Guidelines for organizations hosting meetings of the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Geographic Information

Purpose: The Minnesota Governor's Council on Geographic Information meets outside the St. Paul Capitol area at least once a year in order to gain input and general knowledge about GIS-related issues in Minnesota and to identify the needs of GIS users across the state.

Host Responsibilities:

Financial: The hosting organization is financially responsible for meeting rooms, parking and refreshments (coffee, cookies) when applicable. Lunch arrangements are also the responsibility of the hosting organization. Council members will purchase their lunch.

Meeting facilities: It is the primary responsibility of the hosting organization to arrange for a meeting room to accommodate council members (23) and guests, and also to have a computer, projector and projector screen available and, if necessary, an internet connection. When arranging meeting rooms, please accommodate 40 persons, unless expecting a larger attendance.

Options: Two options are available for educating members and guests about the hosting organization’s facilities:

Tour – The organization may offer a tour of GIS facilities. The tour would be arranged before the business meeting and last for about 20-30 minutes.
Poster Session – The organization may offer local GIS users or students, who are not presenting, an opportunity to display their work or projects for council members to view at their convenience before, during breaks, and after the council business meeting.

Contact local organizations: The hosting organization should contact the following organizations at least two weeks prior to the meeting to invite them to attend:

GIS user groups
Municipalities
Counties
Watershed districts
Indian reservations
Colleges and universities
Soil and water conservation districts
State representatives and senators
Private industries
Consultants
Vendors
School districts

Contact local media: The Governor’s Council will be responsible for preparing a press release. The hosting organization will be responsible for forwarding the press release to local media, including radio and local newspapers. Have the announcements placed in the business section if possible.

Arrange Presenters: Invite 2-3 of the local GIS organizations to give 10-15 minute presentations. Hosting organizations are responsible for accessories needed for presenters, i.e., laptops and projection screens. The presentations should cover two items:

Describe current work
Define a GIS need (i.e., parcel data development, funding) for which the Governor’s Council may act as a resource to help answer questions or point in the right direction

Council Responsibilities:

General: The council’s Outreach Committee will be responsible for collating and drafting a letter that identifies resources to help organizations in meeting their needs.

Transportation: It is the primary responsibility of council members to arrange for their own transportation. When appropriate, council staff will coordinate a van pool to transport metro area council members to outstate meeting locations.

Financial: Council members will be responsible for purchasing their lunch.

Press Release: It is the primary responsibility of the council to prepare a press release that will be forwarded to the hosting organization for local distribution.

Contact: For further information on hosting a council meeting, please contact council staff at: 651-201-2491 or via e-mail at: gis.council@state.mn.us

Sample Itinerary:

11:00 a.m. Council members arrive at location

11:10 a.m. (Option) Tour of GIS facilities

11:30 a.m. Lunch

12:15 p.m. Council members review materials for business meeting

12:30 p.m. Business Meeting – refreshments are available

1:45 p.m. Break – refreshments are served

2:00 p.m. Presentations

3:00 p.m. Council members converse with guests

3:15 p.m. Council members depart

Technical problems? Contact: andrew.koebrick@state.mn.us