On Tuesday May 17, 2005 at the Pyle Center on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, a full-day workshop was conducted to build the case to Wisconsin state agency managers and staff for better GIS coordination. Made possible with funding from the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), it presented some of the business demands driving the need for improved GIS coordination in the state.
Workshop presentations and results are now posted and available at http://enterprise.state.wi.us/home/tlc/GIS/wk050517.htm.
The workshop featured several speakers from outside Wisconsin: Zsolt Nagy, North Carolina Center for Geographic Information and Analysis; Chris Kannan, North Carolina National Spatial Data Infrastructure Partnership Office; and Eric Swanson, Michigan Center for Geographic Information. These speakers related experiences in their states where GIS coordination has been implemented successfully and with beneficial results.
The most tangible result of the event thus far is a Wisconsin Land Information Association project funded by the FGDC to develop a strategic plan for GIS coordination in Wisconsin. Further work at the state agency level appears to be on hold pending the arrival of the new Geographic Information Officer.