Focus The FedStat prototype takes advantage of the new ArcGIS Server API for Flex in a fast Web mapping application incorporating spatial analysis tools that assist in determining the cost to mitigate or solve the problem, its relationship to other similar issues, and how it should be prioritized. One of the many ways GIS can better manage organizations is what Dangermond has termed geoaccounting. Society needs to account for "everything people really care about," such as infrastructure, social services, and environmental quality— systematically—and really recognize the cost of human actions. GIS helps uncover and analyze these costs. Through GIS, what should be done can be addressed. StateStat on Steroids Esri has created a prototype application that supplies geoaccounting for government on the federal level. FedStat demonstrates how GIS can not only visualize Obama's transparent government but also foster informed decision making, accountability, and performance measurement. Through "spatializing" stimulus funds, FedStat offers the next logical step in implementing performance-based governance using GIS to help provide an unprecedented level of government transparency. Developed as a rapid prototype, FedStat takes advantage of the new ArcGIS Server API for Flex and current strategies for delivering highly responsive and focused Web mapping using the capabilities available in ArcGIS 9.3.1. Modeled on the previously cited successful GIS-based programs on city, region, and state levels, FedStat not only shares information but also supports dynamic and interactive analysis in a collaborative environment. FedStat can help government function more effectively by overcoming problems caused by the information silos that result from stand-alone Web applications that cannot share information across agencies. Federal agencies can publish message packets to the FedStat system. Message packets are self-contained dynamic briefings on a topic or issue, complemented by real-time access to Web services that furnish maps and data and provide decision makers with accurate content from domain experts. FedStat doesn't just deliver visualization and communication capabilities, it integrates decision-support tools for performing analysis using cross-cutting data and content. It also incorporates spatial analysis tools that assist in determining the cost to mitigate or solve the problem, its relationship to other similar issues, and how it should be prioritized. For ongoing projects, it can serve as a performance measurement tool for optimizing expenditures and keeping the public informed. A More Insightful Approach More than ever, the rational approach supplied by GIS is needed to bring information resources to bear on seemingly intractable problems. As Dangermond has observed, GIS can make the information more accessible and the process more transparent so "mere mortals can see where is the right place and where is the wrong place. If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, a map is worth 100,000 words" because people see maps and intuitively understand the information presented. In this crisis is an opportunity for creating government transparency by incorporating GIS not only for stimulus funding but for all government spending. www.esri.com ArcUser