Register Now for NSGIC 2008

Registration is now open for NSGIC's 2008 Annual Conference in Keystone, Colorado.

The conference is set to run from September 7 through 11 and will feature a wide-ranging discussion of issues of import to state GIS Coordinators, local and federal agencies, and their private-sector partners.

Among the major subjects tentatively scheduled to be addressed are:

• Progress on Imagery for the Nation
• Improving addressing and transportation data
• State/federal partnerships to manage hydrography data
  
• Factors for better coordination with and among federal agencies
• USGS "National Map" planning

Members of the NSGIC Corporate Leadership Council will offer panel discussions on subjects such as:

• Handling the large volumes of data now available from digital sensors and LiDAR projects
• Approaches to enterprise licensing of data and software
• QBS and Best-Value contracting

NSGIC conferences are traditionally fast-paced and very active, with meetings starting early in the day and running well into the evenings. State and local GIS coordinators mingle with federal agency staff, sponsors and vendors in an open and friendly gathering at which as much is learned in the hallways as in the meeting rooms.

Registration is $450 for NSGIC members and $650 for non-members before August 8. After August 8 it will be $535 for members and $735 for non-members. Late registration (after August 29) will be $635 for members and $835 for non-members.

Those in the geospatial industry who are interested in spending time with some of the top GIS executives in state governments should consider becoming one of the sponsors of the NSGIC conference. NSGIC sponsors are an integral part of the discussion at each NSGIC conference and can have input into the thinking that guides GIS policy among the states.

And, on a more personal note, the NSGIC crowd is open, welcoming and great group to get to know. Effective GIS coordination is a community-based endeavor; NSGIC models the sort of community-building effort that many states are working to achieve.