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Program 2026/27Executive Webinar · 90 MinutesProgram Date: TBD

Beyond
Maps

The Future of Municipal GIS: From Static Maps to Governed Reality

The future of GIS is no longer about producing better maps. It is about governing reality.

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Aerial view of a city at dusk overlaid with GIS parcel and centerline data
90-minute sessionExecutive levelPractical roadmapFree attendance
GISReality CaptureMobile MappingDronesLiDARIoT SensorsField OperationsDigital TwinsData GovernanceAgentic AI

Overview

Municipal GIS is entering a new era.

Municipal GIS is entering a new era. For decades, Geographic Information Systems have been used to create maps, manage assets, and support planning decisions. Today, local governments face a far more ambitious challenge: creating a trusted, continuously updated digital representation of their community that can support artificial intelligence, digital twins, infrastructure management, emergency response, public works, transportation, and executive decision-making.

This executive webinar explores how leading municipalities are transforming GIS into the authoritative spatial foundation for government — bringing together reality capture, mobile mapping, drones, LiDAR, IoT sensors, field operations, and enterprise data governance to create a living, trusted model of the physical world.

Whether your organization is just beginning its digital transformation journey or already investing in AI and digital twins, this session will provide a practical roadmap for building an AI-ready geospatial enterprise.

Govern

A trusted, authoritative representation of reality

Update

Continuous capture instead of periodic map projects

Decide

Operational intelligence across every department

Why Attend

Deliver better services with fewer resources while AI, automation, and connected infrastructure advance rapidly.

  • Why GIS is becoming the digital foundation for AI-ready government
  • The difference between managing maps and managing a governed digital representation of reality
  • How continuous spatial data updates improve operational decision-making
  • Why digital twins depend on trusted, authoritative GIS
  • How reality capture technologies are transforming municipal operations
  • Practical strategies for building an enterprise-wide geospatial platform

Agenda

90 minutes, six segments

Welcome & Introduction

5 Minutes
  • Welcome and event overview
  • Why municipal GIS is entering a new era
  • Live audience poll: Where is your organization today?
Beyond Maps: Why Municipal GIS Must Evolve
01 15 Minutes

Beyond Maps: Why Municipal GIS Must Evolve

From map production to governed reality

Traditional GIS has focused on creating and maintaining maps. Today's municipalities require something much more powerful — a continuously updated, trusted representation of the physical world that supports operational decision-making across the entire organization.

Discussion topics

Why maps are no longer enoughThe changing expectations of executive leadershipThe emergence of "Governed Reality"GIS as the operational backbone of local government
Building a Living Digital Representation of Your Community
02 20 Minutes

Building a Living Digital Representation of Your Community

Reality capture, sensors, and continuous updates

Modern municipalities collect information from many different sources. The challenge is bringing these together into a single, authoritative view of the community.

Discussion topics

Mobile mappingReality captureDrone imageryLiDARSatellite imageryField inspectionsIoT sensorsCitizen reportingMaintaining continuously updated spatial data
AI Begins with Trusted Spatial Data
03 20 Minutes

AI Begins with Trusted Spatial Data

Digital twins, predictive operations, and governance

Artificial Intelligence is only as effective as the quality of the data it can understand. Discover why governed spatial data is becoming the essential foundation for AI-powered government.

Discussion topics

AI and spatial contextDigital twinsPredictive infrastructure managementPhysical AIAgentic AIOperational intelligenceEnterprise data governance
Executive Panel: The Municipal GIS Office of 2030
04 15 Minutes

Executive Panel: The Municipal GIS Office of 2030

From map production to enterprise information leadership

How the role of GIS professionals is evolving from map production to enterprise information leadership — and what leaders should do now to prepare their teams for AI-enabled government.

Discussion topics

New responsibilities for GIS teamsData governance and stewardshipCross-department collaborationExecutive leadership expectationsPreparing the workforce for AI-enabled government

Live Audience Q&A

10 Minutes
  • A moderated discussion addressing attendee questions
  • Practical experiences from leading municipalities

Closing Remarks

5 Minutes
  • Executive takeaways
  • Where to begin in the next 90 days

Speakers

Who you’ll hear from

Practitioners and technologists working at the intersection of municipal GIS, asset management and reality capture.

