ILGISA is Illinois’ leading geospatial technology organization,
facilitating education, networking opportunities, and a community for collaboration.
Our Strategies
Three-Year Priorities
- Advance educational opportunities and the sharing of ideas
- Increase awareness of GIS in Illinois
- Grow membership
- Stabilize financial standing
- Facilitate networking
Our Strategies (three-year priorities) and Goals (actions taken quarterly to achieve
strategies)
| Quarter | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| 1FY25 | January – March 2025 |
| 2FY25 | April – June 2025 |
| 3FY25 | July – September 2025 |
| 4FY25 | October – December 2025 |
| 1FY26 | January – March 2026 |
| 2FY26 | April – June 2026 |
| 3FY26 | July – September 2026 |
| 4FY26 | October – December 2026 |
| 1FY27 | January – March 2027 |
| 2FY27 | April – June 2027 |
| 3FY27 | July – September 2027 |
| 4FY27 | October – December 2027 |
| ongoing | Continues in all quarters |
1. Advance educational opportunities and the sharing of ideas
Measure success by:
- Send evaluations after each event, and maintain an overall approval rate of over 75%
| Goals | Date | Committee | Complete? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Host full-day or half-day short courses or workshops on specific topics of interest. | 4FY26 | Professional Development | |
| Continue hosting monthly webinar programs on relevant topics in GIS. | Ongoing | Professional Development | |
| Create video shorts/snippets of “how-to” do certain GIS tasks. | 1FY26 | Professional Development | |
| Develop a mentorship/job shadow program for students and/or young professionals in the industry. | 3FY25 | Education | |
| Host a minimum of 2 full-day Regional Meetings across the state of Illinois. | 1FY25 & ongoing | Program | |
| Host an Annual Conference with 5 concurrent tracks. | 4FY25 & ongoing | Program |
2. Increase awareness of GIS in Illinois
Measure Success by:
- Send a membership survey annually with a question asking about ILGISA’s efforts to increase GIS awareness.
| Goals | Date | Committee | Complete? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post on ILGISA’s social media pages a minimum of 3x per month. | 1FY25 & ongoing | Outreach | |
| Formalize connections/relationships with educational institutions. (For example, participate in career fairs/days at various universities) | 3FY25 | Education | |
| Establish Midwest GIS event calendar on ILGISA.org website. | Ongoing | Outreach | |
| Evaluate New ILGISA Awards. (Academic & Organization) | 3FY25 | Governance |
3. Grow membership
Measure Success by:
- Increase membership numbers by 5% annually.
- Track member retention rate, and ensure it is on an upward trajectory.
| Goals | Date | Committee | Complete? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identify and understand underrepresented segments of the industry. | 2FY25 & ongoing | Outreach | |
| Re-evaluate organizational membership structure. | 1FY26 | Governance | |
| Convert Existing Student Members to Active Members. | 2FY26 & Ongoing | Education / Outreach | |
| Convert Lapsed Members Back to Active Members. | 1FY26 & Ongoing | Outreach / Professional Development |
4. Facilitate Networking
Measure Success by:
- Send a membership survey annually with a question asking about ILGISA’s networking opportunities.
| Goals | Date | Committee | Complete? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner with vendor members to host pop-up events throughout the state at various universities or other venues with a primary focus on networking. | 3FY25 | Education | |
| Create an online digital forum for members to interact between in-person events. | 3FY25 | Outreach | |
| Add more ‘formal’ networking opportunities at the Annual Conference and Regional Meetings. | 4FY25 & Ongoing | Program | |
| Add Special Interest Groups (SIG’s) during the Annual Conference and/or Regional Meetings. | 4FY25 & Ongoing | Program |
5. Stabilize financial standing
Measure Success by:
- Grow reserve account (Goal: $50,000) by 4FY27.
| Goals | Date | Committee | Complete? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explore alternate revenue streams. (Example: webinar sponsors, swag sponsors, etc.) | 4FY25 | Finance | |
| Evaluate investments | 4FY25 | Finance |