The Power of Context: Success Through Mapping
Industry Perspective
The Power of Context: Success Through Mapping
Agencies have the capability to create, store and explore large amounts of data with big data technology. Yet, having big data capabilities does not mean that employees and customers always understand the data well enough to make decisions.
Interface (API). With Google programming, maps become the platform of choice to display a diverse array of data, from train routes to population density to evacuation plans. How can mapping help you do more with data? With data mapping you can:
Instead of just analyzing big data, what if you could visualize the data? What if you could see how data can deliver your agency the most optimal outcome? With mapping technology, you do not have to guess what data could mean for your mission, you can see the answer. The trend is clear: data visualization and mapping has transformed how we do our jobs.
• Create maps that make your data visible and comprehensible • Customize information based on the location of your customers or employees • Aggregate data based on your jurisdiction, city block, school district and many other geographic divisions • Engage with your customers through interactive, public-facing maps • Deliver critical data to decision makers at your agency on internal-facing websites or applications • Visualize your data as it changes in real-time
Google’s technology creates a visual rendering of your agency’s data on the worlds most user-friendly and popular mapping service. Visualizing data puts the insights from the data in focus. Google has revolutionized mapping with geospatial solutions and their Application Programming
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Google Industry Perspective
In this industry perspective, we have extracted the key lessons learned and insights from a recent Google webinar. The webinar included insights from: • Steven Alexander, Creative Director in ECommerce Department at Amtrak • Greg Henle, IT Specialist for the Website Services and Coordination Staff at the U.S. Census Bureau • Dan Israel, Federal Marketing Director, Google Their expert insights have helped us create two case studies from Amtrak and the U.S. Census Bureau, in which we highlight how they have made it significantly easier for customers to understand their data using Google Maps. Both organizations partnered with Google to create public-facing data mapping and visualization programs to enhance customer service and promote their missions.
WHERE DOES YOUR DATA COME FROM? There is a plethora of data visualization tools available to agencies, so why map your data? Visualizing your data leads to new insights and improved decision-making. But, understanding the local context behind the information can allow you to truly understand your data. Today, 30% of Google searches have a geographic aspect to them. For government agencies, most requests for information also involve a local intent. “Most of what government agencies do have a location aspect to them,” said Dan Israel, Federal Marketing Director, Google. What would incorporating location into data processing mean for government agencies? Health departments can map out the spread of a disease and correlate the populations affected to environmental and demographic data.
Constituents can fill out public works requests with GPS data attached so that agencies know the exact location and source of the problem. A homeowner searching for waste collection and recycling information can find schedules specifically tailored to their neighborhood. In addition, mapping technology has been integrated into the vast majority of the technology we use in our personal lives.Whether we are searching medical symptoms, restaurant reviews, news stories or movie trailers, location information enhances our searches to deliver the most accurate and personalized data solutions. All of this points to an important conclusion: “Expectations of what maps can do for us are getting higher,” Israel said. Government agencies must exceed these expectations in order to deliver service to customers. However, Israel pointed out that incorporating data mapping into your agency does not mean re-inventing the wheel. “Consumer mapping technologies can be brought into your organization in some of the same ways that you use them in your personal lives,” said Israel.
CASE STUDY: AMTRAK’S TRACK A TRAIN Train travel has been immortalized in literature and film as a beautiful and adventurous way to travel. However, train travel has not stood the test of time because it is romantic: travelling by train is often the most cost-effective, convenient, and efficient way to reach a destination. Amtrak, America’s passenger train service, was looking for a more visual way to inform customers about the advantages and possibilities of riding with Amtrak. That’s where Google came in.
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“When we developed our app, we saw that after ticket buying, checking train status was the most common activity on Amtrak,” said Steven Alexander, Creative Director of e-commerce, Amtrak. Amtrak wanted to develop a way for customers to not only check the status of their train, but also visualize all the information about their train in one easy view. In September of 2013, Amtrak unveiled the Track A Train platform using Google Maps. Visualizing Amtrak’s information and mass quantities of data was no easy task. Amtrak’s routes include: • 500 destinations • Routes in 46 states, including the District of Columbia and three Canadian Provinces • Over 21,300 miles of routes Track A Train displays all of this data in near realtime on an interactive map. Data is collected from GPS onboard locomotives and feeds from sensors on tracks, communication towers and geo-fenced stations. This information is then aggregated and
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Google Industry Perspective
published to Google Maps Engine every few minutes. Customers using Track A Train see a map of the United States with icons for active trains, routes, and stations. When customers select an active train, they view all the information they need to understand the train’s status. “Through GPS we are showing the speed and direction and the overall status of the train, including its beginning origin and destination,” explained Alexander. “We are pulling from our system the next station where the train is headed, whether it is late or on time. This information is displayed alongside the history of the train, showing where it has been.” The map also shows information about stations and routes. Users can see the exact path of the route to understand their journey. Clicking on a station shows users whether the station is a shelter-free platform or an indoor waiting room with restaurant amenities, important information to know for traveling.
Google’s technology allows Amtrak to operate this data visualization and customer engagement system without having to build it from scratch. “Google Maps allows Amtrak to store a massive amount of information in a secure place,” said Alexander. “Google delivers the information onto the page and takes the burden off of our infrastructure. It allows us to distribute the information from the map into other divisions and departments. We can pull from the same location but deliver it in a different way instead of having to tie in from the backend,” Alexander explained. For its next phase, Amtrak plans to build an integrated journey planning and travel tool that layers relevant information for travelers including: local attractions, transit options, and specials and promotions. “We want to create an entire trip planning visualization system,” said Alexander. “This program will be using the map itself to show where in the country there are deals, activities and fun things to do. If a customer can actually interact with the map, the booking can be done instantly. We can even show you what will be outside your window,” shared Alexander. What could our train-traveling literary heroes have done with that kind of information?
