MetroGIS Meeting Shared Geospatial Needs

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MetroGIS Meeting Shared Geospatial Needs
Functions, Structure, Achievements and Benefits
Briefing For Regional GIS Initiative Capital
Region Board Alberta, Canada
August 19, 2008
Recipient of URISAs Exemplary Systems in
Government (ESIG) Award
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Todays Topics

• What is MetroGIS?
• Why Does It Exist and How Created?
• What are MetroGISs Core Functions?
• Benefits What and Who
• Lessons Learned
• Challenges Ahead

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Organizational Context
Complexity of Relationships
Minnesota
3000 square miles 950,000 land parcels 296
local units of government
Metropolitan Area
7 Counties
191 Minor Civil Divisions
59 School Districts
39 Watershed Management Organizations
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What is MetroGIS?
MetroGIS

• Is an organization not a project or program
• Created to achieve inter-organizational
  solutions to shared geospatial needs
  (institutionalize data sharing)
• Serves the 3,000 square mile, seven-county,
  Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area
  (Minnesota)
• Has participating and benefiting interests
  among

• Local, regional, state, and federal government
  (300)
• Private sector and non profits interests
• Utilities
• Colleges and universities.

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MetroGISs Vision
Organizations serving the Twin Cities
Metropolitan Area are successfully collaborating
to use geographic information technology to solve
real world problems
Community Outcomes Sought (by way of enhanced
stakeholder capacities)

• Better Decisions Being Made
• Stronger Local (Regional) Economy
• More Informed Citizens
• Achieve Community Goals / Resolve Real World
  Problems
• Improve Quality of Life

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MetroGISs Mission
. to expand stakeholders' capacity to address
shared geographic information technology needs
and maximize investments in existing resources
through widespread collaboration of organizations
that serve the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.
Outcomes Sought Through Partnering/Collaboration

• Reduce Redundancies
• Improve Service Delivery
• Improve Collaboration with Adjoining
  Jurisdictions
• Leverage State and National Spatial Data
  Infrastructure Efforts

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The Situation in 1994 Factors Leading to
MetroGISs Creation

• Similar data needs were being met independently.
• Significant differences in data access policies
  and procedures.
• Few data standards existed and data documentation
  was rare.
• No effective way to locate existing data produced
  by others.
• Significant reduction in start-up costs resulting
  many new investments in GIS technology.
• Metropolitan Council recognized a need for parcel
  data produced by the seven counties (large fees
  hampered)

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MetroGISs Genesis

• Key First Steps
• Broad buy-in obtained to pursue concept of a
  regional GIS sponsored by the Metropolitan
  Council
• Strategic directions workshop set compelling
  policy foundation
• Created organizational structure key NOT
  subordinate to Metropolitan Council
• Achieved political legitimacy created Policy
  Board
• Defined shared information needs to drive
  collaborative data solutions (bundling capacity
  across organizations)
• Created MetroGIS DataFinder (node of
  NSDI Clearinghouse)

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MetroGIS A Decade of Fostering Collaboration
100K NSDI Grant, Fair-Share Finance Model,
Appropriative Org. Structure
Completed DataFinder Café reconstruction
Strategic planning retreat to launch region-wide
data sharing
Implemented Socioeconomic Web Resources page
Grand prize for web services development,
International Geog. Network Challenge
Identified 5 public-private partnering
opportunities
Adopted MetroGIS vision
Certificate of Commendation from GCGI
DataFinder Café launched
Executed parcel data sharing agreement
Census Bureau TLG TIGER endorsement
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003
2004 2005 2006
Visions adopted for regional AOU and
E911-compliant street centerline datasets
Significant enhancements to regional parcel
dataset
DataFinder launched
Endorsed priority business information needs
2000 Partnership MN Co-op. PS Award for regional
land cover solution
2002 MnAPA Planning Merit Award, URISA National
Exemplary Systems in Gov. Award
Agreement-in-principle for non-profit access to
parcel data hosted Imagining Possibilities
forum
Stakeholders endorse vision and appoint rep. to
Policy Board
Implemented regional parcel data solution
Metro Council accepts role as primary sponsor
Executed agreement for TLG view-only public
access to licensed data
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Defining Characteristics

• Foster Collaboration Function
• - Policy Makers Set Policy and Serve as
  Advocates
• - Consensus-based Decisions
• - Currently No Legal Standing BUT Recognize
  Need for to Achieve Cross-Sector Partnering
• Operations (Support Regional Solutions)
• - 10 stakeholders with aligned internal needs
• - Voluntarily carry out 23 community-defined
  responsibilities
• Focus is Broader than Data
• Component of the NSDI Fabric

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Core Functions/Services
Current

• Support a forum to foster better coordination
  through knowledge sharing and use of best
  practices.
• Facilitate effective long-term solutions to
  priority shared information needs - regional
  data solutions.
• Support an efficient mechanism for Internet-based
  data discovery and retrieval - DataFinder.

