It’s no surprise that the National Association of Counties (NACo) established the Geographic Information System (GIS) Subcommittee over 25 years ago. There was a general sense that GIS was more than a technology, but rather a new way of thinking about the places we govern and respond to our community needs. The applications of GIS fit into the various government disciplines workflows and focused work. Esri became a long-standing strategic partner to work along side our county leaders to keep pace with the evolving applications of GIS. 

To complement our work to support governments, Esri launched a Public Sector CIO Summit eight years ago as a means of providing executives a briefing into the current and future status of GIS technology, provide examples of best practices for applying location into their own organizations and the opportunity to develop long-standing relationships between individuals building their integrated information systems and GIS strategic plans. NACo and hundreds of county leaders have always been part of the summit. This year we have opted for a much more condensed, virtual format to help governments get the information they need to keep their organizations moving forward. The theme for this year’s event is Navigating the Intersection of Location and IT. It will be an intimate engagement held on February 3, 2021. Esri and NACo would love for you to join us for a few hours to connect, learn and hopefully be inspired. You can learn more about the event here.

From Early Adopters to Innovators

County governments are among the earliest adopters of geographic information system (GIS). Counties in many ways blazed a trail for others across the globe to follow. Early use evolved around the automation of mapping for land records, urban planning, public works and the engineering disciplines. My own foray into GIS came during my employment at the County of Riverside, CA, over 30 years ago. Colleagues from the assessor, planning, transportation, flood control, education and engineering departments all embarked on a journey that reshaped the way we maintained our data, interacted with one another and shared information.

Today, nearly every government discipline has found ways to progress their operations and approaches through location-centric thinking and GIS technology. The combination of forward-thinking county leadership and the application of GIS are ensuring homeland security, battling wildfires and floods, reducing crime, addressing homelessness, prioritizing housing affordability and bringing an end to opioid addiction. 2020 saw the use of GIS applied to helping counties respond and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. These spatial tools helped monitor the disease, get necessary supplies to at-risk populations quickly, stand up broadband to support virtual educational environments, ensure business continuity, keep small businesses surviving and place medical resources where they were needed. It is a long list, but it barely covers all the activities counties truly stepped up to, with GIS as a foundational technology.

Moving from Inspiration to Shared Experiences

Reflecting on the progress counties have made demonstrates how GIS continues to evolve both as a technology and as a mission critical element in modernization efforts. The Esri Public Sector CIO Summit is an excellent way to develop your implementation road map for 2021 and beyond. The event presents a vision from Esri founder Jack Dangermond, features the work of counties like Maricopa County, AZ, and introduces new product launches that will propel your efforts forward. Companies like Esri, the leading choice of GIS for counties, has become integrated with or uses a wide variety of companion technologies to advance our thinking and approach. Together we are taking on challenges such as workforce automation, mobility, operations dashboards, machine learning, artificial intelligence, civic engagement and are expanding data-driven approaches to our work. The summit is a perfect vehicle to hear from brilliant, hard-working people who continue to push the boundaries of applying place to evolve government services.

We hope you will join us February 3, 2021 to kick the year off right.