May 15, 2006, Washington DC- The DC Master Address Repository (DC MAR) has
been selected to receive the FOSE Centers of Excellence Award during the
40th Anniversary of the FOSE Conference. A panel of editors from Government
Computer News chose the database as one of five top projects to receive this
honor. The FOSE Award recognizes DC MAR for its enhancement of the business
of government.
The Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) of the District of
Columbia developed DC MAR, a database of building locations and addresses,
to solve inconsistencies in reporting addresses throughout local
jurisdictions and government agencies. DC MAR is one of the first citywide
applications to use the District´s new service-oriented architecture to
allow DC agencies to view the capabilities of DC MAR as a series of web
services that send and receive XML.
"Addresses are the most important location information in government; they
are necessary for everything we do," explained Suzanne Peck, Chief
Technology Officer for the District of Columbia. "Building permits, crime
reports, tax assessments and emergency response are just a few examples of
why correct and consistent information is a key to making the District
government run effectively."
DC MAR standardizes the way the database stores addresses, eliminates
inconsistencies in address reporting, improves analysis and strengthens
inter-agency communication systems. The program´s address standardization
allows the District government to compare information across databases and
agencies more easily. DC MAR assigns a unique Address Identification Number
(AID) and map coordinates to each address and also determines the address´s
specific property square, lot number, ward, Advisory Neighborhood Commission
(ANC) and Police Service Area (PSA).
Several government agencies currently use the database and web service,
which has eliminated the lengthy process of notifying multiple agencies of
new addresses. Now when the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
(DCRA) issues an address for a new building, the agency enters the change
into DC MAR, which gives other government agencies immediate access to the
most current address database.
"The automated DC MAR saves the District time and money by reducing the
resources needed to keep accurate and up-to-date records," said Barney
Krucoff, DC´s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Director. "DC MAR also
makes it easier to perform cross cutting analysis among databases, because
addresses are no longer stored with various spellings or formats."
Residents and visitors will be able to access DC MAR online beginning this
summer. The public interface will allow Internet users to query an address
or location. DC MAR will then deliver specific information about that
property or area online. Users can find out additional information about the
area including locations near the address and directions to the address.
For more information about the DC MAR and other OCTO projects, please visit
the District of Columbia website at www.dc.gov.
Heather Streeter Orth
Senior Account Executive
Shorey Public Relations
NEW YORK
WASHINGTON, DC
(O) 518.587.1011 x3674
(C) 518.229.0345
Email: heather[at]shoreypr.com
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