In the last newsletter, we asked you to respond to a survey about the Data Consortium.

The Data Consortium Survey was meant to inform DRCOG about the needs of the GIS professionals from local government in our region. Currently, DRCOG facilitates 2-3 consortium meetings per year and coordinates this quarterly newsletter. The purpose is to help us share information on our work, learn from one another, collaborate on joint projects, network, and brainstorm about innovative ways to use GIS in local and regional government.

We had 17 respondents to the survey (30% of our member governments and 9% of the recipients of this newsletter). The majority (41%) said that the primary reason they participate in the Data Consortium is to collaborate and network.  

The respondents indicated that they would like to see the following topics addressed through the Data Consortium:  

We asked the respondents to indicate the importance of several regional layers The following is a ranking of those layers:

1. Building Points/Addresses

2. Parcels

3. Jurisdictional Boundaries

4. Land Use

5. Bike Paths/Trails

6. Zoning

7. Building Footprints

8. Open Space

9. UGBA

In terms of data development and distribution, we asked what DRCOG's role should be. In summary, the respondents felt that DRCOG should be a coordinator, facilitator and project manager. DRCOG should continue to determine which data layers are of value to local governments and pursue their development and/or acquisition. DRCOG should serve as a central repository for data as well as serving as the hub for networking and connecting GIS professionals from different agencies. DRCOG should also merge local data into regional datasets as well as creating regional datasets from state and federal sources that local governments could use.

In addition to those roles listed above, respondents asked us to focus on long-term strategies related to large data acquisitions (imagery, planimetrics, LIDAR), to provide technical support to small communities,  to continue work on coordinated data requests/automated data links between agencies, and to influence regional open data policy. 

When asked what one thing we could change to make the DRDC better, the best response was "food at meetings." We hear you loud and clear. We wish we had food at meetings too.

Thanks to all who responded! Your feedback is essential to guide our efforts with the Data Consortium. We look forward to a productive 2015 with you all! 

OpenColorado Data Partners Survey Results

Article provided by Scott Primeau, President, OpenColorado.  Scott can be reached at scott.primeau@opencolorado.org.

Share Your Open Data Story - Take this Survey!

Denver Regional Equity Atlas User Stories

Article provided by Ashley Summers, Information Systems Manager, DRCOG.  Ashley can be reached at 303-480-6746 or asummers@drcog.org.

The DRAPP 2014 Project is coming to a close. Deliveries of the final tiled imagery has started and will continue until the end of January. The final data is also being loaded into a WMS for partners to use.  For entities that did not participate in this project, the final tiles and WMS will be available for purchase from MapMart in February 2015. Please contact Chris Sheil at csheil@mapmart.com for a quote.
After the completion of the DRAPP 2014 project, the imagery acquisition vendor, Kucera International, Inc. will begin work on Planimetric Feature Project. They will be using our 2014 imagery to collect building roofprints, edge of pavement, parking, sidewalks, driveways, and hydro features, as shown in the extent below. 

The data will delivered progressively as it is finished, starting in April 2015 and continuing through the end of the year. All data will be public domain.

This project is being funded by 24 regional partners and DRCOG. There is still time to participate and contribute funds! Please call Ashley Summers at 303-480-6746 for more information. 

As mentioned in our October newsletter, the FEMA/USGS LIDAR project that was initiated in the fall of 2013 is finally finished! The data, which includes classified points clouds, a Digital Evaluation Model (DEM), and contours, is available for download.

For point clouds, DEMs, and contours (all in UTM)- check the Office of Information Technology's (OIT's) new site, the Colorado GeoData Cache.

For contours (in State Plane) - check out our Regional Data Catalog [insert link]. The data is so large that we've split it up into smaller chunks that are easier to download. Some sections are split by elevation.  If you simply merge the "high" and "low" datasets back together after downloading, you will have a full section.  Please contact Josh Pendleton at 303-480-6784 or jpendleton@drcog.org if you need assistance. 

DRCOG 2015 Call for Data

Article contributed by Ashley Summers, Information Systems Manager at DRCOG. Ashley can be reached at 303-480-6746 or asummers@drcog.org.

DRCOG is about to issue its annual call for data. The request will go out next week and will ask local governments to submit the following datasets to DRCOG via our new Data Portal. 

1. Open Space
2. Zoning
3. Employment/Business Data
4. Building Permits
5. Bikes/Trails
6. County and Muni Boundaries
7. Parcels
8. Buildings/Addresses
9. Special Districts

How does DRCOG use local government data?
DRCOG uses data collected from its members to create regional datasets for planning, forecasting, and modeling regional transportation and development. For example, local data feeds UrbanSim (a land use model) and FOCUS (a transportation model) to create more accurate predictions for the future. We also use local data during Metro Vision scenario planning, DRAPP planning and TIP evaluations. A few illustrations of these processes can be found here.

Whenever possible, DRCOG compiles local data into publicly shareable regional datasets and makes them available on the DRCOG Regional Data Catalog. Currently, we provide Regional Open Space, County and Municipal Boundaries and Regional Bike Inventory as a free download.

How should local governments submit their data?
DRCOG recently built a new, online application called the Data Portal for data exchange with local governments. The Data Portal requires a login. If you have not had the opportunity to attend a workshop or webinar and do not yet have a login, please contact Jenny Todd at jtodd@drcog.org.

• Origin-Destination Data from the Census (where people live and travel to everyday)
• Residence Area Characteristics
• Workplace Area Characteristics
• Data from Colorado Homeland Security North Central Region (NCR) GIS Data Repository

Schools

School Districts

Railroads

Roads

Water Bodies

Rivers

Addresses

Trails

• Webinar: The Value of Effective Data Construction for Rural Communities
• What Counts: Harnessing Data for America's Communities

"Successful community building requires many elements-a clear understanding of needs and opportunities, engagement of residents, support from all levels of government, collaboration among people and across programs. It also requires knowledge of what is happening in real time, whether strategies are working and how they can be improved. Building on the message of integrated, collaborative community development in Investing in What Works for America's Communities, the current volume, What Counts: Harnessing Data for America's Communities helps us understand how to efficiently turn the volumes of data now available into the information needed to achieve the results communities want."- Melody Barnes, CEO, Melody Barnes Solutions, and former Director, White House Domestic Policy Council 

• White House Launches Open Data Disaster Portal
• Open Data Visualization Tool Challenges Traditional GIS
• Open Data: What Is It and Why Should You Care?
• CDOT opens bike map access to local agencies
• Thoughts on the GeCo in the Rockies Conference 2014:

http://www.webmapsolutions.com/thoughts-geco-conference-gis-industrysplitting

http://www.webmapsolutions.com/is-gis-splitting-what-the-experts-think