Reston, VA, January 14, 2009 – John M. Palatiello & Associates, Inc., (www.jmpa.us) a public affairs consulting firm providing government relations, public relations, association management, strategic planning, and management & marketing consulting services to firms and organizations, with an emphasis on the geospatial, engineering, infrastructure and technology communities, has been retained by PaMAGIC, the Pennsylvania Mapping and Geographic Information Consortium (www.pamagic.org), to facilitate the development of a GIS Coordination Council.
The coordination council was proposed in the Geospatial Coordination Strategic Plan for Pennsylvania that was developed under a Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) CAP grant and completed in May, 2009. Although legislation to create a council has been introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, it has not been enacted. PaMAGIC has led efforts to win endorsement of a council among numerous geospatial stakeholders in Pennsylvania. John M. Palatiello & Associates, Inc. is assisting PaMAGIC with a facilitated “congress” of endorsers to develop a strategy for creating the council.
“Pennsylvania is one of the few states that do not have a council. Such a body is essential to the full deployment and utilization of GIS by state and local government, universities, the private sector, and non-profit organizations to enable government and make it more efficient and effective. We are confident that a strategy for making such a council a reality in Pennsylvania will be developed and implemented,” said John Palatiello, president of JMP&A.
More than 65 individuals representing more than a dozen organizations supporting a council participated in a January 14 session in Enola (Harrisburg), PA, facilitated by JMP&A, to develop a plan for getting a council established in the Keystone State.
JMP&A serves as association manager for MAPPS (www.mapps.org), the national association of private geospatial firms, COFPAES (www.cofpaes.org), the Council on Federal Procurement of Architectural & Engineering Services, and BCFC (www.governmentcompetition.org), the Business Coalition for Fair Competition. Formed in 1987, JMP&A has assisted more than 25 firms, organizations and government agencies with public policy and commercial market issues with its staff of six professionals. The firm’s president, John M. Palatiello, is a member of the federal government’s National Geospatial Advisory Committee and was a member of an advisory panel to the Virginia General Assembly that led the effort to create a state council and program, the Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN).