UMSL Geospatial Collaborative
Mapping the way to innovative, effective and equitable policy.
Mapping the way to innovative, effective and equitable policy.
Who we are: collaborators who care about “the where” of a problem and much, much more.
We champion research, technological innovation and community engagement that will inform local policy makers with current, up-to-date and accurate information so they can make the best policy decisions for improving our neighborhoods. Our approach leverages partnerships in the growing St. Louis Area Geospatial Ecosystem to research challenging social problems and to incorporate geospatial analysis into solutions. We acknowledge that every single thing happens in time and space. Geospatial analysis is an exquisite way to explain patterns in human behavior through geographical relationships within any environment. Harnessing this geospatial knowledge will foster a better understanding of the relationships among intersecting human conditions.
We acknowledge that national security encompasses many different things. While the term brings to mind the idea of terrorism, it is important to establish that national security is dependent on many different, interconnected systems. National security is tied to cybersecurity, the electrical grid, natural gas, water, transportation, public health and many more facets of everyday life. The UMSL Geospatial Collaborative works to engage all of these areas of national security and works to be a partner in researching and developing solutions to problems faced by each.
What we do: geospatial data science storytelling—with purpose.
Everything that happens—to an individual person or to an entire community—happens in a certain time and space. These elements provide location information. Information that tells a story. At the Geospatial Collaborative, we bring many minds and talents together to visualize and interpret those stories—and their potential implications—for businesses, nonprofits, policy makers, government agencies and other partners. And we don’t stop there.
Why we do it: driving real change—from action to impact.
In the real world, stories don’t have endings, and whatever happens next has real consequences—for individuals, communities, even entire countries. At the UMSL Geospatial Collaborative, we help our partners move their data from story to action to real-world impact.
In other words, a specific community’s location information can lead policy makers to enact new policies or laws that save lives, impact the region for the better or result in a broader, more equitable and balanced constituency. A city’s location information can lead to changes that strengthen a power grid, shore up other infrastructure challenges or even make that city more desirable for businesses and individuals. A country’s location information can have direct ties to national security, healthcare delivery, education and much more.
In short, what the impact looks like depends on the situation—and is virtually limitless.
Why St. Louis: the right place at the right time.
With the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s $1.7 billion western campus under construction just north of downtown and set to open in 2025, there is no better time or place than centrally located, accessible, affordable, innovation-rich St. Louis to provide the foundational home for our work.
“St. Louis is becoming the geospatial technical hub not only of the nation, but of the world” – NGA Director VADM Robert Sharp
Why UMSL: trusted collaborators with a track record of success.
Since its founding in 1963, the University of Missouri–St. Louis has been uniquely invested in St. Louis, its people, and everything that happens in the place that is the wider region at large, the nation and the world. As an Anchor Institution, leader and constant partner in community initiatives with impact, UMSL is a force for building inclusive growth and prosperity in the region and beyond.
Please get in touch: collaborators to the core.
The power of what we do is in the people we bring together—in their different, but compatible skillsets, expertise and knowledge. Our deep understanding is that although we start with where, we can’t move forward without who we bring to the table. Join us in this endeavor: Mapping the way to innovative, effective and equitable policy.
Meet our experts