About the Council

The Council's last meeting was June 24, 2009.  The Council's mission has been taken up by a statewide geospatial advisory council to the new Minnesota Geospatial Information Office.  Most Council committees will continue their work.  The Council webpages are being migrated to the new MnGeo website.

The Governor's Council on Geographic Information was created in August 1991 to help coordinate geographic information system activities among all levels of government in Minnesota. The council's 18 members were appointed annually by the Commissioner of the Department of Administration and were drawn from state agencies, federal and local governments, higher education and the private sector.

• Mission
• Guiding principles
• Operating policies
• Authorization: Executive Order 99-6, extended by Governor Tim Pawlenty on April 4, 2003
• Bylaws
• Communication Plan
• GIS at work : Presentation on the Governor's Council on Geographic Information. June 2002. (4.8M, 32p, PDF 5.0) | report summary
• Council support
• Meeting guidelines, videoconferencing, and webcasting
• Contact us
   

Mission

The mission of the council is to promote efficient and effective use of resources by providing leadership and direction in the development, management and use of geographic information in Minnesota. The council makes recommendations in areas including, but not limited to: policies, institutional arrangements, standards, education and stewardship.
 

Guiding principles

The following guiding principles form the foundation for the council's activities and priorities. The Governor's Council on Geographic Information will:

• Promote efficient investments in geographic information.
• Promote geographic information as a public resource that should be widely shared with and available to interested parties.
• Support the establishment and use of geographic data standards and guidelines to better exchange and share information resources.
• Promote education and training in GIS.
• Promote the beneficial uses of geographic information in the development of policy and the management of public resources.
• Provide a major forum where ideas and issues of the GIS community in Minnesota can be brought forward, discussed and acted upon, as appropriate.
   

Council support

Administrative support for the council is provided by the Land Management Information Center in the Department of Administration.
 

Meeting guidelines, videoconferencing and webcasting

• Council meeting guidelines: If your organization is interested in hosting a council meeting, please view the guidelines.
• Videoconferencing: Instructions for connecting to meetings by video.
• Webcasting: Instructions for connecting to meetings over the web (live or archived)