On the Participant Statistical Areas Program

The following is a guest-post from Randy Fusaro, of the US Census Bureau, on the Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP).

The 2010 Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP) will allow participants, following Census Bureau guidelines and criteria, to review, update, and delineate new census tracts, block groups, census designated places (CDPs) and census county divisions (CCDs). The goal of the PSAP is to define appropriate census tracts, block groups, CDPs and CCDs to obtain meaningful, relevant, small area and place-level statistical data. The updated boundaries for these areas will frame all of the 2010 Census tabulations, and will be used for the American Community Survey (ACS) beyond 2010. Data tabulated to these PSAP geographic entities are used by various local, state, and federal agencies and organizations for planning and funding purposes, as well as the private sector, academia, and the public.

Regional and county level governments and organizations are the primary participants in the PSAP program. These primary participants are required to coordinate among all interested parties so that the resulting 2010 PSAP plan accommodates the needs of all interested governments, organizations and individuals in their area. State governments that would like to contribute to the process should contact the Census Bureau Regional Census Center Geographer to get the contact information for the primary participants in their state.

Local governments, organizations, and interested individuals have been essential in the conceptualization, delineation, review and update of Census Bureau small area statistical geographic entities since the early 20th century. The first census tracts were delineated for the 1910 Census. With each consecutive Census, blocks, tracts and other delineations have been added and updated. Local participation and support is crucial for accurate and meaningful small area delineation.

In April 2007, the proposed criteria for the program were published in the Federal Register. Comments were adjudicated and the criteria revised. Final criteria were published in February and March 2008.

The Census Bureau is currently in the process of identifying PSAP participants. The materials for the program, including editing software and county level data, will be distributed to participants later this year. PSAP Training will be offered by the Census Bureau Regional Census Centers (RCC). The participants are expected to review and update the boundaries, returning the materials during the first half of 2009, after which the Census Bureau will review and verify the boundary information.

In creating the 2010 PSAP plan, PSAP participants review and update census tracts, block groups, CDPs and CCDs (in some states) to accommodate changes in their communities and to meet the 2010 PSAP criteria. The following are examples of types of edits that should be executed by the PSAP participants.

• Census tracts that are above the maximum threshold of 8,000 population and 3,200 housing units should be split, while maintaining the integrity of the historical outer boundary.
• Tracts that are below the minimum of 1,200 population and 480 housing units should be merged.
• It is not recommended that major changes to CCDs occur, but, for example, a name change should be made if it no longer reflects areas within the CCD and the community within the CCD.
  

These are examples of potential changes created during the PSAP process. A full detailed list can be found in the PSAP criteria.

The Census Bureau encourages participation in the PSAP process in order to maintain the most up-to-date and accurate small area boundaries for the most effective tabulation of 2010 Census data. More information is on-line on the Census Bureau site.

CAP '09 on Grants.gov

The announcement for the 2009 NSDI Cooperative Agreements Program has been posted on Grants.gov. A summary of this year's categories and a link to the full 2009 NSDI CAP announcement can be found on the CAP site. All proposals need to be submitted via the Grants.gov Web site, and are due January 6, 2009.

Categories this year are:

• Category 1: Metadata Trainer and Outreach Assistance. Up to 4 cooperative agreements of up to $25,000 each.

• Category 2: Behind the Portal - Use of GOS Map and Data Services. Up to 4 cooperative agreements of up to $40,000 per project.

• Category 3: Fifty States Initiative: Strategic and Business Plan Development in Support of the NSDI Future Directions Fifty States Initiative. Up to seven cooperative agreements of up to $50,000 each.

• Category 4: Enabling Use of Government Tabular Data in a Geographic Context. One cooperative agreement of up to $150,000.

• Category 5: Building Data Stewardship for The National Map and the NSDI. Up to four cooperative agreements of up to $50,000 each.

• Category 6: FGDC Standards Development and Implementation Assistance and Outreach (excluding Metadata Standards). Up to two cooperative agreements of up to $25,000 each.

• Category 7: Demonstration of Geospatial Data Partnerships across Local, State and Federal Government. Up to four cooperative agreements of up to $75,000 each.
  

The Cooperative Agreements Program has been very good to NSGIC members over the years, so we strongly encourage you to apply!

(Thanks to Tony Spicci from Missouri for getting the word out on the announcement.)

GIS Inventory 2.0 now available

The GIS Inventory received a major update on the night of October 13th. Most noticeable are some nicely-crafted cosmetic changes to the layout and status maps visible when you first visit the site, but the updates go much deeper.

According to an announcement yesterday from the GIS Inventory Team, more subtle changes built into the system will make life easier as you document your systems, policies, and data. Another major addition includes a more powerful search tool located on the "Data Layers" tab.

Some other highlights include:

• Improved system speed and responsiveness
• An improved help system
• Style changes to make data entry easier and more logical
• Information banners that can be inserted by state administrators for newsworthy items
  

The list of updates goes on, but hey, why don't you just check it out for yourself at http://gisinventory.net/!

Formerly known as "Ramona," the GIS Inventory is produced by the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) as a tool for states and their partners. Its primary purpose is to track the status of GIS in state and local government to aid the planning and building of spatial data infrastructures.

MD Governor O'Malley on CitiStat and StateStat

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's presentation on CitiStat and StateStat to the Management Performance conference last week in Austin is available on YouTube. Governing.com's 13th Floor blog features the embedded video today in an entry on the non-partisan aspects of the "stat" approach to managing government (Gov. O'Malley's "Omni-partisan" Approach).

The video is also worth watching for its glimpses of geospatial info in action as part of the "stat" approach. I was looking for Our Kenny in the shots of people gathered around stat-screens in conference rooms, but had no luck.

Words to the Wise?

Governing.com's 13th Floor blog is reporting from Austin, Texas, and the Managing Performance Conference. LAPD Chief Bill Bratton spoke today and impressed the 13th Floor folks with his thesis: Measure What Matters.

"In government, we had a tendency to measure everything and drive everyone crazy with data, rather than measuring what matters," he said.

Chief Bratton was sharing stories about his success with CompStat, a geospatially-enabled management tool that he developed in New York City and has brought to Los Angeles. This is an approach that has started to be adopted by other cities and now, in the case of Maryland, by states.

Florida GIS Coordination Effort Featured on govtech.com

Government Technology has a feature article this week on the GIS Strategic Plan effort in Florida.

The article, Come Together, Right Now, notes that the eight-storm strong hurricane seasons of 2005 and 2005 brought the need for GIS coordination to the fore among the state's emergency management community.

In Florida, post-storm data analysis illustrated how better statewide coordination of geospatial information during the hurricanes likely would have saved more lives and enhanced emergency managers' efforts to evacuate part of the state's 19,500 square miles of coastal zone. The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) initially took the lead in formulating a statewide GIS strategic plan.

'Our director, Craig Fugate, has a pretty simple charge: In the absence of leadership, become one,' said Richard Butgereit, GIS administrator of the FDEM."

The story is also noted in All Points Blog today. Adena highlights the role that the NSGIC Fifty States Coordination Criteria play in the discussion.

The fact that a sidebar highlights the rubrick shows what NSGIC is doing to push forward on its Fifty States Initiative, that is, to develop coordination and ideally a state coordinator in all 50 states. I'm not sure if NSGIC publishes rankings, but if you want to help push your state forward you might want to see how well it does meeting the listed requirements.

In fact, though NSGIC doesn't always highlight state-against-state competition, the results of the Fifty-States Survey are published in an annual State Summaries collection.

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