UVA Wise to Serve as Virginia Lead for Grant to Build GIS Capacity

Genna Welsh Kasun
Mountains

The University of Virginia’s College at Wise (UVA Wise) announced this week that it will serve as the Virginia state lead in an Appalachian Regional Commission grant that focuses on enhancing the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) and geospatial technologies in land record management to foster economic development. The grant is part of the Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Communities (ARISE) program. UVA Wise partnered with the University of Tennessee, the University of Kentucky and West Virginia University on the grant, as a multistate effort.

“UVA Wise is excited to work with local governments and regional planning commissions in this initiative so that we can tailor the project’s outputs to the specific needs of Virginia’s local governments,” said Randall Rose, associate vice chancellor for community and economic development at UVA Wise. “We look forward to facilitating the planning and development of this project using and extending our extensive network throughout the region and Commonwealth.” 

The total grant, which is managed by the University of Tennessee, includes more than $398,000 in funding to support the development of implementable technological upgrades and land records management practices as well as creating a comprehensive training program for local government staff and leadership after feasibility and cost studies are completed in two pilot locations for each partner state. 

UVA Wise will focus on facilitating the project for Virginia, which includes coordinating and planning the process and stakeholder management; organizing and implementing listening sessions to gather input on local needs and capacities; developing and administering surveys and interviews with county officials; and providing resources to design GIS training curricula so that the project is ready for implementation by the end of the planning phase. 

“This project paves the way to significantly benefit distressed and at-risk communities in Central Appalachia by providing the tools and knowledge necessary for improvements in land records management and geospatial technology use to spur economic development,” said Richard Johnson, UVA Wise community development manager and coordinator for the project. 

The East Tennessee Development District, West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, West Virginia Association of Geospatial Professionals, the Livelihoods Knowledge Network and Appalachian Voices are support partners for the project, who will assist with project facilitation and engagement.

UVA Wise’s participation in the project has begun and, within the next few months, the College’s team will host listening sessions with local leaders and economic developers and will design and distribute a survey to local and county government leaders. After these initial goals are achieved, project managers will provide input on the selection of counties for feasibility studies, conduct an assessment of existing GIS and land records training opportunities for local and county government staff, and provide input on feasibility study consultant candidates. Before the project concludes at the end of next academic year, UVA Wise will engage with the project development team to design an implementation plan.