Idaho to Get a New GIO

Idaho Chief Technology Officer Kevin W. Iwersen has announced the hiring of a new Geospatial Information Officer. Gail Ewart will join the Idaho Office of the CIO as GIO in early December.

Ms. Ewart answered the job posting we noted here back in July. Her new role will be to "provide statewide leadership in promoting the use of GIS technology," as CTO Iwerson wrote in his announcement of the hiring.

Gail Ewart is moving to the Idaho job from the Oregon Geospatial Enterprise Office (GEO) where she was Oregon’s Framework Coordinator.

A Workshop on Improving Geospatial Transportation Data

The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies has announced a workshop in December to "examine the potential benefits and costs for the transportation community from improvements to the national geospatial information infrastructure for transportation. "

According to the Workshop Invitation (PDF), there are five objectives of the one-day workshop:

1. Investigate the likely applications, benefits, and costs of an improved multimodal surface national transportation geospatial information system for the transportation community;
2. Identify likely users, beneficiaries, and funding sources;
3. Discuss key data elements for the various transportation modes that could be included;
4. Suggest potential roles, mechanisms for sharing data, and approaches to integrate required data from multiple sources; and
5. Explore institutional arrangements that could facilitate such an initiative.

Among the speakers identified in the preliminary agenda included in the workshop invitation is NSGIC President Stu Davis.

The workshop is set for December 14, at the The National Academies Keck Center, in Washington, D.C. The workshop is not free. Costs and hotel information are also detailed in the workshop invitation.