Free ESRI Licenses for URISA GIS Corps Volunteers

This was a piece of good news I came across today, ESRI has announced it will be providing free personal licenses of their software to individuals who wish to support volunteer opportunities.

https://www.directionsmag.com/pressrelease/7082

Individuals who already volunteer through the URISA GIS Corps need only to fill out a "GIS Service Pledge" form indicating which organization they plan on supporting and the type of volunteer work being provided.  There is a four week verification process prior to the software being issued to each user.

http://www.giscorps.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=210&Itemid=60

As much as I encourage and enjoy using open source software in my volunteer efforts with the GIS Corps, I also think this pledge by ESRI will be extremely helpful in making volunteer efforts more accessible to people who may be more hesitant to step out of the ESRI bubble.  In my experience with volunteer projects through the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, one of the biggest hurdles has been learning a new piece of software prior to supporting the volunteer work (ex: QGIS, Java OpenStreetMap Editor).  While these are both excellent pieces of software which I enjoy using, I think in some instances the learning curve for these open source tools can be a bit too high for the casual GIS user.

Anyways, this should be a good initiative put forth by ESRI!  I signed up today, so I'll provide an update on the process if/when my request is approved!

*UPDATE*

My application was approved and I will be receiving a download notification from ESRI for ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS for Desktop.  I am pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy this process was, and I can't wait to start contributing to the GISCorps in a big way!

How Did You Contribute To OpenStreetMap?

Since 2013, I have been contributing to various projects with the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (http://tasks.hotosm.org/). While my contributions have been few and far between in recent years, taking part in these projects has been both enjoyable and rewarding for me (and I've met some really cool people along the way). Recently, I discovered a pretty neat website that allows you to view your individual OpenStreetMap (OSM) contribution statistics.

How Did You Contribute to OpenStreetMap?
(http://hdyc.neis-one.org/)

Looking at my contributions by year (see above), I took a wild dip from 2014 to 2015, after taking a new job in the GIS consulting world. By 2016 my OSM contributions became non-existent, as more and more of my time was gobbled up by work and life commitments (Who knew adopting a dog and getting engaged could take up so much of my time? ;P). Free time in the evenings was a rare treat, and sadly OSM fell by the wayside. In the Summer of 2017, I found myself with a new opportunity working with the State of Minnesota. With a ring on my finger and the puppy now a well-trained (sort of) fully grown 100-lb beast, I found myself with an itch to re-enter the OSM Community. As shown below, I have been contributing to several HOTOSM tasks related to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. I couldn't be happier to be back, and would urge anyone who is interested to contribute as well! http://tasks.hotosm.org/


For the most part, my contributions have consisted of volunteer coordination and arm-chair digitizing. I have always felt an odd satisfaction from letting my mind go blank and digitizing geographic features, whether it was in ArcMap, QGIS, or Java OpenStreetMap (JOSM Editor). There isn't much to it, but I think there's something about getting into a rhythm and seeing points, lines, and polygons appear on a map, and seeing a project come together that is really satisfying to me. More than anything, it feels good to contribute to something so positive, and I hope to always find time for the OSM Community.

GIS Corps - Mapping Malakal, Nsanje District

Mapping of Malakal, Nsanje District (Partnered with Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team)

From January 2014 - Novemeber 2014 I was involved with a project to remotely map areas of Malawi as a Volunteer Coordinator with the GIS Corps.  Below is a detailed description of this effort.

In September 2014, GIS Corps partnered with Severin Menard of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team to begin mapping the Southern region of Malawi along the Lower Shire River.  The area along the Lower Shire (the Nsanje District) connects Lake Malawi and the Zambezi River in Mozambique and is prone to frequent flooding that can be devastating to local communities.

The national Department of Disaster Management Affairs in Malawi (DoDMA) and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) agreed about the necessity to have detailed data of the region.  Through community mapping in the field, the collected data could be used to build hazard impact scenarios with tools like InaSafe to improve planning, preparedness and response activities.  Flood prone areas were identified through local experience and knowledge from DoDMA headquarters, DoDMA districts officers, village leaders, and local residents.

http://hot.openstreetmap.org/projects/osm_community_mapping_for_flood_preparedness_in_malawi

Since October 2014, GIS Corps volunteers have made significant progress toward mapping roads, buildings, footpaths, and waterways in an effort to add valuable spatial data to OpenStreetMap.  Areas of high priority were identified, and as of late January 2015 approximately 150 square miles have been mapped in these flood prone areas (see Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3).

The project used the iD and JOSM editors developed for OSM, and the Tasking Manager developed by HOT. GISCorps managed the project, provided online documentation of project methods, and created a Q&A document where volunteers could find answers to their questions. Skype, Google Chat, and Google Drive collaboration documents have been utilized for real-time communication between volunteers.

Recent Developments

In mid-January, devastating flooding in Southern Malawi and Mozambique left tens-of-thousands displaced from their homes, thus reaffirming this project’s importance and the necessity of GIS Corps’ involvement with the Humantarian OpenStreetMap Team(http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jan/14/malawi-flooding-torrential-rain-mozambique).  Heavy rains have damaged crops, washed away livestock, damaged infrastructure, and have left many stranded in low-lying areas.

GIS Corps volunteers have continued their hard work, mapping in designated “priority areas” where disaster planning efforts are most crucial.  The job aims primarily at adding building footprints and infrastructure data, which will serve to estimate the number of affected people for each settlement.  Since the mid-January flooding, Severin Menard (HOT Coordinator) has re-established areas of high priority and identified several other areas within Southern Malawi in which mapping efforts are needed.

Link to article on GIS Corps Website:

http://www.giscorps.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=162&Itemid=63

Link to related article:

http://hotosm.org/updates/2015-02-27_hot_called_upon_to_support_disaster_response_in_malawi_flooding

Figure 1 - Project Area, Nsanje District, Malawi

Figure 2 - HOT/OSM Project Overview Page, completed tiles

Figure 3 - Detailed view of mapping progress in OSM