GIS: States' New Social Media

When New York State wanted to determine which of its communities had adequate highspeed Internet access and which needed help building out broadband connectivity, geographic information system (GIS) technology played a central role in that task. But the technology not only produced broadband coverage maps; it also became a platform for fostering understanding and participation among government, citizens, and affected industries.

After building a broadband coverage map using a predictive model, the state reached out to local governments, encouraging them to validate data used to create the maps. New York also involved telecommunications and cable companies-that are sometimes wary of broadband initiatives for competitive reasons-and asked them to verify the information the state was collecting.

"We decided to extend this one step further and let the public see and help us validate the maps," said Dr. Melodie Mayberry-Stewart, New York State CIO and director of the Office for Technology. Citizens now can view online coverage maps and help correct the maps based on the broadband connectivity in their communities. Their personal experiences with broadband coverage are used to ensure the state's maps are accurate.

"We have citizens engaged in updating our map," said Dr. Mayberry-Stewart. "So now we have an even better picture because we're getting information right at the source-the consumer or potential consumer."

Not only does stakeholder participation create a more accurate view of broadband coverage throughout New York State, it also helps defuse the divisiveness that can surround public policy decisions by providing full transparency, she added.

"I can clearly show on a map a community that has no broadband capability or is severely underserved, and we are bringing them connectivity. Who can argue with that? It is now a fact and not our unproven anecdotal implication," Dr. Mayberry-Stewart said. "So we think GIS is a very important tool for promoting better understanding and engagement among citizens. That is the power of transparency."

From Data Creation to Data Analysis

New York's experience offers a clear example of the impact that GIS can have on governance and public policy development.

For years, government planners and public safety personnel have relied on GIS professionals to produce accurate maps of physical objects- everything from highway centerlines to the perimeters of wildfires. But technological advances now put much more GIS data and functionality within reach of mainstream users-and that's having a transformational impact on government.

Public agencies started by integrating GIS into service delivery processes, resulting in citizen services that are both better and more efficient. For instance, GIS is now built into 311 caller information systems, making them more responsive to community needs. GIS also enhanced permitting systems, snowplow routing, and crime analysis, making these operations more effective.

Now GIS-powered executive dashboards can give key decision makers better insight into the impact of policy choices. What's more, GIS is improving citizens' acceptance of public policy decisions by giving them a clearer understanding of why and how these choices are made and involving them directly in the decision-making process.

"The real advance has been coupling GIS with Web hosting, where GIS functionality can be hosted on a server and be accessed and made available on a Web services model," said John Young, director of enterprise solutions for ESRI and former CIO of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. "That makes it much easier for an executive to operate against simple workflows and simple tools. It also becomes a lot easier for the enterprise to provide those executive dashboards because they can host them on enterprise servers instead of in the executive office."

Government CIOs say they're seeing growing interest among program managers and executive decision makers in GIS-powered information and analysis tools.

"We want to get the technology into the hands of those who can