IndianaMap is being transferred to the Indiana Geographic Information Office (IGIO) today, May 18.

Launched in the late 1990s by the Indiana Geographic Information Council (IGIC), IndianaMap included the planning, design, development, sharing, and maintenance of statewide geospatial framework data layers across Indiana. The Indiana Geological and Water Survey (IGWS) developed and hosted a map viewer to aggregate digital map information for Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to support the planning and building of Interstate 69 in southwest Indiana. Over the past two decades, these efforts have evolved through a portfolio of projects, grants, and partnerships to provide the citizens of Indiana with hundreds of statewide geospatial data layers we know collectively as IndianaMap.

New layers and updated data were continually collected and added from federal, state, and local agencies in all 92 Indiana counties—a staff- and time-intensive effort. In addition, in the late 2000s, the IGWS developed custom code to manage data importing, and maintained and upgraded that system despite dwindling staff and funding for the effort. In light of those challenges, the IGIO and the IGWS agreed to move management and operation of IndianaMap to the Indiana GIO. Indiana Code 4-23-7.3 established the Indiana Geographic Information Office and outlined the officer’s priorities, which include GIS data dissemination.

“The state and its citizens have been well served by the support of IndianaMap by IGWS. We are extremely grateful for their innovation and leadership in the application, systems, and data availability for the past decades,” said Megan Compton, Indiana geographic information officer. “We are all fortunate to have the support and knowledge of a dedicated GIS community in Indiana to take the IndianaMap portfolio into its next phase.”

The IGWS will continue to contribute geology and hydrogeologic data to IndianaMap. “This frees the Survey up to focus on our geological mission, including geological data visualization in 3-D and in ways we haven’t been able to do that in the past,” said Matt Johnson, assistant director for information services at the IGWS. “The advancements in technology for data hosting are enabling the Indiana GIO to launch a platform and tools with limited custom coding, which allows for easier updates and consistency with web GIS standards. So, it’s a benefit, and in the long term, it will be a good move,” he added.

“IGIC is excited to partner with the Indiana GIO to continue the legacy of IndianaMap by serving Indiana with robust and current open geospatial data,” said Marianne Cardwell, IGIC president and director of geoinformatics for the IUPUI Polis Center. “Our data partnerships will continue to grow stronger in this next phase of the IndianaMap’s history.”

Over the next several weeks, more information will be shared from the IGIO and IGWS at indianamap.org and maps.indiana.edu, including instructions for making new data connections and updated URLs. Please direct any questions to IndianaMapSupport@iot.IN.gov.