2025 ESIG Winners Announced

The EXEMPLARY SYSTEMS IN GEOSPATIAL AWARDS, inaugurated in 1980 (as the Exemplary Systems in Government Awards) by the Geospatial Professional Network (GPN), formerly known as URISA (Urban and Regional Information Systems Association), recognize extraordinary achievement by organizations in the use of geospatial systems and technologies. This achievement is defined as the effective application of technology that can be measured in terms of improved services and increased benefits to citizens or customers. 

Applications are submitted in one of two categories: 

• Single Process Systems are outstanding and working examples applying geospatial technology to automate a specific process or operation involving one department or sub-unit of an organization.  The system application results in extended and/or improved services that are more efficient and/or save money.  
• 
  Enterprise Systems are outstanding and working examples of using geospatial technology in a multi-department environment as part of an integrated process. These systems exemplify effective use of technology yielding widespread improvements in the process(es) and/or service(s) involved and/or cost savings to the organization.  
  
  

ESIG submissions are required to address specific award criteria associated with system design and implementation, organizational impact, and use of resources to create the system.

A volunteer ESIG Awards Peer Review Committee is formed each year, tasked with reviewing and rating the applications. There were 12 people serving on the 2025 committee: Alex Harper, Alice Wilson, Curtis Pulford, Dianne Haley (Past/Associate Chair), Kristin Johnston, Matt Shade, Patrick Baber, Kim McDonough, Dan Giersz, Susan Olson, Olesya Powers, and Rachel Parrinello (Chair). GPN extends its thanks to the committee members for the time and effort they have put into the judging of this year’s ESIG submissions.

The results of the 2025 ESIG Award competition are:

Single Process Systems

• Winner: King County GIS Center/Seattle, Washington: King County AI-GIS-Strengthened State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Response Letter Generator
  Submitted by: Tamara Davis, King County Chief Technology Officer, King County, Seattle, Washington
• Distinguished System: City of Plano, Texas: Zoning Case Response
  Submitted by: Kristina Deitz, GIS Analyst III, City of Plano, Texas

Enterprise Systems

• Winner: City of Columbus, Ohio – Department of Public Service: Closed Lanes Or Steel plate Events (CLOSE) Program
  Submitted by: Kimberly Baillieul, Data Solutions Manager – Department of Public Service, City of Columbus, Ohio
• Distinguished System: City of Midland, Texas: Council Dashboard
  Submitted by: Richard M. Osuamkpe, GIS Manager, City of Midland, Texas

The following summaries of the two winning entries are taken from judges’ comments and submission packets.

Single Process Winner: King County GIS Center/Seattle, WA: King County AI-GIS-Strengthened State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Response Letter Generator
The (SEPA) AI-GIS-Strengthened State Environmental Policy Act Response Letter Generator application uses generative artificial intelligence and geographic information systems to evaluate the environmental/health impacts of proposed construction projects and recommend modifications to improve project characteristics prior to permitting.  The previous process took five hours of staff time to research and manually write each review letter for these construction projects.  There were over 600 projects annually to review, and staff could only respond to approximately four projects per month.  Using GIS and GenAI cut the review process time to 20 minutes per letter.  This capacity and efficiency improvement allows King County to review nearly all construction proposals each month and save thousands of hours of manual research and analysis annually. This project marks the first practical use of GIS technology in conjunction with GenAI within King County to better protect the beautiful natural landscapes – and residents’ health.

A few judges’ comments:

• This is a highly exemplary system that pushes the boundaries of public sector innovation.
  
• The design allows King County to generate communications for major construction proposals highlighting environmental impacts. It was identified that most of the information already resides in GIS, and using generative AI is an innovative way to access this information and apply it to an existing workflow.
  
• The organizational impact was really to the community the County serves. They can complete more reviews that provide decision makers with a full picture of the environmental impact of construction projects. The project also spurred inter-agency collaboration, as meetings between multiple county agencies have become a platform for sharing insights about GIS with GenAI. Very positive impacts on internal city departments, as well as making it easier for the public to get up-to-date information.
  
