This is the question that we need to answer as a group so that we can effectively track the resources of multiple communities and organizations. Fortunately, we are following in the footsteps of some great initiatives (see last week’s post). One of the most impressive initiatives that also relates to us geographically is the Kansas RecFinder website (http://maps.kansasgis.org/recfinder/public/?CFID=641497&CFTOKEN=35756512).

The Kansas RecFinder website was developed by Dr. Sid Stevens from Kansas State University. With funding from the Kansas Sunflower Foundation (also a financial contributor to the GoPlayKansas.com website) Dr. Stevens undertook the huge task of surveying organizations throughout Kansas to inventory their resources. Once he had that information, then he organized it into a GIS database and coordinated with the Kansas Data Access and Support Center (DASC).

The Kansas RecFinder was and is a huge leap forward for recreation resources in Kansas. We have been in contact with Dr. Stevens and Ms. Hallberg at the DASC about the Kansas RecFinder and GoPlayKansas.com. We are very hopeful that we can coordinate the GIS information that underlies each system, to make them compatible. By making them compatible, we can share the information between the systems and build upon the system that Dr. Stevens has created. The GoPlayKansas website will add more interactive functions, allowing participants to utilize the data and develop data in a way that enhances and builds on the data that the website initially publishes.

The NRPA GIS standards, being developed right now, might be one method of coordinating the Kansas Rec Finder and GoPlayKansas.com GIS information. There are some challenges to this, In the next post we can start to explore how the GIS data for GoPlayKansas.com is currently sorted and some of the challenges with coordinating it with the KansasRecFinder or NRPA standards. 

Tags: Alliance, GIS Data, goPLAY, GPS, Kansas, RecFinder, Recreation, Wichita