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Core Functions/Services
In progress

• Facilitate effective long-term solutions to
  priority shared application needs extension of
  regional data solutions.
• Provide an efficient mechanism for discovering
  and leveraging existing applications and web
  services ApplicationFinder.
• Achieve improved sharing with adjoining
  jurisdictions
• Collaborate with private sector to address shared
  needs

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Regional Data Solutions
Benefits of MetroGISs approach...

• Regional endorsed solutions work together -
  interoperable saves substantial time and
  effort for data set up prior to use
• Standardized capture and reporting of endorsed
  data permits easy apples-to-apples comparisons
  region-wide
• Builds trust in the data as the go-to source
  and over time higher quality data at less cost
  is the result
• Use of endorsed data focuses debate on issues
  and not competing data sources
• Means to fund enhancements desired by community
  when beyond a custodian's internal need

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DataFinderInternet Data Discovery and Retrieval
Tool
Suite of Functions
DataFinder Catalog
Metadata grouped by the 19 ISO Data Theme
Categories
DataFinder Search
Node of National GeoSpatial Data Clearinghouse
DataFinder Café
Bundles downloads selected data for specified
geographic extent, in multiple formats
- 850 downloads/mo. (2007) - 167
datafiles available
(www.datafinder.org)
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Who is Involved?
MetroGIS is a community initiative representing
a broad base of stakeholder interests serving the
Metro Area
Primary Focus Advisors/Partners

• Cities
• Counties
• Regional govt
• School districts
• Watershed districts

• Academic institutions
• State government
• Federal government
• Nonprofit organizations
• Private sector

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How is MetroGIS Organized?
Key principal - policy makers provide political
legitimacy, maintain relationships, and set
policy necessary to sustain broadly supported
solutions to shared geospatial needs
12 - Policy Makers (Primary Interests)
25 - Managers (All Stakeholder Interests)
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How is MetroGIS Supported?
Funding/support is provided as follows
1. Support to foster a collaborative environment.
The Metropolitan Council currently finances
this role in its capacity as MetroGISs
primary sponsor.
2. Support to sustain MetroGIS DataFinder.
The Metropolitan Council currently finances this
role in its capacity as MetroGISs primary
sponsor.
3. Support of agreed upon data custodial roles.
Ten stakeholder
organizations, with aligned internal needs,
voluntarily support a 23 community-defined
custodial roles for regional solutions to eight
shared information needs.
_______________ Seven counties, DNR,
Metropolitan Council, and U of M (CURA)
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MetroGIS A Micro NSDI
NSDI and MetroGIS are striving to minimize
duplication to produce and manage commonly needed
data. Each seeks to

• Establish standards and procedures that achieve
  efficiencies in producing, documenting,
  managing, discovering, accessing, and using
  geospatial data
• Establish reliable means to assemble geospatial
  data for regional solutions to shared
  information needs
• Leverage others investments in geospatial data
  and applications
• Foster working together to put principles into
  practice
• Foster opportunities to transfer knowledge

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Priority Shared Information Needs
First-Generation Priority Needs Defined May 1997

• Land use (existing)
• Census boundaries
• Where people live
• Land regulations
• Highway/road networks
• Socioeconomic characteristics
• Parcel identifiers

• Jurisdictional boundaries
• Street addresses
• Land use (planned)
• Rights to property
• Parcel boundaries
• Lakes, wetlands, etc.

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Regional Data Solutions
MetroGIS created a process to collaboratively
achieve regional solutions to shared information
needs.

• Currently Available
• 1. Census geography (1990 2000)
• 2. Land cover
• 3. MCD/county jurisdictional boundaries
• 4. Parcels
• 5. Planned land use
• 6. Socioeconomic characteristics of areas (Phase
  I)
• 7. Street centerlines and address ranges

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Census Geography

• 1990 and 2000 Census Geography reconstructed to
  align with endorsed regional street centerline
  dataset (TLG) and others.
• Effects in progress to foster US Census Bureaus
  use of locally-produced data in its products.

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Land Cover Data Collaborative
MLCCS

• The power of a standard to catalyze cooperation
  is demonstrated with this dataset
• Over 30 public and non-public interests have
  contributed data
• Over 90 of the region complete and last 10 is
  in progress.