• This was an incredibly innovative approach to solving a challenge. This example should be a great motivator for other entities to begin using AI tools with GIS to build efficiencies.
  
• King County clearly had a breadth of in-house resources available for this project. The use of a hack-a-thon to kick off the idea and then transfer it to government employees is an innovative use.
  
• Their design not only boosts efficiency but also advances health equity and environmental justice in King County.
  
• This project saves thousands of staff hours annually, enables more consistent and data-driven recommendations, and allows staff to focus on strategic work. The system benefits public health staff, developers, and communities by promoting healthier, more equitable development. It also transforms internal operations and fosters a culture of innovation and collaboration.
• King County, WA is inundated with approximately 600 construction projects annually, overwhelming the DPH staff which took an average of 5 hours to review each project for natural and human environmental impacts. The novel AI approach reduces this to 20 minutes. This has led to interest in expanding AI integration into other County processes and services. The application does an excellent job detailing the challenge, unexpected problems, and uniqueness of the solution.

Enterprise System Winner
City of Columbus, OH: Closed Lanes or Steel-plate Events (CLOSE) Program
The City of Columbus, Ohio Department of Public Service (DPS) is responsible for regulating activities within the public right-of-way, including road closures and the placement of steel plates. Both events occur frequently and impact transportation safety, network connectivity, and performance of core city services. Understanding the effect of these events over a large municipal footprint can be challenging. To tackle this, DPS developed the Closed Lanes or Steel plate Event (CLOSE) Program. 

The CLOSE Program enables ongoing documentation, tracking, and the aggregation of road closure and steel plate placement data. At the core of the program is safety, engagement, and compliance; all current, planned, and emergency lane closures or steel plate placements with Columbus right-of-way must be reported using the CLOSE System form. 

The CLOSE Program is comprehensive, truly recognizing the reality of road closure and steel plate placement operations from government, contractors, and public perspectives, and integrating those efforts into the goals for success. CLOSE was researched, architected, and deployed in-house using tools and software already available as a part of the City’s portfolio. As an internally designed system, DPS has institutionalized the knowledge needed for ongoing system maintenance and improvement and maintains the ability to integrate data into other operations. Executive support, unique branding, technological innovation, legislative backing, and intentional outreach ensures its ongoing success. 

A few judges’ comments:

• This is really a very well thought out application. They've made it so easy to understand the scope of what they've done. I love the fact that they've learned from past attempts to solve this problem and really homed in on the baseline items that were needed. The thought and attention to detail on the design by the team is amazing. 
  
• This system benefits SO many different divisions within the organization and many outside as well. Having this information available to emergency services and even the snowplows is a massive improvement in trying to guess where road closures or steel plates are. Honestly the range of who this positively affects is just astounding.
  
• The team has created this product using resources it already had. I'm always blown away by what we in this industry can do with "basic" tools, and this is no exception. The architecture really brings home all the moving parts of this application and how, after years of trial and error, the team was able to put it all together in a way that works and works extremely well. Having the data governance policy is impressive and I'm so glad that this project adhered to the policy, proving that it works!
  
• Perseverance!  This was about a 5-year project which started and an idea and morphed over time to a successful solution.   
  
• There was a dramatic 36% increase in compliance for ROW permits in the first two years of implementation providing for an increased awareness of closures and steel plate locations. It also impacted snow and ice control operations, providing operators locations of plates to avoid when driving mitigating the risk of damaging the snowplow blades.
  
• An extremely well designed and executed application that has had an impact well beyond its original intent. Development staff showed flexibility and insight in modifying the application to encompass a much greater capability than was first envisioned.
  

The accomplishments will be recognized during GIS-Pro in the Rockies in October in Denver, CO. In addition, each system will be highlighted in an upcoming "Excellence in GIS" GPN webinar series. Visit GPN's ESIG Award web page to learn more about each system and celebrate previous winners.

Congratulations to all who participated in the ESIG submission process and to the 2025 ESIG winners!