This blog post is an excerpt from our recent report created in partnership with Esri, Smarter States Equal Smarter Communities: Leading Transformation through Geospatial Infrastructure. Download the full report here.
Today, making data-driven decisions that improve quality of life is essential in government, and even more so as states work to create smart communities and solutions. With the right process, people and technology, any state can become smarter.
Effective states will use GIS by applying a hub approach that connects people with the information and technology to drive improved quality of life, innovation and better choices. GIS is a foundational platform and a unifying thread that can pull lots of disparate datasets together. GIS can create information from data, enable more insight and innovation, and bring in different perspectives.
States can take this opportunity to become a facilitator and leader in this arena and encourage more collaboration among cities, counties and state agencies to work better together. This collaboration can bring about standards and statewide initiatives, prioritize issues and promote best practice models, tools and more.
Smart states understand that smart is a journey, not a destination, and with GIS technology they can solve current challenges, rethink “business as usual” mindsets and reimagine a community based on technological advances that support infrastructure needs, humans in crisis, climate change and whatever else the future may bring.
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