Established in May 2009, this is the first state agency in Minnesota with legislatively defined responsibility for coordinating GIS within Minnesota. The organizational structure includes two advisory committees that make recommendations to the Chief Geospatial Information Officer (CGIO). These committees include a statewide geospatial advisory council and a state agency advisory council.

A 17-member council that serves as a regional planning organization for the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. The council runs the regional bus and light rail system, collects and treats wastewater, manages regional water resources, plans regional parks, and administers funds that provide housing opportunities for low and moderate income individuals and families.

The seven county service area of the Metropolitan Council. Governments within Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington Counties are represented on the MetroGIS Policy Board.

A geospatial collaborative organization serving the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Its primary functions focus on: a) the development and implementation of a collaborative regional solution for sharing information needs (e.g., geospatial data, related applications, standards and best practices), b) widespread sharing of geospatial data via DataFinder.org website, c) the value of GIS technology as a core business tool, and d) sharing knowledge relevant to the advancement of GIS technology. Beneficiaries of these efforts include local and regional governments, as well as, state and federal government, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations and business interests.

Distinguishing Characteristics include:

• Unincorporated organization -no mandate or legal standing
• Cannot own data, receive, or spend funds-rely on stakeholders
• Elected officials comprise the Policy Board
• Consensus-based decisions on matters fundamental to success
• Voluntary compliance for endorsed policies/procedures
• Forum to foster collaboration on a breadth of shared geospatial program needs - more than just data.

ISO/TC211
Discrete unit of metadata.

Information about a resource

ISO/TC211
Intersection of an ellipsoid by a plane containing the shortest axis of the ellipsoid.

Substance or agency for storing or transmitting data.

a scheme that establishes rules for control of other components of a phenomenon that permit the measurement of one component. In a geographic information system, there are three components: time, space, and attribute.

Measured quantity value minus a reference quantity value.

Closeness of agreement between a test result or measurement result and the true value.

Set of operations having the object of determining the value of a quantity.

ISO/TC211
Operations associated to measurements.