The new Trimble Juno Series handheld has delivered on customer requests by giving it a longer battery life, more memory, an improved screen, a high resolution 5 mp camera, and a rugged shell.  The evolution of this unit is familiar to the upgrades in Trimble’s Mapping Grade flagship product, the GeoExplorer 6000 Series handheld.   The Juno is now an all in one mobile solution that increases collaboration between the field and office through real-time data transfer.   The unit runs on windows mobile and can run TerraSync, ArcPad, or ArcMobile software for GPS data collection.  Contact your local Trimble dealer for questions and orders!

This map was created by Matthew T. Campbell from the Department of Cartography and Geography East Central University (Oklahoma).  The map was based on 120,464 respondents who were asked what they called “soft drinks.” – Pop, Coke, Soda, Other.  I wonder what “Other” is….  Also, Alaska is very interesting…  leave a reply and let us know what you call soft drinks today!…

Click to Enlarge

As I mentioned in my previous post “Redistricting with GIS: Exposing Powerful People to a Powerful Technology”, Geographic Information System (GIS) is the key technology behind the redistricting process.  As the redistricting process winds down and candidates transition into campaign mode, they need to be aware of some tremendous opportunities to continue leveraging the power GIS.

Targeted Campaigning with GIS

If we look at the campaigning process in three phases, GIS brings tremendous value from start to finish.

Phase 1 – Build a Strategy:  Strategists are immediately confronted with the challenge of understanding their new district boundaries and the constituents that fall within.  This information is the foundation for building a strategy for targeting likely voters, efficiently and effectively communicating your message and ultimately getting out the vote.  This process will be especially challenging for candidates from the party that didn’t control the redistricting process.  This is because they have just recently seen the new boundaries while their opponents have been analyzing them for the past several months.

The ability to overlay new district boundaries with relevant political information (age, race, income, party affiliation, past voting results, etc.) is by far the most efficient way to build this strategy.  It allows campaigns to identify the geographic areas of their district that contain voters that are most likely to vote for them.  While using GIS can make this process much more efficient, it can still be a challenge if you’re a state party official that needs this to happen across the state.  This is where web-based GIS applications (Web Mapping Applications) come into play.  State party officials really need to be focusing on building a centralized GeoCampaigning database that is exposed to campaigns across the state via the Internet.  Build it once, use it many.  This type of system will allow campaign strategists from across the state to log in to a website and start using the power of GIS to organize their outreach efforts.  A longer-term benefit of this approach is that you are exposing party officials across the state to the value of GIS and how to use it as a campaigning tool moving forward.  The party that is maximizing the use of geospatial technology will definitely have a strategic edge moving forward.

Phase II – Outreach:  With a campaign strategy built, it’s now time to focus on reaching out to likely voters to gain their support.  This has historically been done with walk lists and canvassers, but I’m proposing that we spatially enable these walk lists and allow canvassers to also leverage the power of GIS while in the field.  Through the use of smartphones and tablets, which most campaign staff already have, canvassers are able to see where they are currently at (via GPS technology) on an interactive map in relation to the portions of the district that they are targeting.  In addition, canvassers can enhance the centralized GeoCampaigning database by collecting information in the field as they place signs, talk with voters, etc.  Because all of this information is being stored in a centralized database that is (securely) being exposed over the Internet via web services, other campaign staff (canvassers, strategists at campaign headquarters, etc.) are able to see this information in near real time.

Phase III – Analysis:  With all of this information flowing in to a centralized location, strategists are able to quickly analyze the progress canvassers are making in addition to the reaction of voters.  Every time a canvasser talks with a voter and collects information, this is represented by a dot on the map.  Dots are color coded by likelihood to vote for the candidate and by clicking on the dot you can see the information entered by the canvasser.  A “common operating picture” for spatially analyzing campaign information and connecting campaign staff is very powerful.  In addition, this information will be stored for analysis against actual voting results and thus preparation for the next election year.

Campaign Message

While you may think that GIS is just a technical tool for making your campaign operate more efficiently, it’s actually much more.  Whether you are for big government or small government, I think that all candidates can agree on a more efficient and effective government.  If this is part of your campaign message, which I personally think should be, then GIS is key to following through on this campaign promise.  We are already seeing this from incumbent John Isbell, Assessor of Property, Sumner County, TN who is referencing “GIS Implementations” as an accomplishment while in office.  I am really encouraged by this and it makes me proud that public officials are looking for ways to leverage technology to increase operational efficiency.  There are very few technologies that bring value to so many different aspects of government.  By visiting the Esri industries page, you can see the vast array of government agencies that can benefit from GIS.

So as you start to build your campaign strategy and craft your message, don’t forget about GIS.  After all, it is the secret to success. 

With the increase in political debates, campaign rallies and attack ads, it is clear that we have entered a new election year.  What you may not know is that the elections this year will be completely different from those of the past.  The 2012 elections will be the first to be held on new political boundaries that have resulted from redistricting.  While I won’t go into a lot of detail on what Redistricting is, the process involves adjusting political boundaries/districts (U.S. Congressional, State Senate, State House, County Commission, etc.) to account for population changes that have taken place over the past decade.  Politics is of course a part of this process which means that decisions are not strictly made based on population counts.  Redistricting officials also use this process as an opportunity to shift the political makeup of districts and put their party in a better position to gain or retain control moving forward.

While gaining political power might be important to you, for me, the most exciting thing about redistricting is that it is exposing very powerful people to the power of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  GIS is the analytical engine that powers the redistricting process.  It provides the ability to overlay relevant information (streets, population counts, demographics, political boundaries, past voting results, etc.) on an interactive map for officials to spatially analyze and base decisions.  More politicians than ever are seeing, firsthand, the value of leveraging GIS to gain a more thorough understanding of information which ultimately translates to more informed decision making (political strategizing in this case).  What these elected officials need to know is that the value of GIS is not isolated to redistricting and it definitely doesn’t stop when the Governor signs these new political boundaries into law.

The U.S. Department of Labor has identified geospatial technologies, which GIS is part of, as one of the fastest growing industries.  This rapid expansion is driven by the fact that the value GIS brought to redistricting is also brought to nearly every sector of the economy.  This is especially the case in the public sector.  By visiting the Esri industries page, you can see the vast array of government agencies that can benefit from GIS.  Below is a small sample:

• Public Safety
•  Property Assessment
• Public Works
• Environmental Management
• Planning & Economic Development
• Education (Geospatial Learning)

The good news is that government is already a big user of GIS, but we are just scratching the surface.  What this means is that there are real opportunities to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of government through the increased use of GIS.  With the explosion of cloud based capabilities and widespread Internet connectivity, we find ourselves in a perfect position to deliver targeted, lighter weight, more cost effective GIS solutions these new users.  This ability, in combination with support from our elected officials, can set us on a path to creating an efficient and effective government that we can all agree on.

In conclusion, I am someone that truly believes in the power of GIS.   I believe that it can play a key role in creating a more efficient public sector, a more competitive private sector and ultimately a more competitive nation as a whole.  My hope is that the exposure to GIS that has resulted from redistricting will trigger a sequence of events:  Increased use of GIS in campaigning  ->  The election (or re-election) of pro-GIS public officials  ->  Increased support for the use of GIS within government  ->  A more efficient and effective public sector.

If “GIS in campaigning” caught your eye, check out GIS: The Secret to 2012 Campaign Success

If you haven’t already, you should check out the WebGL Globe, an open platform for visualizing geographic data.  This  Chrome Experiment is created by the Google Data Arts Team and contains several interesting Google Earth views of different types of data.  The team encourages you to copy the code, add your own data, and create your own map.  Try it out, or at least checkout other globes that have been shared.  I was unconsciously spinning around the Google Search by Volume Globe for about 20 minutes before deciding to add this as a post.   Reminded me of that feeling you get while watching a documentary in an IMAX theater.  ”The world is so vast, and I am so small!”

What started out as a simple Internet Mapping site, providing county officials and the public with important parcel information, has turned into an aggressive GIS movement within this rural county of 109,803.  In 2005, the Wilson County Planning Office made a decision to take boxes of GIS information, provided by the state of TN and federal offices, off the office shelves and distribute the information through the use of an Internet Mapping website. This move gave on-demand GIS access to the county’s employees as well as its citizens through an easy to use GIS interface.  The launch of the new mapping website started a flurry of GIS activity and awareness throughout the county within just a year of its existence.  Many departments began getting more involved by utilizing GIS to actively map the county’s infrastructure throughout the next three to four years. Utility companies, e911, EMA, economic development boards and several municipalities (City of Lebanon and City of Mount Juliet), to name a few, were among the first participants to join the county’s Planning Office in their massive efforts.  For those agencies already invested in GIS, new GIS partnerships were born. Relationships that would go on to share costs of upcoming GIS projects and GIS data within the county were created. These efforts also helped reduce data redundancy, the costs for new GIS data creation, as well as new GIS development for, what is now known as, the Wilson County GIS Users Group. The Wilson County GIS Committee was then formed shortly thereafter to oversee major GIS projects such as the Wilson County GIS Enterprise System. This is a system designed by GEO-Jobe GIS, implemented over three years, to share and distribute GIS information between all user group participants as well as interested agencies outside the county. The system was designed on the ArcGIS Platform and uses several technologies such as data replication and synchronization to keep all GIS databases up-to-date with the latest GIS information available. The system helps agencies improve their response times with internal day-to-day tasks while helping to improve the accuracy of the GIS data as a whole.

from esri.com

So what makes this type of collaboration amongst so many organizations successful? Well, when multiple organizations make the decision to work together a marriage is formed. It’s a unity between organizations that share the same interests, work towards the same goals, share the same pocket books and have the best interests of all parties involved. So just like with any successful marriage the answer to the question above would obviously be “excellent communication.” The Wilson County GIS Users Group is one of the most active, well organized, and communicative users groups that I have been a part of in quite some time. The group meets about every other month and discusses software/hardware issues, data inaccuracies, new technology and the future direction of GIS within the county. The group also publishes a quarterly newsletter that recaps the meetings along with other interesting GIS news topics and tips. The user’s group also has a Facebook Page used to deliver important information to its users through social media avenues (so go “like” them, they deserve it). Other important factors contributing to the success of this users group is the leadership involvement. Lynn Pruett of the City of Lebanon, TN, now retired, has been organizing this group for the last several years and has done an outstanding job of being consistent with meetings as well as scheduling speakers to demonstrate new technology, ArcGIS Tips & Tricks, and even State and Federal GIS initiatives involving the county. The constant interaction with the users is key. The group needs to be a place where users can come, voice opinions, give ideas and offer direction. This group is proving to be just that. Recently, there has been discussion of consolidating several city/county websites offering e-government functionality making it easier for the public to find services and engage with their government. Among these services would be three existing internet-based mapping systems (City of Lebanon, City of Mt. Juliet and Wilson County) as well as a new damage assessment mapping tool for the Wilson County Emergency Management (WEMA) office coming online soon. This users group was brought together along with City officials to assist with the development and direction of this initiative. I have learned a lot from this group and am very proud to be a part of it. Below I have shared some of the things that I feel have been key factors which have contributed to this group’s ultimate success.

10 Tips for Success:

1. Find a leader for the group - This is the most important step of all. This is the person that will be responsible for coordinating all the efforts of the group listed below. This person will make all the difference so make sure you choose someone who is very thorough in their work and can stay on task easily.
2. Schedule Meetings Often - Schedule meetings no later than a month or two apart. Do not schedule these meetings just 3 times a year. To be successful as a group you have to get to know each other and work together. Choose a time that works best for everyone and make those dates THE MEETING DATES (i.e. Meetings are held every other month on the first Tuesday of that month). This will allow people to plan. It will also help to develop a schedule for the entire year before the first meeting. It can always be changed down the road you know. Also schedule the meetings at different user’s locations. This helps to keep things fresh as well as give the hosting users a chance to show off their work and how they use GIS internally behind the scenes.
3. Create a Master Plan – Define why you have this group, why you meet every other month, what your purpose is and then set goals for the group as a whole. This is your group’s road map, it gives the group direction and purpose. (ie, This would be where the group would lay out future plans to one day acquire Lidar data for the county.)
4. Schedule Presenters - Necessity. Users Groups fail most of the time because they have nothing interesting to talk about and/or they are tired of hearing the same people talk. Bring someone in from the outside. This could be a vendor with a new product or new technology being developed. It could possibly be a representative from a neighboring GIS Users group or someone from the State or Federal agency that administers your county or users area. You may also want to have someone within the group to present on new tools, tips, and tricks that will benefit others.
5. Keep Meetings to an hour - I think we all know this. We have to sit in these things all the time, some of us several times a day. An hour long meeting is plenty enough time for a short presentation and discussion of current issues and initiatives.
6. Form an Email Group/List – This is a great way for communicating with the group. Have a sign in sheet at every meeting so that users can sign in with their email address to be added to the list.
7. Create a User’s Group website – This will create unity. Users will feel apart of something. This centralized place for information is great for News article, Tips and Tricks, Data Sharing, Newsletters, Publications, links to Internet Mapping Tools and freely available Map Services, etc. This could be something as easy as a Facebook page. Another idea is to create t-shirts etc. promote your group.
8. Send out Newsletters – Be sure to send out a recap of what took place in the last meeting in the form of a newsletter. This is good for individuals who were unable to attend and will help to keep them in the loop. It is also a good way to stay connected with your users during the long wait for the next meeting. Keep in mind you can introduce a lot of content in a newsletter, it may even be a good idea to speak of future events and topics coming up in the next meeting.
9. Showcase other departments’ work – Display work that the users are doing. This is a great way to show off the data that each and every one of us works so hard to keep maintained. This has proven to be a great way to share GIS data layers that other users had no idea even existed.
10. Create a Data Dictionary - A must have. This document will describe all the data that each user/organization is currently maintaining. This should be published on the user’s group website or Facebook page for reference.

Come join us for a series of Local Government GIS Seminars to be held in Jonesborough, Crossville, Columbia, Germantown (MAGIC Conference), and Jackson, Tennessee.  

Lunch is on us after the Seminar!