Redlands, California-ESRI announced today that the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) will deploy an innovative ArcIMS application for economic development. The Web-based GIS tool will enable users to conduct detailed searches for available economic development sites using both spatial and tabular queries. Results are provided in both map and text form.

Developed by GIS Workshop, a leading GIS and spatial integration consultant, the groundbreaking Internet project began in January 2005 and is slated for completion in the second quarter of 2005. "The application helps us provide the best quality service possible to our constituents, surrounding counties, and others interested in accessing economic development data," says Jenny Overhue, economic research analyst for NPPD. "Providing GIS data and functionality in a user-friendly environment helps people perform queries based on their specific needs. It really opens up information and services to more people in the best way possible." "NPPD recognized the need to improve both the usefulness of their GIS data and their existing capabilities," says Michael Jolley, GIS Workshop. "After careful consideration of possible solutions, NPPD determined our proposed application would elevate NPPD's ability to respond to economic development inquiries. It ensures their clients receive the most accurate site data possible." The Internet mapping solution allows site selectors to search for the exact type of property or building in a given community. Additionally, site selectors can perform advanced spatial queries to narrow their search to those properties and buildings that meet their specific infrastructure needs, providing a unique growth opportunity to agencies in the economic development market. ArcIMS was customized to integrate various data sets from multiple sources, resulting in up-to-date site selection information. The customized interface provides a user-friendly means of extracting information quickly and easily. Users have a wide range of search criteria including site and building type and size; city, community, and region; interstate, railway, and commercial airport drive times; and more. Once users perform a query causing a map and list of sites to display, users can access even more detailed information about a selected site including pricing, description, construction type, square footage, photos, and more. A spatial data layer control option allows users to view any combination of parcel, street, and aerial imagery for a specific property. In addition, demographic, consumer spending, and other business data are available with just a few mouse clicks. Users can pan, zoom, and move throughout the map display with an additional option allowing a map printout. This new application replaces previous traditional methods, which typically consisted of site selectors contacting prospective areas by phone, e-mail, or fax and requesting various community data, which were maintained in multiple locations in different formats. In addition to external use, the application meets the needs for internal NPPD staff and Nebraska communities utilizing NPPD's economic development portal resources. NPPD now offers staff a single source access to various data previously available through three separate extensive searches. As the economic development portal for every city and county in Nebraska, NPPD now provides a more streamlined user interface for communities to upload and download data about their community. Moreover, the application simplifies the manner by which communities add, edit, and delete available industrial real estate property information.

###

About ESRI
Founded in 1969, ESRI is the leading developer of GIS software with more than 300,000 clients worldwide. ESRI software is used in all 200 of the largest cities in the United States and in more than 60 percent of counties and municipalities nationwide. Headquartered in California, ESRI has regional offices throughout the United States, international distributors in more than 90 countries, and more than 1,700 business partners. ESRI's goal is to develop comprehensive tools that enable users to efficiently manage, use, and serve geographic information to make a difference in the world around them. ESRI also provides consulting, implementation, and technical support services. www.esri.com.

ESRI, the ESRI globe logo, GIS by