Integrating Statistical and Geospatial Information: Cloud and Web Service Application 27 February 2012, 9:30 - 11:30 am DC2 Bldg. Room 1949 United Nations, New York

This special side event will discuss how web services and cloud-based applications, which involve the integration of statistical information with geospatial information, are increasingly used to deliver new decision support and data dissemination capabilities. An Internet-based demonstration will be presented by Esri and an application, developed by Statistics Centre of Abu Dhabi, will showcase the use of these tools and other geospatial technologies in the recent Abu Dhabi Census 2011 project.

The main presentation will be demonstrating the capabilities of Esri Community Analyst, a web-based tool that provides several tools to empower decision makers. Data exploration tools make it possible to know more about a community beyond gut feel or conjecture. Thousands of metrics (for the US) are available for creating color-coded maps or performing targeted searches based on specific demographic, economic or other criteria. The resulting maps can be captured as custom PDFs and saved and shared with others.  Data can also be exported to Excel for further analysis.
In addition to community exploration using maps, more than fifty preformatted reports allow users to quickly get the facts necessary to support good decisions. Users can also create their own custom comparison reports using any of the thousands of metrics available, making it possible to evaluate multiple areas at once to determine which areas are most in need.  Users can specify any type of area for reporting, including counties, congressional districts, cities, ZIP codes, block groups, hand drawn areas, drive time areas, and more.  The application is designed to be easy to use for non-GIS professionals. 
 
Community Analyst is built upon and integrated with the ArcGIS system, allowing users to share and leverage content they and others have created. Web maps published to ArcGIS Online can be viewed and used for analysis within Community Analyst. Users can select features in a web maps and get summarized demographic information for those features.  Community Analyst is also available as an add-in for ArcGIS for Desktop, allowing users to generate reports and extract data from Community Analyst within the desktop environment.

The Statistics Centre of Abu Dhabi (SCAD) will highlight the innovative use of GIS and geo-enabled handheld devices in defining enumeration areas, collecting census data, and disseminating census information (For example, SCAD used IPAD, Galaxy Tab and PDA for the enumeration phases of its census). Similarly, SCAD is using a creative thematic mapping application as part of its dissemination releases. This application calls a detailed base map of Abu Dhabi from a cloud-based web mapping service provided by the Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC).  
 
The forum will provide an opportunity for a hands-on manipulation of a web-based application through kiosks to be available in the meeting room, and also for sharing a national practice and experience in the integration of statistical and geospatial information for dissemination.

Seminar Programme/Agenda
Introduction: Integrating Statistical and Geospatial Information: Some UNSD Activities                       Amor Laaribi, UN Statistics Division
Presentations:
	Integrating Statistical and Geospatial Information: Cloud and Web Service Applications (forthcoming) Ms. Brenda Wolfe, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (Esri)
	Geospatial tools and web services in Abu Dhabi Census 2011 Mr. Yousif Alhammadi, Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi,(SCAD)