Surveying, Mapping and GIS

I'm planning on attending at least part of the ESRI Federal User Conference next week - it's always good to get together with others working in the Federal community, to cross-pollinate ideas, talk, and see all the great things going on...

The details, from: http://www.esri.com/events/feduc/

GIS: The Geographic Approach for the Nation

Explore what geographic information system (GIS) technology can do for your agency at the largest geospatial conference dedicated to federal government. Whatever your GIS experience, the FedUC will give you the knowledge and resources you need to apply geography to problem solving, decision making, and accomplishing your missions.

Join other leaders, decision makers, and GIS professionals February 18–20, 2009, in Washington, D.C.

February 18–20, 2009
Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Washington, D.C.

Agenda-at-a-Glance

2009 Agenda [PDF]

Wednesday, February 18
9:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m.	Plenary Session
2:30 p.m.	Keynote Speaker
3:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.	GIS Solutions EXPO and Map Gallery Reception
Thursday, February 19
8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.	Concepts of GIS Sessions
	Paper Sessions
	Technical Workshops
8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.	Map Gallery
8:30 a.m.–6:00 p.m.	Hands-On Learning Center
10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.	GIS Solutions EXPO
4:00 p.m.–5:30 p.m.	Industry Focus Session
5:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.	Thursday Night Social
Friday, February 20
8:30 a.m.–noon	Paper Sessions
	Technical Workshops
	Industry Focus Sessions
9:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.	User Group Meetings
Noon–2:00 p.m.	Closing Session

Who Should Attend and Why

Take the Geographic Approach

The FedUC is the ultimate resource when it comes to using geospatial technology in government. The conference offers presentations from technical and industry experts, valuable insight from your colleagues, and the latest solutions that fit your agency. Professionals across organizations are invited to discover effective and efficient ways to meet goals, overcome challenges, and address issues.

What You'll Experience

• Hear from Jack
  Explore the future of GIS in government with ESRI president Jack Dangermond during the Plenary Session. Listen to him and a team of experts share what you can do with ArcGIS 9.3 in your organization. Plus, watch real-world demonstrations of ways government agencies are leveraging GIS.
• Stay up-to-date
  Learn about the newest ArcGIS tools and capabilities. Hear firsthand from ESRI staff, your peers, solution providers, and consultants as you attend paper sessions, technical workshops, and the GIS Solutions EXPO.
• Network with your colleagues and ESRI staff
  Build relationships with government and GIS professionals from both the public and private sectors as well as ESRI staff and business partners. Connect during sessions, exhibit times, and the evening reception.
• Increase your knowledge of GIS
  Discover more about how GIS works and what it can do for your team and agency. See ways GIS is being used—from data sharing to security to budget control. Attend presentations given by professionals from across the nation and learn about successful implementations, best practices, tips, and tricks.
• Learn how to meet your agency’s needs
  From compliance and accountability to visualizing patterns and trends, find out how taking the geographic approach improves your operations and decisions. Whether you work in federal, state, or local government, see how GIS can meet your organization’s unique needs.
• Examine the most advanced technology
  Experiment with state-of-the-art tools you can use right away. Learn about recent developments for geotechnologies in your fields, from hardware, software, and data solutions to innovative applications and services.
• Get your questions answered
  Pose your questions about GIS software, data, and implementation to ESRI staff members. Meet for a quick one-on-one discussion or set up a meeting to brainstorm and discuss project plans.

See geography in action.

If you are also attending and want to meet up, by all means, drop a line - dsmith (at) synergist-tech.com - while I have a few meetings, both inside, during FedUC, and a few outside meetings in the DC area next week, I will generally try to make FedUC my base of operations and will blog wherever conditions permit (if conference WiFi is available and/or my AT&T 3G service cooperates).

Also, I will try to post updates from my phone and laptop via Twitter - http://twitter.com/DruidSmith using the hashtag #feduc - if others are attending, I'd suggest using #feduc as well, tools such as TweetGrid will be helpful for tracking twitter traffic in realtime - here's a sample 1x1 TweetGrid already set up for tracking #feduc: http://tweetgrid.com/grid?l=0&q1=%23feduc

I am hoping to catch the Plenary, and am hoping to see what discussion ensues relating to the passage of the Stimulus bill, infrastructure investment and planning and National Spatial Data Infrastructure - I also hope to see old friends, and am looking forward to it...