The Polis Center at IUPUI, in partnership with the City of Indianapolis, and the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee, are pleased to announce IndyVitals, a geospatial tool that measures the health and sustainability of neighborhood areas in Marion County, has been awarded a prestigious national award for improving the delivery and quality of government services.
IndyVitals, a legacy of Plan 2020 built by The Polis Center at IUPUI and powered by the SAVI community information system, is a 2017 recipient of the Exemplary Systems in Government Awards from URISA, a multi-disciplinary geospatial organization that fosters excellence in geographic information systems (GIS).
The user-friendly digital tool was recognized by URISA for solving a problem facing local organizations from multiple sectors: telling a common story and making meaningful comparisons about particular neighborhoods. It is unique for its ability to coordinate actions of community development partners through data and measure the long-term impact of the work of Plan 2020 partners at the neighborhood level.
“As city planning becomes more decentralized and democratized, IndyVitals allows us to carry on the spirit of coordination and cooperation coming out of the Plan 2020 process by empowering residents with a simple interface to engage complicated datasets within common geographies. This allows all partners working to build a better city to see the same story for the same place and prioritize their work accordingly,” said Brad Beaubien, Administrator of Long Range Planning, Department of Metropolitan Development.
IndyVitals is an excellent resource for organizations involved in quality of life, social services and economic development. The tool is specifically used by city government to target investments to areas based on need. Community development corporations use the tool to justify the need for investments in their communities, social service providers use the tool to better understand the need for cross-sector collaboration to improve outcomes, and the tool empowers community organizers with data to prioritize community-improvement efforts that build upon existing community assets.
The award summary noted that IndyVitals, is “a thoughtful, deliberate and intentional data mash-up product” that “combined with high ease of use and an attractive visual appeal … makes it an excellent urban planning and neighborhood assessment tool.”
“It is an honor that URISA has recognized IndyVitals, as winner in the 2017 enterprise system category,” said David Bodenhamer, executive director of The Polis Center at IUPUI. “The collaboration with the City of Indianapolis and the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee to develop a tool to support the City’s 2020 bicentennial aligns diverse planning partners toward a common goal, coordinating their actions through data. This innovative neighborhood monitoring tool is proving to be a useful solution for organizations from multiple sectors in making Indianapolis a great place to live and work.”
The award competition was open to all public agencies at the federal, state/provincial, regional and local levels. IndyVitals was officially recognized during the URISA awards ceremony October 25 in Jacksonville, Florida. You may view the IndyVitals awards video and all the winners here.
This is the second component of Plan 2020 to receive a national award. Discover more about your piece of Marion County at indyvitals.org.