EET&D: You’ve certainly been at this for a very long time, Bob. I guess the first thing I’d like to know is what has kept you at the helm of GITA for over two decades, and how has the job changed over the years, if at all?

Samborski: Well, I guess I’d have to say that from the outset, I’ve never been bored a single day over the past 20 years… perhaps frantic, upset and overwhelmed at times, but never, ever bored! While some major activities are recurring – conferences, for example – it’s almost like the job changes on a daily basis. And that‘s what I like about it. I still very much look forward to going to work on Monday mornings.

EET&D: Not surprisingly – and speaking as a 20-year member of GITA myself – I think it’s safe to say that the Mission/Vision has changed over the years. But for the benefit of readers that may not be as familiar with GITA, what would you like them to know about the association and its future direction today?

Samborski: Our primary mission was, is and always will be to promote and advance the use of geospatial technology through education, information exchange, research and, increasingly, advocacy. We strive to be the leading unbiased resource for anyone who is interested in the use of geospatial information. Last year, we stated the obvious and refocused our attention on how the technology can help address our serious infrastructure-related problems. Our members have always been involved in owning, operating, maintaining and protecting our society’s key infrastructure assets, so it was a very natural move. Considering the current state of our infrastructure, it was also very timely.

EET&D: Although GITA is an increasingly broad-based association with geospatial and information technologies being the common thread that spans several industry verticals, utilities and utility-centric suppliers and consultants comprise a significant portion of the membership. As such, there is a wide range of information, tools and groups within the organization that are available to utility practitioners. What are some of those resources, and how can they be accessed?

Samborski: We are constantly striving to achieve a proper balance between the industries represented by our members and the often “horizontal” cross-industry technologies that are simultaneously common to many yet unique to some. This is no small challenge since these things are constantly changing and evolving. Quite frankly, keeping up with that is a big part of what keeps me awake at night.

But more directly to your question, we try very hard to provide as broad a set of educational resources as we can to as wide a range of our membership as possible because we are first and foremost, an educational organization. Virtually everything we do has an educational component to it. That’s not to say it’s a formal academic component. It’s mainly a “knowledge” dimension, practical information and real world experiences we can package and deliver to our members and constituents.

We do this in a number of ways, including our two main annual conferences as well as specialized seminars, meetings and symposia; special interest groups organized by industry and by technological discipline; studies, reports and tutorials; and many other specialized resources.

EET&D: With such a broad market purview, how is GITA able to address critical industry issues through its conferences and publications in such an eclectic context?

Samborski: We continue to identify critical issues and corresponding educational needs of our members through post-conference surveys, on line surveys, the Geospatial Technology Report, and the Industry Trends Analysis Groups, among various other sources. The resulting input – from six major vertical markets, including electric – is then incorporated into our strategic planning process. Results are distributed to the Geospatial Infrastructure Solutions Conference Committee, other conference committees such as the one dedicated to our GIS in Oil & Gas Conference, the Education Committee, Research Committee and other association entities. Key topics also serve to generate user articles for the association’s newsletter, Networks.

EET&D: For someone who might be totally unfamiliar with GITA, could you please elaborate on some specific examples of how one might derive tangible value from the various types of association resources?

Samborski: There are many, of course, but I think key among these is ITAG, our Industry Trends Analysis Group; the annual Geospatial Technology Report; and our rapidly evolving ROI Workbook series, which includes both published reports and accompanying seminars.

EET&D: Let’s start with ITAG, since I know that represents a pretty broad cross section of what GITA is all about. Again, I have some personal knowledge of what ITAG does and its value as a member myself. One of the things I like best about ITAG is that I can explore the business and technological boundaries of the specific markets where I have an interest, and I can also explore those in new areas where I want to learn more, knowing that I’m part of a group that is extensively composed of deep subject matter experts that have literally been there and done it.

That’s a huge resource for anyone that wants to expand their horizons on a particular market, business or technology, but I’m sure you can articulate the bigger picture for our readers better than I can.

Samborski: That’s a great summary, Mike! But let me also add that ITAG is an ad hoc organization that is purposely broad and open to our entire membership. If you have knowledge, we want to hear what you have to say, and we want to make it easy for you to share that knowledge with others. I think ITAG does a good job of that, and our members seem to agree – as you underlined yourself.

EET&D: How about the annual Geospatial Technology Report? What is it, how is it produced and what value does it deliver?

Samborski: The Geospatial Technology Report is one of many things we do that you don’t have to be a GITA member to derive value from. That is, the report is available to everyone although we do offer a cost discount to our members, as you might expect.

