Breaking Up is Easy to Do: Leaving ESRI Behind for QGIS - A Case Study

Alex Cohn, Director of Research Technology, Chapin Hall

Founded in1860 as the Chicago Nursery and Half-Orphan Asylum. For the next 100 years, it flourished as a group home for the city’s disadvantaged children.

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By the early 1960s, however, the institution then known as Chapin Hall had become increasingly dependent on public funding. As a result, it altered its focus, first to sheltering wards of the state and then to treating emotionally disturbed children.

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The 1980s brought a fundamental shift in government policy that led to the reallocation of financial support from residential programs like Chapin Hall’s to programs delivering foster care. Faced with the inevitable loss of funding, Chapin Hall’s leaders recognized that they would soon be unable to provide direct services to young people.

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In 1984, Chapin Hall’s board of directors resolved to explore new ways of fulfilling their commitment to the interests of children. They turned to the University of Chicago which agreed to provide administrative support, a campus home, and an atmosphere conducive to serious inquiry.

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The result was something unprecedented at the time: a think tank dedicated solely to the issues of young people and affiliated with one of the world’s leading research institutions.

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In 2012 Chapin Hall, in partnership with the University of Chicago, became a free standing non-profit organization separate from the University. This new arrangement has allowed Chapin Hall to expand it’s mission beyond the role of research.

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Chapin Hall History

Chapin Hall provides public and private decision-makers with rigorous data analysis and achievable solutions to support them in improving the lives of our most vulnerable children, youth and families.

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Chapin Hall partners with policymakers, practitioners and philanthropists to provide actionable information, practical tools, and tailored solutions by applying a unique blend of scientific research, real world experience, and policy expertise to create positive change.

Chapin Hall Mission

What our friends think we do

What we really do

What we think we do

What our clients think we do

What society thinks we do

What our moms think we do

What We Really Do… and how to improve it

Three Transition Drivers

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ESRI & ArcMap Software

Expensive, contract issues and poor performance.

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Desire to improve productivity

How could we do what we’re doing more efficiently?

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Need to innovate

Are there new things in GIS we should or could be doing?

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Organizational Costs / Benefits of Transition

University to Non-Profit

Non-Profit to Negotiated

Negotiated to Current

Negotiated to Future

Quantum GIS is Open Source GIS

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• Gary Sherman began development of Quantum GIS in early 2002
1. In 2007 it becomes an incubator project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation
2. Version 1.0 released in January 2009

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• Written in C++, QGIS makes extensive use of plugins developed by the user community to expand functions.

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• QGIS runs on multiple operating systems including Mac OS X, Linux, UNIX, and Microsoft Windows.
• QGIS has a small file size compared to commercial GIS's and requires less RAM and processing power

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• QGIS is maintained by volunteer developers who regularly release updates and bug fixes.
• As of 2012, developers have translated QGIS into 48 languages and the application is used internationally in academic and professional environments.

What is QGIS?

Source: Google Trends

(https://www.google.com/trends/)

05/19/2017

Source: Google Trends

(https://www.google.com/trends/)

05/19/2017

1. Invited all current staff with an ArcMap license to a kick off meeting.

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• Created a user group to guide process & develop goals.

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• Expand the GIS infrastructure at Chapin Hall.
• Improve workflow and performance.
• Increase the overall impact of GIS on the work of Chapin Hall.

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• Started transition in July 2015 with the following phases.

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• Short Term: QGIS testing, training & creation of open source geocoder.

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• Medium Term: Create shared geospatial resources, GIS web applications & Improvements to our GIS methodology.

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• Long Term: GIS staff development, expand GIS organizational integration & better leverage our existing data through GIS

Transition Steps

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QGIS Testing

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• What’s the right evaluation framework?
1. Compile list of current essential GIS tools and determine if QGIS has them

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• Results of initial testing
• Are the key features we need present?
• How do they compare from ArcGIS to QGIS?
• What were people’s experiences trying to recreate a project in QGIS that they had built in ArcMap?

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• Prepare Report on Testing

Short Term:

Short Term:

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 QGIS Training

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1. What kind of support would we need to transition to QGIS?

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• Should we engage a consultant to help with that transition?

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Geocoding

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• Can we replace current Chapin Hall geocoding process with open source option?
1. Is there a way to use open source geocoders without violating DSA requirements? (see my talk in Harborview 3 if interested)
2. How to develop a framework to evaluate geocoders?

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Develop Shared GIS resources

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1. Can we building a shared space for geospatial information?
1. Is there a open source version of an ESRI geodatabase?
2. What are the best practices for doing this?

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• Development of Open Source GIS Web Applications
• To better serve geospatial analysis data to clients / partners.

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• Improve GIS Methodology
• Promote the use of best practices and most recent developments in GIScience.

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Medium Term:

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Better Integrate GIS into the work of Chapin Hall

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• Development of a Structured Professional Development track for GIS staff.
• To ensure a more consistent set of GIS skills across GIS staff.

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• Expand the integration of GIS throughout Chapin Hall’s work
• Try to find ways to use more sophisticated GIS methods on a regular basis

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• Find ways to better leverage our existing data through GIS
• Are there ways to use our existing data to leverage new opportunities?

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Long Term:

1. Developed a QGIS / ArcMap Comparison Framework
• Tested various tools and recreated ArcMap projects in QGIS

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• Tested QGIS vs ArcMap
• Determined key GIS tools used at Chapin Hall.
• Confirmed and tested these tools in QGIS
• Wrote a report summarizing findings

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• Completing Short Term Goals
• Engaged consultant for QGIS staff training
• Trained existing users in four sessions over two weeks.
• Have reduced ESRI products to one license – still keep one for support
• Have built a production open source geocoder service

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Accomplishments

1. Able to shift organizational resources from software to staff
• Increase professional development around GIS

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• QGIS Advantages
• Free / No Licenses
• Meets 90% of the GIS needs of our staff
• Constant Improvement
• Superior Performance
• Support Available (but haven’t needed it!)

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• QGIS Drawbacks
• Not all tools interfaces are as clean as ArcMap, especially among the plug-ins
• Some of the advanced spatial analysis tools are not yet available. (Becoming less true all the time)
• ArcMap documentations is better and integrated directly into the product
• Common version across organization (although solved through community agreement – currently 2.14).

Overview

Where we hope to go