May 2008
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Minor Civil Division Boundaries
Although MCD boundaries change within the region
as a result of annexations and other actions,
MetroGIS works to maintain the reliable and
current version of MCD boundaries that is needed
to manage public programs. Here, organizations
responsible for Section 8 housing programs within
the region are identified.
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Parcel Data

• 1 million parcels
• 66 attributes normalized across seven
  counties
• _________
• Downloadable by user- specified geographic
  extent via DataFinder Café

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Planned Land Use

• 2002 MnAPA Award
• Apples-to-apples comparison of 190
  independently adopted community land use plans
  for analysis in any combination.

This example is for a watershed district
comprised of portions of six cities.
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Street Centerline Network
Through MetroGIS, all public organizations have
access to robust Street Centerline data with
current addresses for the entire metropolitan
region. Here, the street centerline data is used
for transit planning by Metro Transit
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Socioeconomic Characteristics
http//www.datafinder.org/mg/socioeconomic_resourc
es/index.asp
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Regional Data Solutions
MetroGIS created a process to collaboratively
achieve regional solutions to shared information
needs.

• In Progress
• 1. Address points (all occupiable units)
• 2. Emergency preparedness
• 3. Existing land use
• 4. Highway and road networks (E911 compatible)
• 5. Lakes, wetlands, rivers
• 6. School and watershed district jurisdictional
  boundaries

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Regional Application Solutions
In 2007, MetroGISs focus on achieving
collaborative regional solutions to shared
information needs was expanded to include related
geospatial applications.
Now available

• Regional Geocoder Service
• GeoServices Finder

In progress

• Regional Mailing Label Service
• Standardized Address Point Creation Application

Potential

• Regional Land Management Information System?
• TBD - Cross-sector needs assessment in progress

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What Have We Learned?
(About creating and sustaining geospatial
collaboration)

• Collaboration is a choice.
• Regional cooperation will not just happen!
  Champions (someones job one) and continually
  documenting benefits are critical.
• Knowledge sharing activities are as important as
  the data sharing.
• Credibility requires involvement by a variety of
  key interests producer user, multiple
  professional disciplines, public private.
• Data users benefit in less time, effort, and
  expense when data works together across the
  entire region.
• County participation key to successful regional
  GIS but they benefit the least.

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MetroGIS Results
Significant progress has been made to address
shared geospatial needs of the MetroGIS community

• Implemented 8 regional data solutions to priority
  shared information needs
• DataFinder is a state-of-the-art node of the
  National Spatial Data Clearinghouse (Over
  10,000 downloads in 2007)
• Data sharing has become the norm. The more use
  the better the quality
• Special projects have greatly improved data
  quality and ease of access to commonly needed
  data
• Catalyst for related geodata activity beyond the
  Metro Area

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Benefits To All Stakeholders
MetroGIS has implemented a Performance Measures
program to measure progress toward its goals and
document benefits. Some examples

• Improved decision support
• Less redundancy in data development
• Improved efficiencies to locate, access, and
  prepare data produced by others for use.
• Improved attitude about sharing and more sharing.
• Increased sharing of knowledge and partnering
• Improved data distribution efficiencies for
  producers.
• See http//www.metrogis.org/benefits/t
  estimonials/index.shtml for
  stakeholder testimonials to the benefits of
  MetroGIS

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Major Challenges Ahead

• Establish partnerships with non-government
  interests who have similar information needs.
• Migrate to an organizational structure consistent
  with cross-sector partnering (possesses legal
  standing).
• Maintain relevancy with changing user and
  producer needs.
• Replace short-term sharing incentives with
  long-term policies that institutionalize the
  leveraging of investments.
• Establish working relationships with
  jurisdictions that adjoin the Metro Area to
  catalyze statewide standards and sharing.

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For More Information

• Policy Board Chair
• Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt
  Email victoria.reinhardt_at_co.ramsey.mn.us
• Phone [phone]
• Support Staff
• Randall Johnson, MetroGIS Staff Coordinator
• Email randy.johnson_at_metc.state.mn.us
• Phone [phone]
• MetroGIS General Website www.metrogis.org

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Handouts

• Awards and Recognitions
• 2008 and 2009 Work Plans
• 2008-2011 Business Plan (Executive Summary)

(http//www.metrogis.org/about/business_planning/2
008-2011_businessplan.pdf )
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Key Guiding Principles

• Seek greatest regional value when choosing among
  options
• Have active involvement of policy makers
• Build once, make available for use by many
• Have many champions from diverse perspectives
• Involve all relevant and affected perspectives

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Key Guiding Principles

• Rely upon consensus-based decision making
• Rely upon voluntary participation and compliance
• Funding is not the only way to contribute - data,
  equipment and people are also valuable
  partnership assets

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Resources Leveraged Through Partnerships
(To support agreed upon custodial roles for
regional solutions to priority shared geospatial
needs)