Keynotes

Transforming the Government-Citizen Relationship
Donald Cooke, ESRI

Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) is used in operations ranging from the Open Street Map to user feedback channels for Google Maps and personal navigation devices. The biggest challenge for VGI is turning a large number of citizen reports into the authoritative data needed for various map applications. Don will present commercial and “open” VGI programs currently operated by Google, TomTom, Garmin and the Open Street Map Consortium.

ESRI’s new Community Maps program takes a unique slant on VGI by appealing to authoritative government GIS agencies to collaborate on building a global map at scales down to 1:1000. The Community Maps program is part of a broad initiative aimed at transforming civic engagement and streamlining relations between government and citizens by providing free applications and recommending information standards aimed at making government more open, efficient and transparent. This innovative program aims at employing collaborative approaches to assisting government operations in times of scarcity.

Donald CookeDonald Cooke is Community Maps Evangelist at ESRI. He has worked with digital mapping and geospatial technologies for 44 years, starting as a researcher in the New Haven Census Use Study. Don was a member of the Use Study team that developed the Dual Independent Map Encoding (DIME) method of computerizing street maps. The DIME innovation led directly to the nationwide Census Bureau TIGER files which constitute the most complete public domain street database in the world. In 1980, Don founded Geographic Data Technology, the first private company to produce and license digital maps as a product. GDT was a major contractor to the Census Bureau in creating the TIGER database; in 2004 Tele Atlas bought GDT for $100,000,000.

At GDT and Tele Atlas, Don served in many roles, most recently that of Chief Scientist. In the 1990s he performed pioneering work on GPS and digital map accuracy and was first to adapt the new Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) map standard, NSSDA (National Standard for Spatial Data Accuracy) to digital street maps. A recent Tele Atlas project determined accuracy of consumer GPS units to prove the viability of crowd-sourcing road alignments for personal navigation devices.

Don has written a wide range of publications, ranging from monthly columns in GIS magazines to "Fun with GPS", published by ESRI Press. He was a member of the National Academy of Science Mapping Science Committee in the early 1990s and currently serves on the NAS Panel to Review the 2010 Census. In 2007 he received the ESRI Lifetime Achievement award to complement URISA's Horwood award and election to the URISA Hall of Fame. He is a 1967 graduate of Yale and studied Civil Engineering Systems at MIT.

 

 

Design with Innovation
Ron Walters, ECOTONE PARTNERS

Since the birth of GIS nearly a half-century ago our world has become increasingly connected – our economies, our societies, our natural environments.  Also during this time the Wicked Problems facing us both globally and locally have become dramatically more threatening and seemingly incomprehensible.  Challenges ranging from global economic crisis to climate change to terrorism have proven unresponsive to established linear problem solving approaches.  As a result, there is an urgency for whole new approaches to problem solving.  Problem solving which takes full advantage of all that we know, while not being limited by the same.

My own interest in developing one of the first geographic information systems 40 years ago was driven by a determination to understand the natural environment in a way that we could create land use plans and environmental assessments which were truly viable.  As GIS applications grew to accommodate other data as well, I became more appreciative of its importance in connecting data that was otherwise disparate.  Inherent in a GIS philosophy is the fact that all data relates to a point on the earth, and so it is all connected.  This core principal of GIS parallels a core principal of many problems facing our world – they are connected.  This fact positions GIS and GIS thinking to be powerful tools for innovation in addressing the Wicked Problems of a connected world

The urgency for innovation in both policy and process requires new thinking.  One response, particularly from many in the business world, has been a growing interest in Design Thinking.  Design Thinking provides an alternative to the structured linear-problem solving processes symbolized by MBA methodologies.  Design Thinking provides a balance between knowledge and intuition.

During the past two years I have had the opportunity to roll out new classes at the University of Idaho now listed as “Unleashed Thinking.”  The classes are trans-disciplinary, breaking students out of educational silos and engaging them in intense, collaborative projects addressing problems well outside their comfort zones.  The students have surprised themselves and others with unreserved innovation, addressing problems ranging from “Redesign Congress” to “End involuntary homelessness in America” to “Making local communities net-positive.”  The transformative impact of these classes is resulting in some leaders at the University re-thinking curriculum and the need for student connections beyond their own disciplines, and engaging them boldly in addressing the challenging problems of our time.

Balancing this kind of unleashed thinking with well-grounded knowledge is critical. The world needs citizens of all backgrounds to engage our competencies in new ways, outside of our particular areas of education and experience, in order to provide fresh perspective in addressing problems both locally and globally.  The world of GIS offers an established wealth of data and knowledge, all connected by virtue of the core principal of GIS.  My interest is in exploring the further possibilities for utilizing these assets to design with innovation.  Geographic “Innovation” Systems can provide a rich foundation for unleashed thinking. 

Donald CookeRon Walters is a strategic planning consultant, working with organizations to discover new possibilities and determine alternative futures. During more than three decades of experience he has provided insights and leadership for moving organizations to new levels of effectiveness and vision, defined and enabled turnarounds, brought disparate groups into alignment, and created entirely new programs and solution processes. The foundation for his work is a conviction that planning is a process of discovery, and unleashing the power of design transforms organizations and perspectives.

During the 70’s Ron pioneered the fields of geographic information systems and ecological planning, founding Comarc Systems, which completed major planning projects throughout the United States and Asia as well as developing and installing large scale planning and mapping systems for scores of corporations and government agencies. Ian McHarg, author of the landmark book “Design With Nature” observed “The competence developed by Comarc and Ron Walters constitutes the advanced threshold of computation in ecological planning. This competence brings nearer the dream of a democratic planning process.”

During the 80’s these planning methodologies were expanded beyond environmental issues to address economic, social and management changes, and the practice joined Deloitte, Haskins and Sells (now Deloitte Touche). There, Ron headed a national strategic planning practice unit, based in New York City and San Francisco.

Ron later chose to return to independent practice as a strategic planning consultant, affecting major change at the top for various organizations. Along the way, Ron also founded 21st Century Learning Institute, an organization dedicated to engaging parents and communities in their children’s learning. He was also the primary creator of “Ambassadors for Education”, a community awareness workshop distributed by the National Association of Partners in Education (NAPE).

Scores of clients have included The World Bank, International Paper, Federal Reserve Bank, John Hancock, Government of Indonesia, Fred Meyer Corporation, State of Alaska, ETAK Systems, Bank of America, U. S. Forest Service, PAHIO Resorts, Northwest Colorado Council of Governments, RJR Nabisco, SH Architecture, Oracle Corporation, San Francisco Unified School District and American Greetings. Beginning in April of 2008, Ron served as a Principal for the global architectural firm NBBJ, providing leadership for the establishment of a new transdisciplinary consulting studio focusing on enterprise strategy and human centered design. Currently, Ron is teaching Design Thinking at the University of Idaho.

Ron has been a frequent speaker at various conferences and educational forums, including speeches at the White House, the United Nations, and a commencement address at the University of Idaho. He has served on a variety of boards including the San Francisco Arts Education Foundation, the University of Idaho Foundation, the Lopez Community Center Association, and is Chairman of the University of Idaho College of Art and Architecture Advisory Council. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Idaho, and completed studies at the Stanford – AEA Executive Institute.