Track Spotlight – GIS for Urban and Regional Government

From Phyllis Thomas, RM-URISA

Rocky Mountain Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (RM URISA). RM-URISA is sponsoring the GIS for Urban and Regional Government track this year.

Some of the highlights of the track include: Using HAZUS for Flood Risk Assessment, Disposable or ‘Interim’ Imagery Delivered Via Web Management Services (WMS) to Your GIS, Promoting Smart Growth with GIS and Remote Sensing, and Beginning Spatial Load Analysis at a Rural Electric Cooperative.

In addition, we will sponsor a pre-conference URISA certified workshop, on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 on Public Data, Public Access, Privacy, and Security: U.S. Law and Policy. As data distribution capacities increase, there is increasing tension between citizen expectations of confidentiality, access to public records as a foundation of a free society, and protection of public security.

What data are subject to Freedom of Information laws? Can a government raise revenue (or defray maintenance costs) by charging market prices for the data? What about privacy restrictions and homeland security concerns? What about liability for data errors? This workshop will focus on the critical legal issues and the policy options they frame.

Specific topics include:

• State and Federal Freedom of Information Laws
• Data Sales vs. Data Access
• State and Federal Informational Privacy Laws
• Secrecy and Homeland Security Protections
• Balancing Public Access, Privacy, and Secrecy
• Protecting Ownership and Minimizing Liability
• Policy and Technical Considerations

Intended Audience: This workshop is intended for public and private sector managers, elected officials, and policy professionals, database developers and administrators, and GIS professionals.

GIS IN THE ROCKIES OPENS REGISTRATION FOR 21ST ANNUAL CONFERENCE

CONTACT:

Kristi Audette, 303-544-0359, kristi@allthedetailsinc.com

September 10-12, 2008, The Ranch, Loveland, CO

DENVER – April 29, 2008 – As the importance of geospatial technology continues to increase, professionals, educators, and students plan to gather to discuss innovations and emerging concepts in the GIS industry in Loveland, Colorado. The 21^st annual GIS in the Rockies Conference, which will be held September 10 – 12, 2008, offers a set of innovative opportunities to foster education and networking across the geospatial industry focused around the Real Property Asset Management theme.

“We feel it is important for the conference to include a wide range of educational options for professionals in the industry,” said CJ Scott, the conference’s program director.  “As the industry becomes more and more about integrating into the enterprise’s information management strategy, it is important for us, as GIS professionals, to be prepared to support these requirements.  Nowhere is this more important that in Real Property Asset Management, where the integration of geospatial systems with traditional business systems is critical.”

For the first time, GIS in the Rockies will offer a set of full day seminars focusing on technology and management issues in the geospatial industry as part of the conference’s admission fee. The conference offers three seminar tracks to provide participants with in-depth exposure to critical concepts in the industry:

• Geospatial Issues Supporting Organizational Asset Management Goals
• Concepts of Computer Science for Geo-Technologists
• Business Transformation: Accounting for Geospatial Intelligence in Enterprise Architecture.

Further, each of the conference’s sponsoring organizations promises to educate and inspire both professionals who are new to the GIS industry, and those who have been involved for many years:

• American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) hosts Remote Sensing and LIDAR Technology: The New Digital Frontier
• GIS Colorado hosts Serving the Community: Getting GIS Information Into the Hands of Non-GIS Users
• Geospatial Information and Technology Association (GITA) hosts Return on Investment and Workflow Process
• Professional Land Surveyors of Colorado (PLSC) hosts Geodetic Surveying for Geospatial Applications

• Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) hosts GIS for Managers and GIS for Urban and Regional Governments

GIS in the Rockies also includes a trade show, with over 40 exhibitors, including ESRI, Microsoft Digital Globe, Compass Tools, USGS, and The University of Denver, who participated in last year’s event.  This year, the committee anticipates an even larger trade show, with up to 70 exhibiting organizations from business, government and academia.

“GIS is continuing to provide amazing opportunities for business, researchers and the government,” said Cherie Jarvis, the conference’s planning committee chair. “GIS in the Rockies is the region’s premier geospatial information and technology conference because it is a dynamic forum that provides insight related to the critical issues, emerging trends, and latest innovations across the geospatial profession.”

Attendees at the conference typically include representatives from local, state, and federal government, the utilities industry, environmental services, the oil and gas industry, retail and business management consultants, IT professionals, surveying professionals marketing professionals, and other related fields including facilities management, remote sensing, photogrammetry, and surveying.

For more information or to register online, visithttp://www.gisintherockies.org.

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About GIS in the Rockies

“Creating a forum for business, government, and academia to foster collaboration and education related to important topics, emerging trends and innovations across the geospatial community.”

The sponsoring societies include: the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Geospatial Information and Technology Association (GITA), the Colorado Section of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM), the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS), the Professional Land Surveyors of Colorado (PLSC), the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) and GIS Colorado.

More information about GIS in the Rockies and links to the sponsoring societies is available at www.gisintherockies.org.

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Welcome to GIS In The Rockies Blog

GIS in the Rockies is the intermountain west’s premier geospatial information and technology conference. This year’s conference, Mapping Your Assets, will focus on issues related to Real Property Asset Management as well as challenges facing the geospatial industry as GIS integrates into the traditional information technology component of the enterprise. To support the conference’s subject areas, some of the industry’s lead professionals are being recruited to support the various conference tracks.

This year’s conference will be held between September 10th and 12th 2008 at The Ranch, located in Loveland, Colorado. Pre-conference workshops will be held on September 9th. Track sessions and seminars will run concurrently on the first and second days of the conference. On Friday technical tours and other recreational opportunities are scheduled.

The conference offers opportunities for industry professionals to learn more about geospatial technology issues and business-centric strategies supporting every vertical market touched by the geospatial industry. Historically, attendees have included representatives from local, state, and federal government, the utilities industry, environmental services, land surveying professionals, the oil and gas industry, retail and business marketing professionals.