URISA's 2010 ESIG™ Award Process Opens / Previous Winners Encourage Participation

January 14, 2010 (Des Plaines, IL) - The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) has recently posted the 2010 application materials for its prestigious Exemplary Systems in Government (ESIG) Awards. The awards recognize exceptional achievements in the application of geospatial information technology that have improved the delivery and quality of government services.

Previous ESIG Winners encourage GIS Professionals to participate:

• "I believe the award has done two things for me professionally.  The first relates to leadership.  The award was a source of pride for my team and reinforced the team’s belief in my ability to pull all the pieces together to develop a product worthy of national recognition and their ability to be successful in their roles.  The second relates to credibility.  Many of the District’s senior leaders have little experience in GIS.  However, many of these leaders are familiar with URISA.  Receiving this award has reinforced their decision to entrust me with this large, complex project and has demonstrated that I can deliver despite the statistics related to failed and overly expensive IT projects." - Don Nehmer, Capital Program Business Manager, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, WI: SewerView, 2009 ESIG Enterprise Systems Category - Distinguished System
• “It was an honor to receive the ESIG award  from URISA this past year. By participating in the ESIG award process we were able to exercise another reason to evaluate our system, by doing so we were able to find ways to improve our current system. We also received local media exposure because of the ESIG award, this helped us inform the Forsyth County public of how we were applying GIS for public safety in their county. This award also validated all of the hard work and development that went into this system, this helped the GIS department fortify a trust with the Forsyth County Administration.” - John Kilgore, GISP, GIS Director, Forsyth County, GA: GIS Mobile Emergency Response System (ERS), 2009 ESIG Single Process System Winner
• "By participating in the ESIG process we are able to demonstrate how GIS technology benefits the whole organization in a very broad scope. Winning the award also greatly increased  “GIS awareness” in the organization. The project eventually received an internal “City Manager Award”, boosting the importance of GIS in the organization’s technology environment." - Nianwei Liu, GISP, Senior System Analyst, City of Charlotte, NC: Virtual Charlotte, 2009 ESIG Enterprise Systems Category Winner
• "One of the most rewarding aspects of participating in the ESIG Awards process was the rare opportunity to formally acknowledge the outstanding efforts of our staff and regional partner agencies for their collaborative work. Recognition of their achievements by URISA's respected community of GIS professionals and peers has provided quite a charge." - Eric Brandt, GISP, GIS Program Manager, Lane Council of Governments, OR: Regional Land Information Database (RLID), 2009 ESIG Enterprise Systems Category - Distinguished System

Applications may be submitted in two categories, Single Process and Enterprise Systems:

• SINGLE PROCESS SYSTEMS - Systems in this category are outstanding and working examples of applying information system technology to automate a specific SINGLE process or operation involving one department or sub-unit of an agency. The system application results in extended and/or improved government services that are more efficient and/or save money.
• ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS - Systems in this category are outstanding and working examples of using information systems technology in a multi-department environment as part of an integrated process. These systems exemplify effective use of technology yielding widespread improvements in the process(es) and/or service(s) involved and/or cost savings to the organization.

Applications must be submitted by May 3, 2010. Winners in each category will be recognized at URISA's 48th Annual Conference, September 28-October 1, 2010 in Orlando, Florida.
    
For more information or to review  winning submissions, visit http://www.urisa.org/esig or call (847) 824-6300.