Call for Participation

September 28-October 1, 2010
Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek
Orlando, Florida

You are invited to participate in GIS-Pro 2010, URISA’s 48th Annual Conference for GIS Professionals.  Proposals for presentations, interactive discussions, roundtables, and other content is invited and should fit in to one or more of the conference themes below.  These themes were developed through interactive discussions with the participants at URISA’s 2009 Annual Conference in Anaheim, online survey responses, and input from Dr. Barry Wellar, 2009 Keynote speaker. 

Please clearly identify the theme in to which you believe your idea best fits, in addition to clearly and succinctly describing your idea for a presentation or session.

Conference Themes

• Value of GIS – The value of GIS can theoretically be quantified in terms of Return on Investment (ROI), but the methodology for determining ROI for GIS has not been standardized.  Proposals on this topic could include information on measured return on investment (as opposed to estimated cost/benefit analysis performed prior to implementation); various methods for funding and justifying funding for GIS implementation; and ways to articulate the financial/liability, economic, social or environmental impact of GIS for a jurisdiction, region or organization.
   
• One Government – This concept is about multiple jurisdictions and overlapping levels of government (federal, state/provincial, regional, local) acting collaboratively.  Proposals could include data sharing challenges and approaches; standardization and integration of data, applications and services; collaboration and communication that leads to a "one government" approach, and activities that promote government transparency and accountability.
   
• Stewardship – The notion of stewardship is one of service and support to a community of data users.  Often, the steward has a vested interest in maintaining particular data set(s) for his/her organization, but no mandate (or funding) to maintain it for the rest of the community.  Proposals could include data management, maintenance and integration topics, metadata issues and processes, data governance approaches, and methods for treating data as an infrastructure, or other, asset.
  
  
• Place-based Decisions – This is a hot topic in 2010 at every level. U.S. Congressional Hearings are even focusing on ways to drive decisions based on data and "place".  At last year’s Annual Conference, Dr. Wellar’s keynote focused on the need to manage various interrelated information infrastructures to make well-informed, accurate decisions, and the categorical need for GIS technology and geospatial sciences in that endeavor.  Proposals could include Web 2.0 and social networking tools as a means of bringing information together and presenting it appropriately to everyone; promoting GIS use to decision makers; better ways to visualize change spatially and temporally; and managing interdependent information infrastructures with geospatial tools and techniques.
  
  
• Training & Education – With geospatial technology changing more and more rapidly, the need for high quality training and education continues to grow.  And with the economic downturn, training budgets have taken a significant hit.  Proposals could include ideas and tactics for promoting K-12 geographic/geospatial education; use of social networking tools for training; and information on technology updates and issues.

Presentation Format & Requirements

Please submit your presentation idea via the online abstract submission form.

(The submission period has closed. If you have an idea for a presentation, please email it to Wendy Nelson as soon as possible.)

Be concise:

• Presentation titles must be descriptive and no more than 80 characters in length.
• Abstracts should be brief, no more than 250 words. Be sure to address the primary theme of the presentation.

On the submission form, you will be asked to note the presentation format that is best suited for your proposal (note that the committee may elect to change the format depending upon program needs and availability):

1. Individual presentation: Each presenter is allotted 20 to 30 minutes, plus 10 minutes for questions. Presentations of this type will be scheduled with one or two other presentations to form a cohesive session of 60 or 90 minutes in length.
2. Complete Interactive Session – The purpose of an interactive session is to encourage the participants to interact, enhancing collaborative problem solving and knowledge sharing.  Some examples of interactive sessions include:
   
   • Discussion with the entire group
   • Dynamically facilitated discussion on a particular topic with entire group

   A primary objective of these sessions should be problem solving, with a high level action plan for follow-up after the conference and the potential for reporting at subsequent conferences.

3. Panel: A 60-90 minute presentation which encourages interaction and discussion between the panelists and the audience. Panel presentations should include at least three panelists all speaking on different aspects of a particular topic.

Please note that:

• Presentations that market specific products and services will not be accepted, nor are presentations of this nature acceptable at the conference. Case studies should be presented by the sponsoring organization, not by vendors. (There will be separate vendor training opportunities available at the conference.)
• All abstract submissions are due on or before February 23, 2010.
• Abstracts should be no more than 250 words in length and should not include figures nor tables.
• All accepted presenters must register at the regular conference registration fee.

