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Strategy, De-Siloing Among GIS Ideas at Little Hoover

State oversight officials heard about agencies' work in GIS from a representative of Esri and discussed the extent to which being strategic and de-siloing data could enable further progress.

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State agency use of geographic information system (GIS) technology is deep and longstanding but not universal across the enterprise, an Esri representative told the Little Hoover Commission on Thursday during a presentation that highlighted needs and accomplishments.

Esri, the Redlands-based mapping technology company, partners with around 1,200 government agencies nationally. But Matthieu Denuelle, who's in sales for Esri's state practice, told commissioners the company collaborates only with about 50 “individual users” or state agencies out of more than 200. He name-checked the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) and Caltrans as two agencies that have partnered with Esri for more than 20 years, and he described the state’s overall GIS stance as mature. The oversight commission took no action, but members commented on the power of GIS.

"What I think we've heard is that the impact of GIS in government can be very valuable," Vice Chairman Sean Varner told Techwire afterward. Among the takeaways:

• State GIS efforts would benefit from an engaged center. Asked by Commissioner David Baier “how good” California is at GIS compared to other states, Denuelle said the state is doing well, but advancement has remained focused on specific business process, resulting in data remaining siloed, undiscovered and not helping inform policy-makers.

“It’s a wheel without a hub?” asked Baier. “Correct,” said Denuelle.

• A blueprint or strategy could help energize and unify the state’s GIS usage. Baier asked to what extent “is this technological gap in the center” linked with the lack of a comprehensive centralized strategy, of using GIS through artificial intelligence and machine learning to make the information more actionable. The Esri representative said “a more centralist, concerted effort” would be a help.

“The expertise is there. It’s more having championship, leadership and an overall strategy for the state divisions,” Denuelle said.

• The state has led in its use of GIS to prepare for and respond to disaster. The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) uses the California Preparedness Platform (Cal PreP) Web mapping app to offer situational awareness during events. This further empowers personnel and partners in emergency operations.

Cal Fire digitizes wildland fire perimeter data as it happens and historically back to 1950. The agency has also digitized its inspection process. That enables it to do a better job of enforcing inspections and more quickly determining what’s impacted during a fire, then pushing information out to the public, the Esri rep said.

New Commissioner Dion Aroner asked about the information’s availability in real time, and recalled a perceived lack of information during wildfires in Paradise and Santa Rosa. That, Denuelle said, has changed during the last roughly 12 months, with Cal Fire making available all inspections data from impacted structures — enabling agencies ranging from the Department of General Services (DGS) to the California Department of Social Services to make use of that data.

“Now, if you go to DGS, they are aware how things are going when there is a fire," Denuelle said. "They actually can look at impacted structures. And it’s live.”

Theo Douglas is Assistant Managing Editor of Industry Insider — California.