CASE STUDY: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution requires our government to take a census of U.S. citizens every ten years. Originally, the census was a tool to calculate congressional representation and taxes. However, as technology has changed, so have the capabilities of the U.S. Census Bureau. The U.S.
Census is no longer just about counting people: it is about understanding people. The U.S. Census Bureau has revolutionized the concept of a census by gathering data on a multitude of the aspects of how we live.The Bureau runs various initiatives that study: local and state government, economic data, American communities, and county business patterns. Until the 2010 Census, neither the Bureau nor the public had an easy way to visualize the meaning of all this data together. With Google technology, the Bureau has leveraged and aggregated all of this data to create a picture of America’s current state, linguistically, economically and demographically. “All of this data we collect has a spatial component to it,” said Greg Henle, IT Specialist, U.S. Census Bureau. The U.S. Census Bureau has deployed Google technology for three important initiatives: • Questionnaire and participation assistance: “With the most recent census, our goal was to save money by increasing mail-in participation instead of having to send out personnel,” explained Henle. The Bureau helped participants find their closest questionnaire assistance centers with Google mapping technology. “The maps took into account population density to determine what was an appropriate distance to ask someone to travel to get to a questionnaire assistance center. The center closest to you in rural Wisconsin may be 10 miles away, the same is not true for New York City,” Henle pointed out. • Population mapping: Google Maps on the Census website now show all of the data from the 2010 Census in an easy to navigate manner. You can pan across the map, and zoom into the specific area you are looking for, including congressional districts, tribal areas, and block-by-block levels. Different layers of information allow you to see the population
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by age, race, sex and more. “Google handled the movement of the map. It ended up being over 111 million geographic boundaries,” said Henle. • Natural disaster preparation: The Bureau held a code-a-thon in May 2013 to bring together bright minds in innovation to develop a mapping tool to aid local government in natural disasters, using Google API.
THE 4 MAIN ADVANTAGES OF DATA MAPPING While both agencies designed data visualization tools to make information more accessible to the public, the data they leveraged could not have been more different. Amtrak was dealing with real-time data about train status, while the Census Bureau wanted to help people understand the historical data from the 2010 Census. Despite the differences in data, both agencies chose the fast, intuitive Google Maps platform to accomplish their missions. Yet the visualization platform’s applications extend even further beyond these diverse case studies. Maps can help employees visualize data in internal-facing applications, as well. Dan Israel
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Google Industry Perspective
shared four ways a data visualization strategy can benefit government agencies: 1. Make informed decisions: We collect data to do our jobs better. Data visualization takes away the intermediate steps in processing so data can be analyzed in real time. “Maps equip people with information that’s easy to use and interpret so they can make better decisions,” said Israel. Whether you are developing an internal-facing program for employees or a citizen-facing program for customers, maps help all stakeholders get the information they need to make decisions. 2. Optimize people and assets: Embedding location information into data ensures that resources are directed to the source of the problem, even during developing situations. “Maps get people to the right place, an important application in an emergency response situation,” explained Israel. In an internal-facing mapping system, employees dealing with a crisis can see where they are needed most and quickly find out how to get there. 3. Engage customers: Knowing more about your constituents means you can deliver better customer service. Just as importantly, the more constitu-
ents know about how agencies operate, the better they can formulate requests and engage with their government. “Any constituents you have that are interested in working with your information and understanding the data better can use data mapping,” said Israel. 4. Go mobile: Mapping technology is often needed on the go; meaning many of these capabilities must be available through mobile devices. Google’s mapping platform has been designed to work on all of the popular mobile devices, including Android and iOS. Agencies can build a map once, knowing that it will be optimized for these commonly used mobile devices. With big data, agencies have been able to answer the critical questions about their operations. What data do employees need to know before beginning major projects? Who are the constituents we should be serving? When do citizens need to be notified about policy changes to ensure compliance? Yet, all of these questions cannot be answered fully without the “where.” From where do employees log on to our data system? Where do the constituents who we should be serving live? Where can we send notifications in order to ensure compliance?
For more information on Google’s innovative partnerships with government, visit and explore these resources from GovLoop: Google Maps Case Studies Public Sector Data and Google Maps Powers Trulia Local Maps help the HALO Trust remove landmines around the globe Google Creates 30-Year Time Lapse of Environmental Changes on Earth Using Google Streetview for Engineering Submittals
Nobody grasps the importance of location better than government agencies, organizations chartered based on their locales. Government personnel at all levels are dedicated to understanding our neighborhoods, our schools, our hospitals, and our military bases. The public sector already is focused on bringing its services to improve where you live and work, data mapping gives agencies another tool to help them succeed in this mission.
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This industry perspective was written by Kathryn David, GovLoop 2013 Fall Research Fellow. For more information about this report, please reach out to Pat Fiorenza, Senior Research Analyst, GovLoop, at pat@govloop.com, or follow him on twitter: @pjfiorenza. GovLoop 1101 15th St NW, Suite 900 Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202) 407-7421 Fax: (202) 407-7501 Twitter: @GovLoop
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Google Industry Perspective