GITA’s Focus on Infrastructure
As an organization that recently refocused their efforts as a professional society on the advancement of geospatial technology to support infrastructure development, GITA could not have chosen a better time in which to do so. By a combination of good strategic forethought as well as the downturn in the global economy, which had a somewhat serendipitous effect for the organization, "infrastructure" is not just a geospatial buzz word; it’s a political buzz word too. The gold mine of new investments from the stimulus bill for aging roads, bridges, and buildings makes this focus "dead on." And it was particularly prescient to have Blaine Leonard, the president-elect of the American Society of Civil Engineers, as the keynote speaker who’s review of the ASCE "report card" on the U.S. infrastructure was not just informative but entertaining as well.
However, these same elements had a deleterious impact on the attendance of the annual conference just recently completed in Tampa. Traffic in the exhibit hall was modest at best and the keynote presentation was attended only by several hundred but not the 1000+ as in past years. The economy is what it is and GITA has not been the only geospatial conference impacted by the economy. So, putting these factors aside, the key topics at the conference this year were addressed in serious tones with an understanding that, with respect to the economy, "this too shall pass."
As mentioned, aging infrastructure and what the stimulus money will mean for geospatial technology was a key component of the conference theme. Emergency management and critical infrastructure protection continues to dominate many sessions and hallway discussions. And on the technical front, key issues like asset management, "smart grid," and even interoperability are hot topics. A visit from Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio put an exclamation point on the discussion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as each local government strives to find out how difficult it will be to get money from the stimulus bill. To that end, many local governments and utilities are crippled by the fact that some projects won’t receive money because a major project may already be "funded" and thus ineligible for stimulus money. In addition, because the economy has soured, many local governments are forced to layoff or not replace retiring workers because of budget shortfalls. Meanwhile, each knows they might have to ramp up hiring to fill project needs should stimulus money come their way. It is the proverbial rock and a hard place.
In summary, GITA has the right focus and programming for next year’s conference should already be boosted by a better understanding of how the stimulus money will be distributed and which projects that are ‘shovel ready’ will be underway. GITA 2010 (April 25-29) is in Phoenix in conjunction with the Amercian Congress on Survey and Mapping (ACSM).
