Tim Haithcoat Information Technology Services Division

MT* Stewart Kirkpatrick MT Department of Administration

NC Joe Sewash NC Center for Geographic Information and Analysis

NE Larry K Zink State of Nebraska CIO

NH Ken Gallager Office of Energy and Planning

NY William Johnson

NYS Office of Cyber Security & Critical Infrastructure

Coordination

OH Stu Davis OGRIP

OK Mike Sharp Office of Geographic Information

OR Cy Smith Geospatial Enterprise Office

PA Stacey White Commonwealth of Pennslyvania, Office of Administration

SC Tim De Troye South Carolina Geographic Information Council

SD Erik Nelson State of South Dakota
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State Name Organization

TX Rob Aanstoos Texas Department of Information Resources

UT Bert Granberg Utah AGRC

VA Dan Widner Virginia Geographic Information Network

VI Stevie Henry VI Geospatial Information Council

VT David Brotzman VT Center for Geographic Information

WA Joy Paulus Dept of Information Services

WI Curtis Pulford Department of Administration

WV Kurt Donaldson WV GIS Technical Center, WVU

WY Cathy Raney Campbell County

*Montana received CAP money in support of the development of a geospatial strategic

plan prior to the inception of the Fifty States Initiative.   

The Following questions were included in the June 2010 survey of Fifty States grant

recipients:

1. Please provide the following information:

Name

Organization

State

E‐mail Address

Phone Number

2. Which year was your grant received? NOTE: We are only surveying you about your

Fifty States Initiative CAP Grant(s) to create Strategic and Business Plans. If you've

received more than one grant, please check each year in which you received a grant.

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

3. What type of planning project did your State conduct?

Strategic Plan

Business Plan

Both
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4. Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements.

Remember that the goal of this program is supporting effective statewide coordination

activities to build the NSDI through development of self‐defined Statewide Spatial Data

Infrastructures (SSDI).

A. The grant(s) enabled progress to be made that otherwise would not have  

been possible.

B. The grant(s) worked as a "resource multiplier," resulting in additional

commitments of time and people to develop the Plan.

C. The momentum continued after the grant funds were spent.

D. Our USGS Liaison was important to the planning process.

E. The grant was an important catalyst for the planning process to occur.

F. The amount of the grant was adequate to support the planning process.

G. We engaged local governments and other stakeholders in the planning

process.

H. By involving local governments and other stakeholders through the grant‐

funded planning process, the geospatial community in our state is working

together more effectively.

5. Which of the following tangible results can be attributed to your planning process

(Answer “In Place”, “Underway”, “Too Early To Expect Results”, or “Not Applicable”)?

GIO Position Established

Order

Legislation

Additional Staff Funding

Additional Project Funding

Greater Credibility with Executives and/or Budget Officials

Stakeholders Are Working More Effectively Together

Other

6. The grant was an important catalyst for achieving the following results (Answer

“Strongly Agree”, “Agree”, “Disagree”, “Strongly Disagree”, or “Not Applicable ‐ if you

answered ‘Too Early to Expect Results’ or ‘Not Applicable’ in Q5”).

GIO Position Established

Order

Legislation

Additional Staff Funding

Additional Project Funding

Greater Credibility with Executives and/or Budget Officials
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Stakeholders Are Working More Effectively Together

Other (From Question 5)

7. Please elaborate on the most important outcome of your project or share any

anecdotal information about the grants or your efforts that you think will be valuable.

8. What changes do you think are necessary to ensure the success of these grants?

9. How would you sum‐up the Fifty States Grants in a "Sound Bite?"