VGIN/VR3

On May 16, 2006, the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) created the Integrated Services Program by consolidating the Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN) and Public Safety Communications (E-911) Division along with the two State radio engineers (formerly in VITA Telecommunications).  The goal of this reorganization is to streamline and improve the delivery of existing and future services for public safety and emergency management.  By leveraging the strengths of both programs, the ISP can be more responsive to the changing needs of the localities and state agencies. 

In addition to the collaboration with VGIN through the creation of the ISP, the E-911 program staff continues to collaborate with the localities on the deployment of E-911 (both wireless and wireline).  At present, over 99% of Virginia’s population is served by wireline E-911 and over 95% is served by wireless E-911.  However, even before the project to address wireless E-911 is complete, the next major challenge to the E-911 system has emerged, voice of Internet protocol (VoIP).  To respond to this challenge, a major overhaul of the E-911 system will be required.  This overhaul will drive a fundamental change in the way the E-911 network is viewed and provisioned.

Of significant interest to the issue of interoperability is that the future E-911 system will be an application on a shared network rather than a stove-pipe network that only supports the reporting of emergencies.  As a result, VITA is expanding the view of the statewide telecommunications network to include a high reliability, managed IP-based network to all localities within Virginia.  Part of this infrastructure is already planned for and funded through the partnership agreement between VITA and Northrop Grumman for the modernization of the IT infrastructure within the Commonwealth.  The partnership agreement calls for the enhancement of the backbone of the telecommunications infrastructure that will provide a point of presence in each of the seven (7) LATAs in the state. 

To expand that backbone to each locality, VITA and Northrop Grumman is working with all of the potential users of this network to the localities to define the requirements for their applications to ensure the network will support them.  The State Interoperability Executive Committee (SIEC) will be a critical partner in this requirements definition since this network can be utilized to support both voice and data interoperability between the localities and state agencies.  It provides the foundation to support the information sharing in the future.

Another application that this network will support is the Geospatial Enterprise Platform (GEP).  The GEP provides the platform for the central hosting and sharing of geospatial data within a geographic information system (GIS).  GIS software allows users to map and spatially analyze data.  Local Governments in Virginia have rapidly adopted GIS technology to support E-911, tax mapping, utility mapping and planning.   In addition at least 25 state and 12 federal government agencies are using GIS technology in Virginia to support activities including transportation planning, economic development, public safety, resource protection, and more. 

Three critical factors affect interoperability in geospatial technologies: (1) geospatial data specification (i.e. scale, projection, format, etc.), (2) geospatial software formats, and (3) enterprise systems.

Geospatial Data

VGIN established the Virginia Base Mapping Program (VBMP) in 2001.   This program’s goal is to establish and maintain one consistent, accurate, foundational digital base map (geospatial data foundation) upon which local government and many regional, state, and federal geospatial data applications could be built, producing an efficient statewide geospatial infrastructure.  

In 2002, the Virginia Wireless E-911 Services Board funded the VBMP, in support of statewide implementation of federal requirements for E-911 emergency response services for cellular phones.  High-resolution digital orthographic photography was acquired for the entire land base of Virginia in the spring of 2002.

In February 2003, VGIN began delivery to each of Virginia’s 134 independent cities and counties, including 128 E-911 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), a DVD set including high-resolution digital orthographic photography covering the county/city, as well as imagery for adjacent communities.  Such regional coverage was essential to meeting the mutual response obligations of local E-911 operations.  To provide updated imagery to all users, the photography will be captured again in 2007 and every four years, thereafter.

The VBMP statewide imagery has produced a single consistent, seamless base map, providing the foundation for a consistent, enterprise architecture for GIS throughout Virginia.  A seamless, high quality base map ensures that data sharing for state and local, public and private business applications, including E-911 response, public safety planning, permit tracking, natural resource protection, transportation planning and economic and labor analysis, operate at the highest possible efficiency and can be consistently applied anywhere in Virginia.

In 2004, VGIN further leveraged the VBMP by establishing a collaborative program across all of Virginia’s local governments to produce a seamless digital road file with road names and addresses.  The VBMP RCL establishes a statewide “standard” for road/highway mapping and addressing in Virginia.  The statewide file will be maintained by VGIN in collaboration with all of Virginia’s local governments and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).   In addition, VGIN has acquired or produced seamless statewide digital files for hydrography, rail, and a digital terrain model (a 3 dimensional model of the surface of the earth).   VGIN is also working with neighboring states to share geospatial data allowing VGIN to extend Virginia’s digital base map up to fifty miles into our neighboring jurisdictions ensuring our border communities have the data required to meet there geospatial application needs.

Finally, VGIN, under a grant from the Governor’s Office of Commonwealth Preparedness (OCP), is coordinating the acquisition (and ultimately standardization) of over 70 additional public safety related geospatial data layers for inclusion in the Virginia Readiness, Response, and Recovery GIS (VR3).  The VR3 is designed to provide public safety officials and decision makers a “single tactical landscape” for evaluating public safety data and events through secure Internet access.  The first phase of the VR3 1) established the platform for the system that serves as the foundation for data storage and hosting the web-based applications; and 2) developed a proof of concept application to be used for further development.  A second grant was from the OCP will fund the second phase of the project for the development of the full application and data layers.  VGIN is currently working with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to define all of the user requirements for the VR3.  Development or acquisition of an application will follow development of the requirements.

Geospatial Software

The Commonwealth of Virginia has been fortunate that 95 percent or more of the geospatial installations in the state use GIS software from Environmental System’s Research Institute (ESRI) the largest and most rapidly growing geospatial software vendor. This software commonality removes many obstacles to interoperability in GIS.  In addition, VGIN follows guidelines and works with the Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc, which has addressed geospatial interoperability since the early 1990’s.

Geospatial Enterprise Services

Under the direction of the Information Technology Investment Board (ITIB), the Commonwealth’s Chief Information Officer (CIO), and the VGIN Advisory Board, VGIN has established several consolidated geospatial enterprise services in order to provide a more effective and efficient means of supporting geospatial technologies across all constituencies in the Commonwealth.  These services will include:

• One StopGeospatial Information Portal – Access to a catalogue of geospatial contacts and resources across all constituencies in the Commonwealth.
• Metadata Clearinghouse – A consolidated catalogue of geospatial data assets maintained by state, local, and federal government organizations across the Commonwealth.  The Metadata clearinghouse follows federal and state formatting standards and includes a search tool, which will allow users, and the public to search for, identify, and evaluate Virginia’s geospatial data assets.
• Virginia Geospatial Data Library and Exchange Services – will provide one-stop access to geospatial data assets which can be interactively selected, formatted and downloaded for local use.
• Internet Mapping Services – will allow users to access large or rapidly changing geospatial data layers (i.e. VBMP imagery, VBMP road centerlines) and integrate them into local applications without the overhead of local storage and maintenance.

 

Ultimately, the VBMP, consistent GIS software, enterprise services, and statewide collaboration have together established a consistent, statewide foundation for geospatial products and services, unprecedented interoperability across jurisdictions, and a statewide geospatial infrastructure that will support the greatest efficiencies in the sharing of data and applications.