Mapping out Geospatial Uses

Geospatial, as a strict term, means data that is related to a location. In the government space, Geospatial has been used interchangeably with GIS - or Geographic Information Systems - which refers to technology that uses geospatial data. GIS has long been a key technology for the military and intelligence communities to help map out and gain visibility into areas for combat or missions. But as the availability of geographic data grows through the use of GPS applications, drones, and IoT technologies, the use of GIS is expanding across government.

GIS is a key tool in disaster response helping overlay available resources and assets onto maps of areas impacted by floods or fires. It can also be used to map in real time the location of hazards such as downed power lines.

GIS is also being used by law enforcement. In one case, a boy had gone missing, suspected to be abducted. The boy posted a photo to Instagram and the image, taken from what seemed to be an apartment window, included a sign on a bank across the street. An analyst looked up branch locations and cross-referenced the addresses with online maps, but could not get a location that seemed to be a possible match. When they took that data and loaded it into a GIS system that took a top-down look at locations they were able to pinpoint the location of the child.

Urban sprawl and growth is also being managed with GIS. The city of Durham, NC uses aerial imagery to get a better look at changes being done to properties that impact land use, water runoff, and drainage.

There are several upcoming events focused on GIS as well as others that include discussion of the application of geospatial technology. Continue reading

In the Event of an Emergency: Ensuring Government is Disaster-Ready

With a rash of recent natural disasters, weird weather patterns, and a few months of Hurricane season to go, we wanted to look at disaster recovery practices - beyond the basics. We all know it is critical to have backups for your backups, but sometimes that's not even enough.

Last year, when the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico were impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, they lost a lot of government data. Although they had backups of their data stored in different locations, all of these locations were on the island. In Puerto Rico, first responders were trying to make a map of shelter locations, hospitals and flood zones. They started with a spreadsheet containing information on 450 shelters and had to correlate that information with other datasets. Once the data was merged, they found they only had complete data for 88 of the 450 shelters. Only half of those 88 shelters could be mapped using Google, leaving the team with an incomplete picture and a lot of manual work to identify and publicize shelter locations. Continue reading

Planning for the Worst: Making Disaster Recovery a Priority

Hurricanes, wildfires, gun violence, data breaches. It's been a rough news cycle and an even rougher reality. As painful as it is to think about these recent events, it is important for organizations to plan for the worst. This includes the logistical (if we lose access to our building, how will we work?), the technical (how do we maintain access to our data and IT systems?), and the personal (how do we contact and support employees during a disaster?).[Tweet "Hurricanes, wildfires, gun violence, data breaches. Be prepared for any disaster. #GovEventsBlog"]

Lucky for those of us who shudder at thinking about worst-case scenarios, there are professionals whose job it is to map out a plan that can be used in the event of disaster. These disaster recovery experts share theoretical and tactical guidance at a number of events throughout the year. Below are some upcoming events listed on GovEvents that can help anyone be better prepared for a disaster:[Tweet "Planning for the Worst: Making Disaster Recovery a Priority. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading