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Tell Your Story in ArcNorth News!

Over the past five years, ESRI Canada has published articles in ArcNorth News that have described how GIS is used in a wide variety of applications including all levels of government, forestry, first nations land management, hydro electric utilities, resource conservation, education, industry land reclamation, lawenforcement, and fire fighting, to name just a few. We would like you to add your story to the list. When preparing an article to be submitted for consideration, please follow the guidelines below.

All articles received by the deadline for a specific issue will be reviewed by the ArcNorth News Editorial Review Committee and considered for that issue or possibly a later issue.

If you wish to run your ideas past the editor before writing an article, feel free to e-mail editor@esricanada.com for a quick response.

Submission Checklist

Make sure your article is:

 A real-life, solution-based, objective, and factual Canadian user story
 Written in the third person (he, she, they, it), from the client perspective
 750-1000 words
 Submitted in MS Word or plain text format
 Reviewed by your communications or marketing department (if applicable)
 Not too technical (assume the readers have some familiarity with GIS, but don't assume they know all of the buzzwords)

Be sure to include:

 Information about the benefits realized from GIS
 Definitions for all acronyms, except GIS
 Testimonials (quotes) to support the process and/or the end result
 A variety of screen captures/maps/images in high-colour, high-resolution .eps, .tif, .jpg, or .bmp format do NOT embed digital graphics in your text, document, or word-processed file (such as MS Word or PowerPoint), as they cannot be used for publication
 Captions (1-2 sentences) for all of your screen captures/maps/images
 The profiled organization's logo in high-colour, high-resolution .eps, .tif, or .jpg format
 The author's detailed contact information

Article Framework

Please use the following questions as a guide when preparing an article for submission. Keep in mind that they are general and may not all apply to your situation - use them as you see fit.

  1. Organizational overview - 1-2 paragraphs that provide a little high-level background into your organization's involvement with GIS. (e.g. How long? Was it part of a corporate strategy?)
  2. Project overview.
  3. How/when did you begin using GIS for this particular application? What did you use before implementing GIS?
  4. What is the specific problem or need that GIS addressed?
  5. What GIS software is being used? What type of hardware is used?
  6. How has GIS been integrated with existing business systems?
  7. What specific applications have been developed?
  8. What are the data sources that have been integrated?
  9. Who are the core users? How are they using it? How often?
  10. How have you benefited from implementing the technology / application? (e.g. return on investment, improved analysis, time savings, etc.)
  11. What is your vision as it relates to GIS? (e.g. next steps / moving forward strategy)

Please Note

  • ESRI Canada does not publish press releases, product announcements, or advertisements disguised as ArcNorth News articles.
  • Bylines are not generally included with ArcNorth News articles but each contributor's name and organization is included at the front of the issue.
  • Please inform us if you have also submitted, or are planning to submit your article to another publication.

Submitting your article

Please send your article submission via email to editor@esricanada.com. Screen captures can be zipped and attached to your email.

Every effort will be made to include your story in a subsequent edition of ArcNorth News; however, for a variety of reasons, we cannot guarantee the acceptance or publication of any article.

ESRI Canada reserves the right to edit all submissions. Your text will be edited for grammar, style, and consistency. You will be consulted about all proposed changes to your article. This reviewand revision process should not be considered criticismof your work. The idea of the procedure is to generate an article that provides readers with information in a clear, direct, concise, innovative, and friendly way.

Once the article is complete, and has been accepted for publication, you will be asked to sign ESRI Canada's Copyright Policy. If you wish to have your article reprinted elsewhere, you will need to secure permission from ESRI Canada (editor@esricanada.com).