igic.org

Friday, September 25, 2009
9:00 am - 3:00 pm

Farm Bureau Building
225 S. East Street
Downtown Indianapolis

The Indiana Geographic Information Council invites you to attend the third annual Local Government GIS Coordinator Forum taking place September 25th in downtown Indianapolis.

This one-day retreat offers an opportunity to learn about statewide projects, partnership initiatives and meet with other GIS professionals from around Indiana. It is your chance to participate in a candid discussion about the issues and challenges currently facing local government GIS, and ways to successfully meet those challenges.


“Interacting with the other coordinators helps me plan for the future and get a heads-up on what they are currently battling.”


Come be the center of attention! We’ve listened to your feedback, and this year’s Forum has even more time for Q&A, open discussion and roundtable breakouts. The event is open only to local government GIS coordinators, with topics based on local needs and interests.


“I liked the open discussion format. I really learned a lot.”


Parking and lunch are included with this free event.


More information at www.igic.org/forum.

From PC World.com

The U.S. plans to make more than 100,000 data sources available by the end of next week on its data.gov site, in what may be the real start of government's effort to share its vast database with the world.

Data.gov has been open for business for about two weeks but with fewer than 100 data sources available it's now just a teaser of a site.

Data.gov is cataloging data and presenting it in standard formats, such as CVS or XLS, or Keyhole Markup Language (KML) used in Google Earth and XML, among others. In many cases, agencies will develop widgets and other tools make the data accessible and interesting. A simple example is the FBI's Top Ten Wanted widget.

But the real test will be public adoption. Federal CIO Vivek Kundra said the effort to build out data.gov is "a very high priority" because he believes it has the potential of "unlocking the innovation and tapping into the ingenuity" of the private sector as well as Americans generally. Users will also be able to rank data sets on their utility, usefulness, and ease of access.

Over time, the U.S. will continue to expand the data sets, as well as add tools to help users extract and work with government data.

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Data.gov - GIS data:

www.data.gov/catalog/geodata

June 30th, 1:00-3:30pm
Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Services Building
18100 Cumberland Rd
Noblesville
IGIC Members: FREE
Nonmembers: $20

Do you have nightmares thinking about how to integrate your GIS data into public safety offices? This seminar will explore the role of GIS from the minute you dial 911 until the time an officer clears a scene. We will talk about steps to setting up a GIS database, maintaining the Master Street Address Guide (MSAG), addressing across multiple jurisdictions, using aerial photography and developing layers for use in 911 centers.

The second half of the seminar will talk about applying GIS to assist in emergency management, investigations and crime analysis for past and future trends. Geocoding and how you can better utilize it will also be discussed.

Speaker Brooke Gajownik of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office will also provide a tour of the County's old and new facilities immediately following the seminar. Come find out how you can arm yourself with the latest information on emergency management!

July 8th, 1:30-3:30pm
Indiana State Library
History Reference Room
Indianapolis
FREE

This seminar will introduce the power of GIS technology in a way that is clear and meaningful to participants regardless of their technical background. The session is geared toward people interested in answering questions like “What does GIS offer to the constituency that I serve?” and “How can I acquire and apply this technology in the most efficient and productive manner possible?”

Dave Coats, Associate Director of The Polis Center at IUPUI, will address these questions. He'll offer a wide range of examples illustrating how GIS can be applied to understanding and managing community needs and challenges.

August 13th, 9:00am-12:00pm
Indiana State Library
History Reference Room
Indianapolis
IGIC Members: FREE
Nonmembers: $20


This LiDAR course will educate attendees about all aspects of LiDAR, including:

• Sensor Education: How sensors work, system characteristics and parameters
• Data Acquisition: Sensor collection variables, networks, base stations, base station point requirements and check point collection
• Data Processing: Customer needs, impacts of bad data on processing
• Data Deliverables: Products, end-user software
• Application: Current and potential uses
• Return on Investment: User analysis

Jamie Young of Sanborn Map Company will present. He specializes in LiDAR and is responsible for all operational production aspects of Sanborn's LiDAR programs. He is considered an expert in the field and is a frequent speaker and instructor on this technology.

October 2nd, 1:00pm-3:30pm
Indiana State Library
History Reference Room
Indianapolis
FREE


Whether you work for a city, county or utility, identifying funding for GIS can be daunting. Join Phil Worrall, Executive Director of IGIC, to learn about the types of public and private funding sources available to people working in the GIS trenches. The Federal stimulus package has already impacted Indiana’s community. This seminar will show you how to find these new opportunities. More importantly, it will give you strategies for leveraging your existing GIS investments. You can see how creative thinking and innovative partnerships can help open up new avenues for funding.

AccuTerra has released a new iPhone app for the outdoorsmen in all of us. It comes with high-resolution recreation maps, points of interest, and information on hiking, fishing, climbing, bird watching and other outdoor activities. The app has received the Best iPhone OS 3.0 Beta App for 2009. Learn more at http://mobile.accuterra.com/index.php

The Indiana Department of Transportation has provided University Information Technology Services (UITS) at Indiana University uncompressed NAIP 2008 Indiana quarter quad images.

You can visit http://www.indiana.edu/~gisdata/statewide/08naip.html for more information on the Indiana NAIP 2008 dataset and how to download the data.

ESRI ArcGIS desktop display tips can be found at
http://webhelp.esri.com/arcgisdesktop/9.3/index.cfm?id=3148&pid=3143&topicname=About_setting_default_raster_display_options

Imagery for The Nation (IFTN) is an initiative that IGIC has been tracking for some time. It is "a new nationwide aerial imagery program that will collect and disseminate standardized multi-resolution products on set schedules. Local, state, regional, tribal, and federal partners will be able to exercise buy-up options for enhancements that are required by their organizations. The imagery acquired through this program will remain in the public domain and archived to secure its availability for posterity."

The National Digital Orthophoto Programs (NDOP) Steering Committee is currently working on IFTN plans. If a federal government IFTN program were established that included regularly scheduled nation-wide leaf-off (springtime) orthophotography, with a funding component for state matching and buy-up options, the IndianaMap could benefit substantially.

Read the latest progress NDOP has been making in their spring meeting summary>.