Each year, we develop a detailed research questionnaire that reflects what our members feel are the most important dimensions of the markets and corresponding technologies associated with our profession and we use a web-based survey instrument to gather that information from user organizations. Once the survey work is completed, we compile the data, analyze it and publish the findings in this annual report. We’ve been doing this study since 1998 now and have refined it every year since we started.

The result is a widely subscribed resource that is a great way to find out quickly what the hot buttons are, what’s new and what has changed in our industry in the past year. It can also be useful as an industry primer for those just getting into the geospatial side of things or for anyone who wants to brush up on the latest drivers, issues and trends, and find out who’s doing what with the technology.

EET&D: What was the genesis of the ROI Workbook, and how would you characterize the phase that project is currently in?

Samborski: The ROI Workbook is something that I believe a lot of people would love to have for a whole range of other kinds of projects. As the name implies, it zeroes in on that one critical question that is always being asked by managers at enterprises of all types, sizes and locations; that is: “What’s our return on investment (ROI) if we do this project?”

This is something that kept coming up year after year at our conferences, committee meetings and even board meetings. Utilities have invested heavily in GIS and spatial data system platforms over the past two decades, and now they want to see where the returns are before continuing to invest even more. After all, it’s a very reasonable expectation, I think, to want to know where and how the money you’re spending comes back to you in a beneficial way.

So, a couple of years ago we finally decided to do something about it. After giving it a lot of thought we started by doing some preliminary research to see what resources were available to help establish a game plan for what we knew would probably be a substantial undertaking. We finally teamed up with the American Water Works Research Foundation, the Federal Geographic Data Committee as well as its national counterpart in Canada, GeoConnections, which all provided initial funding for a project called, “Building a Business Case for Geospatial Information Technology: A Practitioner’s Guide to Financial and Strategic Planning.” The result of that partnership was the ROI Workbook, containing methodologies and processes for developing a solid business case to substantiate geospatial investments.

Since then, we have conducted several projects for federal agencies and several states, with dramatic results. In August, we launched a workshop series designed to get this information out in the field. I’m planning on holding a couple more workshops around North America before the end of this year.

EET&D: GITA hosts two major conferences annually: Your annual conference – which has been recently re-positioned as the Geospatial Infrastructure Solutions Conference – and the GIS for Oil & Gas Conference. Maybe you could explain how these two events are alike and how they differ?

Samborski: The philosophy behind both is exactly the same; that is, we provide unbiased, non-commercial and objective education and information organized in a highly professional forum that facilitates networking and knowledge-sharing. The primary difference is that the GIS for Oil & Gas Conference focuses on using geospatial technology in oil and gas transmission and distribution. We’re adding more of an upstream focus each year, and we’re going to hold our initial Oil & Gas conference for Canada in November. The Geospatial Infrastructure Solutions Conference addresses the educational needs of all other market segments – electric, gas, water/wastewater, telecommunications, transportation and the public sector - in terms of how geospatial information and technology can help practitioners in those fields do their jobs better.

EET&D: Looking forward, what changes do you see coming in the marketplace, and what might the impact of those changes be on GITA?

Samborski: When you do what we do, these major changes will be opportunities – to help our members adjust to whatever the future brings. I’m very excited about our infrastructure focus and the incredible potential for contributing solutions to a serious problem that is growing on a daily basis. GITA can be a leader in this area.

With an initial Geospatial Dimensions of Emergency Response Symposium now under our belts, we are well positioned to bridge the gap between geospatial infrastructure practitioners and the emergency response community, a trend that has gained significant momentum lately. Finally, you don’t have to tell anyone about the rising cost of energy, and that is an area in which we expect to be able to leverage GITA’s core capabilities by expanding our Oil & Gas conference series to Canada and Europe and broadening our reach into alternative energy.

EET&D: Bob, I have to tell you that when I joined the association in 1988 to get a crash course on what was then called “AM/FM” [Automated Mapping & Facilities Management], I had no idea what I was getting into. I know that you were still fairly new on the scene at that time too, and I doubt that anyone really knew how the geospatial industry would explode into such a major market in the two decades that followed. What do you think the market will look like in another twenty years from now?

Samborski: With all the changes taking place on so many different levels – technological, regulatory, organizational, and so forth – it will indeed be interesting to see where things go from here. As always, our role will be to help everyone keep up. That will continue to be a big challenge with lots of new opportunities for an organization like ours, so I’m certainly not expecting to be bored any time soon!