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Kessey-Dewitt Publications, in Association with URISA, has recently released the second Edition of the GIS Management Handbook—a major revision of the 2009 edition. Below is a brief description and the attached flyer provides additional information. Contact: URISA to order this book
Description of Book:
Published by Kessey Dewitt Publications in association with URISA, 460 pp., 2019
ISBN13: 978-0-9824093-1-2
This book is a comprehensive guide and reference to the field of GIS management. It provides practical information on the development, implementation, and operation of GIS programs and projects—for a full range of public sector, not-for-profit, and private sector organizations and companies. This book takes a practical approach providing clear descriptions of concepts, issues, and practices that may be used in operational to improve and maximize the efficiency of GIS programs and projects.
Learn what I Learned! A BeSpatial - Eastern Ontario Regional Event
When: TBD
Where: Queen's University, David Gordon Conference Centre, Kingston, ON
421 Union St W, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6
It is a great opportunity to connect to GIS professionals in Eastern Ontario and learn how people are using GIS at their organizations.
Register
When: TBD Where: Donald Gordon Conference Centre 421 Union Street West,
Kingston, ON K7L 4L6
Interested in showcasing your GIS program?
If your educational institution provides a unique and meaningful experience that will help the growth of future GIS professionals, please send us a profile of your program.
Coming soon! We are planning to introduce a dedicated Education web space that will showcase geospatial and information programs, provide information and updates on our student mentor program and feature opportunities for students to volunteer.
Please email your submissions to our President, Susan to be featured on our website and eNewsletter.
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The Data Driven Intelligence Working Group & the Public Sector Service Delivery Council is excited to share the Analytics Playbook.
The Analytics Playbook will be an effective tool for sector organizations to get started on their analytics journey as well as advance up the maturity curve to implement more advanced tools and methodologies.
"We have already heard the document has had an impact in helping jurisdictions advocate internally for leadership buy-in and resources to build analytics capacity. Our plan is to keep this document evergreen and incorporate leading practices and cases as the sector and environment evolves. We look forward to keeping you up to date in the future. We ask you to provide us with relevant use cases you feel would be pertinent."
BeSpatial issued a poll on August 14 seeking your input on program topic areas
We've heard back and the results are below;
BeSpatial / urisa ontario will be reviewing these topics of interest at our upcoming strategic planning session. Your feedback on this poll is much appreciated!
Below are geospatial and Information focused topics identified from our BeSpatial'19 post-event survey:
If you have an presentation that would appeal to our geospatial and information community, please complete the presentation submission form or contact John to discuss. Program content is to be public sector and/or industry recognized and non-corporate aligned.
If you are a private sector partner, please consider inviting a public sector client to co-present with you. Sponsored opportunities for the private sector are available.
Dear fellow BeSpatial / urisa ontario members,
I am so excited to be your new President. I had to think back, but the last time I was President, it was of Maids Hall, Women’s residence at the University of Guelph a long, long time ago! I have been working the GeoSpatial field since Graduating from Sir Sandford Fleming in 1998. I have worked in GIS software with Avenza, cartographic map production at Western University, photogrammetric map production at Triathlon, and for the last 10 years, LiDAR business development with Airborne Imaging.
My membership with BeSpatial Ontario, has always been a complement to my “day” job, especially through attending the AGM and various seminars over the years. I have been a member on and off for several years, however became Eastern Section Director in 2017. It has always been a way for me to stay connected with new technology and people in the industry. The key benefits of participating in an Ontario-focused geospatial and information community are to network with folks who have common challenges and share creative and new solutions to those challenges.
BeSpatial Ontario services include networking and knowledge sharing opportunities with colleagues and industry partners. Membership privileges include discount on events, complimentary webinars, regional events, and an annual program event and workshop with over 250 participants, BeSpatial Ontario works closely with partner associations such as AOLS, GoGeomatics, Go Open Data, MISA to provide added value program offerings.
During my two year term I would like to focus on 2 things:
I look forward to hearing from you and meeting you at one of our events.
Sincerely,
Susan Muleme Kasumba
Back L to R: Andrew Lyszkiewicz, Strategy & Outreach, Scott Barbacki, Communications, Mirjana Strajin, Programs, Melanie Wawryk, Western Section, Al Little, Immediate Past President, Kyle Murdoch, Northern Section & Hanna Sjostrom, Member Services,
Front L to R: Catherine Fitzgerald, President, Khas Selvarajah, Communications, Irene Rubinstein, Education, Dianne Adams, Finance, Susan Muleme Kasumba, Eastern Section, Sandra Crutcher, Executive Director & Jasna Filipovic, BeSpatial.
Missing: Brock Kingston, Northern Section, Jeremy Luymes, Web
The sun literally shone on this conference - it was the first day of true springtime weather in the Greater Toronto Area. The Communications, Culture and Technology building of the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus, was an ideal venue for the day with its massive windows that let in lots of light and its easily accessible outdoor spaces. Appropriately for a meeting of spatial specialists, the interior layout of the building could be a fun challenge to one’s wayfinding skills.
President Catherine Fitzgerald led a brisk Annual General Meeting with an overview of URISA and its achievements during the past year, and a look ahead to its goals. President Fitzgerald also announced that URISA will be re-branded to BeSpatial with the launch of a new communications campaign. All committees will offer opportunities for members to participate in this new direction.
The conference had four themes:
View Presentations
There were 23 sessions in all and with each lasting 30 minutes, it was possible to attend a good mix of sessions according to one’s interests, with a lot of networking in between sessions. Another option was to check out the exhibitions by Esri Canada, Teranet, Consortech, The Association of Land Surveyors, Cansel and First Base Solutions.
BeSpatial ‘18 wrapped up with awards and door prizes and transitioned to BeSocial ’18 at the UTM campus pub.
Be sure to complete the BeSpatial ’18 evaluation survey! Your feedback will help us improve future events and can assist us in providing more value to the membership.
BeSpatial Evaluation Survey
Photos of BeSpatial ’18 can be downloaded from:
BeSpatial Photos
Mark your calendar for BeSpatial ’19 in May 2019!
Tracey P. Lauriault of Carleton University presented the keynote “Towards an Open Smart City”. A concept related to the Internet of Things, Smart Cities have large numbers of electronic data collection sensors throughout an urban area in order to better manage assets and resources.
This engaging talk covered the many complex issues emerging from the development of Smart Cities, particularly transparency, privacy and data residency. Currently, city governments do not control their city’s smart grids. Most of the technologies are developed and owned by private foreign corporations, who collect different data and have different data structures. While Smart Cities present vast opportunities for better understanding and managing urban processes – everything from traffic flows to crime and safety – care must be taken to ensure that the data collected is stored and shared in appropriate ways. Who governs the Smart City? is a question that has yet to be answered.
Professor Lauriault pointed out that all technology exists in a social, political and economic context, but is not necessarily suited to addressing social, political or economic problems. Additionally there are concerns about public resources being diverted from social programs towards investments in Smart City technology. Public-Private Partnerships may be an option for financing smart grids.
Calling for greater participation among geospatial professionals towards the development of Smart Cities, Professor Lauriault said they are by training ideal partners for the project. Data management and spatial analysis are our mainstays, and so we will have insights into the best ways to leverage the new streams of data from smart grids.
Attendance at URISA Ontario events count for certification.
For more info: Visit GISCI
