A Useful Update on USGS From Directions Magazine

Directions Magazine's Adenda Schutzberg provides a useful overview of what our friends at USGS are up to in 2007.

She looks into major issues and initiatives such as the increase is USGS Liaisons, the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center, the Geospatial Line of Business,GOS, the National Map and other programs.

The last few years have been a time of change at USGS. It looks like that change, and one hopes growth, will continue.

Former NSGIC Keynote Speaker Matt Miszewski to Step Down

Wisconsin CIO Matt Miszewski has announced that he will leave his post after February, according to a story on governing.com (Wisconsin CIO Stepping Down).

Mr. Miszewski was a keynote speaker at the 2006 NSGIC Annual Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas. He told state GIS Coordinators there to "blow-up, rather than to think outside of, the box." he added that the goal should be a focus on the needs of the citizens.

Matt Miszewski is also a former president of the National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO). The Governing story includes praise for his work from the Wisconsin secretary of the Department of Administration and a note that Mr. Miszewski is ready for new challenges in the private sector.

Registration Now Open for NSGIC 2007 Mid-Year Conference

It is time to register on-line for the NSGIC 2007 Midyear Conference.

The 2007 Mid-Year Conference will run from Sunday, March 25, through Thursday, March 29, at the Doubletree Hotel Annapolis, in Annapolis, Maryland.

The theme for this conference is "Guiding Lights." The draft agenda (XLS) includes meetings of the NSGIC State Caucus and meetings with a variety of federal agencies involved in the use and sharing of geospatial data. Major topics will include strategic and business planning, state and federal cooperation and coordination, providing nationwide aerial photography and transportation data, and a variety of other NSGIC initiatives.

Registration for the conference is $250 for NSGIC members registering by March 2, $300 when registering by March 23, and $350 after March 23. Registration for non-members is $400 before March 2, $450 after March 2, and $500 after March 23.

It probably would make sense, therefore, to join NSGIC before registering.

Leaders in the geospatial industry are represented as sponsors at NSGIC conferences. They know that, since NSGIC attracts the top geographic information executives in state government, and works closely with those in county and municipal government as well as the federal government, becoming a NSGIC Sponsor is a great way to reach top decision-makers.

Coming Soon: Ramona 2.0

NSGIC expects the release of Ramona Version 2.0 shortly. This update will include several enhancements for users and state-level Ramona administrators.

There are 1,180 users currently registered in Ramona, documenting their geospatial data policies and practices, and 4,237 data layers. This is just the tip of an iceberg whose full dimensions will become more apparent as more states roll-out their nodes on the network.

The NSGIC Ramona Working group plans to offer several Web-Ex remote training sessions to introduce state-level administrators to Ramona 2.0 features. These include, for users, better performance, auto-save on data layers, and more security for contact information. For administrators, the enhancements include advanced search capabilities, flexible report generation, the ability to add extra state-specific questions, and accessible metadata for users.

State GIS Coordinators interested in adding their states to the Ramona network should contact Jill Saligoe-Simmel.

MAPPS PAC Makes News

While this is not necessarily a path that NSGIC is likely to follow, it is interesting to note an article on GeoPlace.Com about the success of the Political Action Committee of The Management Association for Private Photogrammetry Surveyors (MAPPS).

According to the article, MAPPS backed 41 candidates in the most recent election. Of that number, 31 won their races.