T F T N S t r a t e g i c P l a n C a s e S t u d y

Case Study – Michigan: Michigan’s GIS Office Assists the State DOT

March   11

Transportation for the Nation

Overview: The Michigan State GIS office is currently undergoing an effort called the Transportation Data Stewardship Enhancement Plan. This initiative has been accomplished under a project funded as part of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Cooperative Agreement Program (CAP) Category 5—a grant program administered by the U.S. Geological Survey. It defines a framework and specific initiatives to enhance and expand the Michigan Geographic Framework transportation data themes through building an environment that encourages broad participation through shared responsibility, shared costs, shared benefits, and shared control. Project Background: Work on plan preparation began in March of 2010 and after a rigorous review and comment process, it was completed in September of 2010. The project was administered by the Center for Shared Solutions and Technology Partnerships (CSSTP) of the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (MDTMB). The CSSTP assembled a project Steering Committee to oversee plan preparation and have engaged a consultant team from the firm GeoPlanning Services, LLC to gather information and prepare the plan. Input was gathered from the project Steering Committee, and project participants from the statewide GIS community. This initiative is intended to establish a foundation and work program for a long-range sustainable stewardship program for the Michigan Geographic Framework (MGF). Transportation data, particularly road centerline and address ranges, are used by nearly all of the GIS users in Michigan. Nearly half of all GIS users reported that they either produce their own road centerline data or receive it from an outside source and edit it prior to use. The duplication of effort on these elements combined with the vital utility of these data to support nearly all GIS applications make it clear that building a core stewardship program for these data should be a priority for the State of Michigan. Stewardship is a sustained program with clear roles and responsibilities for organizations or individuals supporting regular update of and access to spatial data. It is a concept rooted in the belief that data should be built once, incrementally improved in quality where possible, and used many times to maximize the return on investment in data creation and maintenance. To achieve an acceptable end result for this project, a culture of “shared responsibility, shared costs, shared benefits, and shared control” has to be embraced by the GIS community in Michigan.

This broad perspective includes not only the data and programs currently in place at the Department of Technology, Management and Budgets’ (MDTMB) Center for Shared Solutions and Technology Partnerships but also include those statewide data themes which have been identified by the GIS user community as being needed statewide. These data themes constitute the traditional framework spatial data as identified by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC): geodetic control, ortho-imagery, elevation, transportation, hydrography, governmental units, and cadastral information. These data are to provide a basic data set that can be used in applications, a base to which users can add or attach geographic details and attributes, a reference source for accurately registering and compiling participants’ own data sets, and a reference map for displaying the locations and the results of an analysis of other data. Lessons Learned and Challenges: Keeping the network up to date is a huge challenge for the team. There are five full time staff members who work constantly to maintain the data through the use of standardized models and systematic workflows from the county level up to the State. These workflows help to identify change in the system and reduce the amount of error in the final data set. Because of the strict nature and use of the State data model, it has been reported that the State’s submission to HPMS has had no errors over the past several years. Another challenge within the State is identifying how the centerline data properly models reality. Again, the use of a standardized model and strict workflow for incorporating the data in to the working data set allows individual road segments to be identified and categorized. An example of this would be properly identifying a rotary vs. an intersection. If any errors should arise throughout the entire process, a logging system has been implemented and the problem is corrected as soon as possible. Areas for improvement include the improvement of the county participation workflow to allow a more seamless update in to the working data set and the creation of a single statewide file. Additionally, all counties must participate in the program without State involvement but the business process for this is already under way. Funding is also an issue in that it cannot be linked to a single project and must be a long term investment. This is ultimately the most important factor related to the future of the project.

Conclusions: The Michigan State GIS office has assembled a robust and accurate road centerline that covers a majority of the State. These data meet the business requirements and accuracy standards that are essentially unmatched among other states. The data are also wholly owned by the State and freely disseminated without any vendor licensing restrictions or reliance on external partnerships. Sources: Laura Blastic (Geo-Framework Services Manager, Center for Shared Solutions and Technology Partnerships (CSSTP), Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget (DTMB)), Rob Surber (Director, Office of Shared Solutions / DTMB), Stephen Aichele (Geographer, USGS Geospatial Liaison), Charles Hickman (Geographer, USGS National Map Liaison to Ohio)