Montana State GIS Coordination

Montana citizens and GIS practitioners in Montana have a decades-long investment in a strong foundation of GIS knowledge, partnerships, spatial data infrastructure, and data sharing tools. This investment in GIS empowers local, state, and federal government staff as well as business, industry, education, and research personnel seeking to understand Montana’s economy, demography, landscape, and much more.

Montana State Library staff support State GIS Coordination in Montana to ensure that this investment not only endures but is further expanded, strengthened, and utilized.

The State GIS Coordinator in Montana:

• Acts as a major point of contact with representatives of federal, state, and local agencies and private enterprise on issues including GIS data standardization, data collection, and data prioritization
• Guides the development and maintenance of the  Montana Geographic Information Clearinghouse
• Provides leadership and coordination in the conceptualization, development, and implementation of the  Montana Spatial Data Infrastructure (MSDI)
• Staffs the Montana Geospatial Information Advisory Council (MGIAC)
• Administers the Montana Geospatial Information Act (MGIA) and MGIA Grant Funds
• Conveys complex GIS concepts to government officials, business leaders, and Montana citizens, including data relationships, data integration, data quality, and data limitations
• Researches and promotes new applications of GIS technology primarily, but not exclusively, within State Agencies
• Facilitates existing GIS Coordination activities in the state and promotes new public and private/public partnerships
• Represents the State on federal, state and local interagency geographic information coordinating committees such as the  National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) and the  Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)
• GIS Basics