In today’s world, understanding how our interactions relate to geography is essential. It’s just this simple: comprehending the complexities our world requires that we understand how we interact with geography. This is why we’ve seen countless examples of government agencies developing and implementing tools that visualize spatial data and information. Often we have seen theRead… Read more »
For centuries, people have used mapping to chart trends and patterns. One great example is John Snow’s 1854 cholera map, which is an early example of how to leverage GIS in the health field. On August 31, 1854, the London district of Soho was struck with a cholera outbreak. By September 10, 500 people hadRead… Read more »
Yesterday GIS professionals from throughout the Washington, DC metro area joined to share in an opportunity to learn more about the unique integration of social media and GIS. Social media has changed the way organizations engage and communicate with citizens. Yet, understanding how to truly leverage volumes of unstructured social media data presents unique challengesRead… Read more »
Every nation is faced with the essential task of protecting citizens, constantly working to protect citizens from hostile countries, organizations, mitigating effects of natural disasters and securing critical infrastructure. In doing so, nations can protect the unique way of life and cultural identities of their citizens. To help achieve these ends, many national security agenciesRead… Read more »
More than ever before, natural resource managers are challenged to think of new ways to preserve and restore our habitats. You are faced with a diversity of tasks to protect our environments, everything from monitoring deforestation and its impacts, to conservation efforts and tracking climate change. John Steffenson, Federal Civilian and Global Affairs, Esri, andRead… Read more »
It is clear that mapping is transforming government agencies. Now it’s time to ask the question: How are maps themselves being changed by the agencies using them? I came across this interesting take on this issue from the New York Times Bits Blog: The Business of Technology. Check out the article here. My favorite part?Read… Read more »
I love Esri’s Story Maps. They provide a concise and clear way to visualize data. Like GIS, Story Maps are also a great form of storytelling. As your agency continues to produce volumes of data, you are challenged like never before to learn the best ways to extract meaning and value from information. That’s whyRead… Read more »
When the government shut down in October 2013, employees were furloughed, websites were sent offline, and delivery of important government services was interrupted. These were all difficult consequences for our nation. Yet, the one effect of the shutdown that seemed to foster the most frustration was an unexpected one: the closing of our national parks.Read… Read more »
Here on GovLoop we’ve written and shared stories of how GIS has transformed executive level agencies. Yet, GIS is being used in more than just executive agencies. The legislative branch has also caught on to the power of GIS. Tim Petty, Deputy Legislative Director for Senator James Risch (R – Idaho), shared several examples ofRead… Read more »
One of the technologies that is going to be shaping government drastically in the coming years is GIS. GIS holds the ability to extract knowledge from big data, leverage the cloud for efficiencies, improve communications with citizens and help drive improved decision making for organizations. We’ve written quite a bit about the power of GISRead… Read more »