January 31, 2011  (Des Plaines, IL) -  URISA and the National Emergency Number Association are accepting abstract submissions for the 2011 URISA/NENA Addressing Conference. The conference—for GIS professionals, addressing coordinators, 9-1-1 and emergency response specialists —will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 15-18, 2011.

The conference is developed through abstracts submitted through a Call for Presentations. The Conference Committee, comprised of URISA and NENA members, reviews all of the abstracts received by the deadline date, and organizes the educational sessions according to those abstracts. The Committee has specified three program tracks for the conference, and they are each described below.

·         Integrating Addresses Across the Enterprise
A well-conceived addressing system involves cooperation and builds relationships for both public and private organizations. The addressing system must be easily understood, accepted and used by everyone. Any successful addressing system must include the cooperation of all stakeholders and the United States Postal Service (USPS). A strong maintenance program is also essential for maintaining the integrity of the addressing system. This track will cover case studies, best practice solutions, and training for the establishment and maintenance of a successful addressing strategy. With the adoption of the FGDC Address Standard, coordination of address data can be organized to benefit everyone.

·         Looking Ahead: Next Generation 911 Standards and Practices
Proper addressing is crucial to public safety. Being able to quickly locate a 9-1-1 call, and dispatch an emergency responder to the correct location may mean the difference between life and death. Today most calls to 9-1-1 come in from wireless phones, which only provides an approximation of the caller's location. Being able to quickly and accurately locate the caller and send emergency responders depends on high quality address and related information. With Next Generation 9-1-1, addressing becomes even more critical. Come learn how to improve your addressing to meet the needs of public safety, while meeting the needs of all other organizations and entities with improved addressing practices.

·         It's All About Data: Address Data Quality and Exchange
Quality is the critical component in every address-related business function. Address data is at the core of many, if not most, government activities, ranging from the time-critical emergency dispatch to the more static voter registration and utility meter location data. Increasingly, states and the federal government are working with address point and range data linking address-based information for complex statistical analyses.   At all levels, poor data quality costs everyone. It slows response time, requires repeated research, and creates costs in lost time, fuel consumption, and rework. This track will explore ways in which improvements in address quality and exchange can improve overall government efficiency, economy and effectiveness.

A review committee of NENA and URISA members will organize an educational program based on the abstracts submitted through the Call for Presentations. Abstract submissions will be accepted until April 4, 2011.

The link directly to the Call for Presentations is: http://www.urisa.org/addressing/2011call

About NENA – The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) is The Voice of 9-1-1 ™. NENA was established to promote implementation and awareness of 9-1-1 as North America’s universal emergency number. NENA has grown to become the leading professional non-profit organization dedicated solely to 9-1-1 emergency communications issues. For more information, visit www.nena.org  

About URISA — The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) is a non-profit professional and educational association that promotes the effective and ethical use of spatial information and information technologies for the understanding and management of urban and regional systems. URISA is a multidisciplinary association where professionals from all parts of the spatial data community can come together and share concerns and ideas. For more information, visit www.urisa.org