June 13, 2007

Agenda

Review of Minutes of May 9 Meeting
Review Business Aspects of the GIS Strategic Plan
Next Steps for Pulling the Documents together into One Plan
Organizational Update

Members Present

Nancy Armentrout, DOT

David Blocher, OIT

Victor Chakravarty, OIT

Maria Jacques, PUC/ESCB

David Kirouac, Chair, OIT

Christopher Kroot, DEP

Greg McNeal, OIT

Jason Sardano, SOS

Agenda Item #1: Review Minutes of May 9 Meeting

Outcome: The minutes were approved unanimously without any modification.

Agenda Item #2: Discussion: Business Objectives of the GIS Strategic Plan

David Kirouac and Nancy kicked off the discussion by recapitulating the meanings and hierarchical interrelationship among Goals, Objectives & Strategies. The Stakeholders encountered some difficulty in precisely defining Goal, Objective & Strategy. Nancy then urged the stakeholders to ensure that there existed no conflict between the Business Objectives and the four Roadmap documents, (ie, Data, Applications, Infrastructure, and Organization). The stakeholders unanimously agreed that there was no such conflict. That said, the stakeholders also agreed with Nancy that the mere absence of conflict did not automatically imply that the Business Objectives of the GIS Strategic Plan necessarily aligned well with the four Roadmap documents. Christopher Kroot asked if the recommendations of the original Strategic Plan draft from the previous year were all folded into the current document. David Kirouac and Nancy affirmed that that was indeed the case. David Kirouac then lead a walkthrough, and collective polishing, of the draft Goals, Objectives & Strategies. There was broad general agreement on most of the draft, albeit some edits were proposed and approved. David Kirouac and Nancy will publish the updated draft.

Outcome: The “Action Plan” will be separate from (but accompany) the Strategic Plan. Nancy will draft a set of first-cut definitions for subsequent vetting.

Agenda Item #3: Next Steps for Pulling the Documents together into One Plan

There was some debate as to whether the next step should be to prioritize among the various Goals, Objectives & Strategies, and the intrinsic challenge of estimating resource loading for each of them. But the stakeholders overwhelmingly opted for first completing the current planning document(s) before embarking on the prioritization. It was decided to organize the current contents into two documents: the Strategic Plan, and the Action Plan. The Strategic Plan will consist of Introduction, Overview, Goals, Objectives & Strategies, Current Status, and Challenges & Opportunities. Whereas, the Action Plan will consist of Actions, Recommendations and the contents of the four Roadmap documents. Once again, Nancy volunteered to do the first draft. (Thanks, Nancy !) The next step would be to gather a subset of the Roadmap authors in a room, and collectively harmonize the contents of the Roadmap documents into the Action Plan, so that it all flows together seamlessly from end to end.

Outcome: Nancy volunteered to draft the final version of the Strategic Plan.

Agenda Item #4: Organizational Update

Greg McNeal updated the stakeholders on Dan Walter's impending transition, and the sterling contributions that Dan has made to Maine State GIS over the last eighteen years. He promised to consult with all affected parties before making any decision re: Dan's position. Nancy asked about the timeframe of Greg's decision-making. Greg replied that he intended to make this decision over the next two weeks or so. Christopher emphasized the criticality of filling Dan's position ASAP, given the dual roles of public advocacy and MEGIS oversight, and urged Greg to consult with Bob Marvinney, as well as the rest of the Stakeholders. Greg, once again, reiterated his commitment to consult with all parties, and the timeframe of his decision-making.

Outcome: Greg will be consulting GIS stakeholders and will be filling the GIS Administrator position as soon as possible.