The West Virginia Statewide Addressing and Mapping Board (WVSAMB) and the U.S. Census Bureau have agreed to partner in improving the geographic database that supports federal censuses and surveys in West Virginia.

     The WVSAMB, established in 2001, has led the development of an up-to-date statewide digital map base and Geographic Information System (GIS) that ensures that addresses are assigned statewide and incorporated into the GIS. The resulting system will support the delivery of emergency-911 and utility services and assist in planning and economic development in West Virginia.

     The partnership will help improve the accuracy of West Virginia roads in the Census Bureau’s geographic database. The Census Bureau plans to equip its 2010 Census field staff with handheld computers that include Global Positioning System (GPS) capability to pinpoint housing locations. The accuracy of the road positions in the census database must be upgraded to ensure that people are counted in the census where they live.

     “This partnership will truly benefit our state in various ways — from an economic, social and safety standpoint,” said West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin. “By providing more accurate and reliable census data in the coming years, we will have the latest information needed to help us recruit more businesses to our state, make informed decisions regarding social issues and provide public safety for all West Virginians. Census data serve as a portrait of each state; therefore, we must work together to provide the most precise representation of our state that is available.”

     The WVSAMB and the Census Bureau partnership has other benefits:

• The Census Bureau will avoid the cost and redundancy of independently purchasing imagery (for example, aerial photography).

• Once the census database road information aligns with West Virginia’s GIS, the state and local governments can more easily communicate needed geographic and address updates to the Census Bureau — helping to ensure good census coverage and useful data tabulations.

• Because the Census Bureau and West Virginia geographic systems will be in alignment, the incorporation of census and survey data will be far simpler for West Virginia state and local planning and economic development applications using GIS.

     The agreement was reached at an October 6 WVSAMB meeting in Charleston, W.Va., and will be formalized through a memorandum of understanding. This agreement serves as a model for the nation of how federal and state cooperation in the area of geospatial technology can improve services to citizens.

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