Jennifer Caldwell, Government Solutions Specialist

Jennifer Caldwell

Government Solutions Specialist

Meridian Asset Systems

MPA | GISP

Jennifer has over 25 years in state and local government as a practitioner, consultant and industry advisor. She rose to CIO of a mid-sized city, leading infrastructure, operations, budgeting and ERP work, and now helps public agencies use asset management as a framework for cross-departmental collaboration and long-term financial planning.

j.caldwell@example-meridian.com (555) 218-0447
Michael Doyle, Technical Program & Product Management

Michael Doyle

Technical Program & Product Management

Meridian Asset Systems

PMP | CDPO | CSM

Mike has spent two decades at the intersection of geospatial data, technology and practical problem-solving — using GIS not just to store or display data, but to improve data quality, enable operational workflows and support better decisions across large asset portfolios.

m.doyle@example-meridian.com (555) 218-0451
Anita Raman, Business Process Manager

Anita Raman

Business Process Manager

City of Brookfield

GISP

An urban geographer and GIS professional with more than two decades of experience, Anita specializes in location intelligence and systems management across transportation, data analytics, infrastructure and asset management, making complex geospatial information accessible to planners, engineers and partner agencies.

a.raman@example-brookfield.gov (555) 904-1172
Darius Whitfield, Director of Digital Infrastructure

Darius Whitfield

Director of Digital Infrastructure

Northgate County Public Works

PE | GISP

Darius leads reality capture and digital twin programs for a county of 900,000 residents, pairing drone and LiDAR survey programs with enterprise data governance so field crews, engineers and executives all work from the same trusted spatial record.

d.whitfield@example-northgate.gov (555) 660-3308
Resource WorkbookFree with registration

Your resource workbook is ready

Print it, share it, download it as a fillable PDF, work through the checklist with your team, and keep the conversation going with the built-in AI assistant.

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Official Event Resource Workbook

Beyond Maps Executive Resource Workbook

A fillable working document for the full 90-minute webinar. Capture where your spatial program stands today, catalog your data sources and refresh cadence, screen AI and digital twin use cases, plan the governance and workforce shifts ahead, and leave with a 90-day roadmap you can hand to leadership.

6 worksheet sections
8 AI prompts
Built-in AI assistant
Print, share & PDF

Fillable PDF included

Save your answers and share with your team

Executive Takeaways

  • 01GIS is evolving into the authoritative representation of municipal reality.
  • 02Continuous data updates are replacing periodic mapping projects.
  • 03AI requires trusted, governed spatial data.
  • 04Digital twins are only as effective as the GIS that supports them.
  • 05Municipal leaders should begin preparing now for the next generation of AI-enabled government.

Key Learning Outcomes

  • Understand why GIS is becoming the operational platform for modern government.
  • Recognize the importance of governed, continuously updated spatial data.
  • Identify the technologies enabling next-generation municipal GIS.
  • Evaluate how AI, digital twins, and reality capture fit into an enterprise GIS strategy.
  • Develop a roadmap for creating an AI-ready geospatial foundation within their organization.

Who Should Attend

Built for municipal leadership

City ManagersAssistant City ManagersChief Information Officers (CIOs)GIS Directors and ManagersPublic Works DirectorsTransportation DirectorsEngineering DirectorsAsset Management ProfessionalsUtility DirectorsEmergency Management LeadersSmart City Program ManagersDigital Transformation OfficersPlanning DirectorsInfrastructure and Capital Projects Managers

Why This Matters

The next generation of local government will not be built on static maps.

The next generation of local government will not be built on static maps. It will be built on trusted, continuously updated digital representations of the physical world that enable better decisions, greater operational efficiency, improved public services, and responsible adoption of artificial intelligence. The municipalities that invest in governed spatial data today will be the ones best positioned to lead tomorrow.

Resource Workbook