Policy & Legislation

Since 2005, CGIA has hosted policy forums around the state highlighting the challenges, alternatives, and possible strategies for improving data sharing.

CGIA Regional Policy Forums:
In 2005-06, the CGIA Board embarked on a new strategic initiative: co-hosting regional policy forums in up to four locations throughout the state including Sacramento, the Bay Area, and a southern California location to be determined. These policy forums work to accomplish three important tasks:

1. Facilitate communication on statewide public policy issues.
   
2. Stimulate the collaboration necessary to define key strategic problems that impede the maximum effectiveness of GIS service implementation that informs and supports decision making.
   
3. Promote the teamwork needed to prioritize the policy issues that require our full attention so we have action plans on what can be done without legislation, versus what can be done only with legislation, as well as determining the appropriate legislative jurisdiction, e.g., city, county, regional, state, federal.

The most recent of these Policy Forums, held in January and co-hosted by the Bay Area Automated Mapping Association, focused on illuminating "best practices" for financing GIS programs. CGIA plans to hold another policy & legislation forum in the upcoming months. Stay tuned for more details.