(The submission period has closed. If you have an idea for a presentation, please email it to Wendy Nelson as soon as possible.)

Presenter's Calendar

• Abstract Submissions Due: February 23, 2010
• Notification of Presentation Acceptance: March 19, 2010
• Confirmation of Participation: April 2, 2010
• Conference: September 28-October 1, 2010
• Papers/Presentations due for Conference Proceedings: October 18, 2010

Registration & Travel Information

For details about registration fees and the conference site - Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek - click here.

Preliminary Conference Schedule

Monday, September 27, 2010

• URISA Board of Directors Meeting
• Chapter Leaders Forum
• Half-day Asset Management Workshop & AMS Technical Tour at DisneyWorld

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

• Training Courses
• Committee Meetings

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

• Opening Keynote Address
• Exhibits
• Concurrent Educational Sessions & Training Courses
• Lunch
• Committee Meetings
• Networking Reception

Thursday, September 30, 2010

• Awards Breakfast
• Concurrent Educational Sessions & Training Courses
• Exhibits
• Committee Meetings
• Networking Event

Friday, October 1, 2010

• Concurrent Educational Sessions & Training Courses
• Committee Meetings
• Plenary Session Invited Speaker
• URISA Annual Business Meeting

Saturday, October 2, 2010

• URISA Board of Directors Meeting

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Registration & Travel Information

Exhibitor Information - coming soon

Conference Committee

Conference Chair - Danielle Ayan, GISP, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
Program Chair - Geney Terry, GISP, El Dorado County, Placerville, California
Associate Program Chair - Claudia Paskauskas, GISP, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, Altamonte Springs, Florida
Past Chair - Mike Lovett, GISP, CDM, Maitland, Florida

Program Committee Members

• Jason Amadori, GISP, Data Transfer Solutions, Orlando, Florida
• Carl Anderson, GISP, Fulton County, Atlanta, Georgia
• Brenda Burroughs, Michael Baker Jr. Co., Orlando, Florida
• Kathrine Cargo, GISP, Orleans Parish Communications District, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Tom Conry, Fairfax County, Fairfax, Virginia
• Randy Fusaro, US Census Bureau, Washington, DC
• Lee Hartsfield, GISP, Tallahasee-Leon County GIS, Tallahasee, Florida
• Alex Hepp, Pictometry International, Rochester, New York
• Rob Houston, GISP, CDM, Dallas, Texas
• Allen Ibaugh, GISP, Data Transfer Solutions, Orlando, Florida
• Wansoo Im, Vertices, New Brunswick, New Jersey
• Randal Krejcarek, GISP, City of Delray Beach, Florida
• Al Little, City of Hamilton, Ontario Canada
• Bob Marmion, GISP, Montgomery Township, Belle Mead, New Jersey
• Bill Mumbleau, GISP, Kleinfelder – Redlands, California
• Hilary Perkins, GISP AICP, Webster Groves, Missouri
• Donna Phillips, GISP, City of Hayden, Idaho
• Jonathan Posner, GISP, CDM, Irvine, California
• Milo Robinson, Federal Geographic Data Committee, Reston, Virginia
• Martin Roche, GISP, GeoPlanning Services, Orlando, Florida
• Yvon Sevigny, GISP, Ville de Montreal, Quebec Canada
• Mark Sievers, Sievers & Associates, Altamonte Springs, Florida
• Ken Sipos, GISP, Philadelphia, PA
• Cy Smith, GISP, State of Oregon DAS/Geospatial Enterprise Office, Salem, Oregon
• Karen Stewart, GISP, ESRI Canada, Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
• Mohammad Tariq, GISP, Peak Technology Solutions Inc, Washington, DC
• David Wallis, GISP, Cowlitz County, Kelso, Washington
• Will Walter, GISP, PBS&J, Tampa, Florida
• Michael Waltuch, GISP, ESRI, New York, New York
• Tobias Wolf, GISP, HDR Inc, San Diego, California

Workshop Chairs
Keri Brennan, GISP, The Schneider Corporation, Indianapolis, Indiana
David Lanter, GISP, CDM, Voorhees, New Jersey

Without the volunteer members of the Conference Committee, there would be no conference.
We thank them in advance for their amazing efforts!

Conference Sponsor

URISA, the Association for GIS Professionals - Founded in 1963, the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) is a nonprofit association for professionals involved in improving urban and regional environments through the use of information technology. For more information, visit www.urisa.org