For most NG9-1-1 GIS data provisioning teams, ArcGIS Pro is the preferred tool for the job in building and maintaining this Next Generation Core Services (NGCS) mission critical data. Road centerline edits, address point updates, and boundary layer maintenance all happen within Esri’s desktop environment such as ArcGIS Pro. The tools are familiar, the workflows are established, and the data lives there.

What has historically been the challenge for GIS data stewardship, after the editing is done, is validating that data against NENA standards, aggregating that data across jurisdictions, and provisioning that data to NGCS for consumption and use. These steps have often required separate platforms, manual exports, and spreadsheet-based tracking to be executed, each introducing risk and pulling analysts away from the environment where they are most productive.

To accomplish this required 9-1-1 work, 1Spatial has developed 1Engage for ArcGIS Pro. When paired with Esri’s tools like their Address Data Management (ADM) solution, 1Engage for ArcGIS Pro helps create a single, continuous GIS data production workflow to improve NG9-1-1 readiness.

Let’s look at how 1Engage leverages ArcGIS Pro, without requiring new systems, retraining staff, or rebuilding what already works in local data management practices today.

The Workflow Challenge Facing NG9-1-1 GIS Teams

Esri’s ArcGIS Pro and ADM solution has become the widely adopted go-to resources for local addressing authorities. Together they provide a defined geodatabase schema, Arcade-based attribute rules, and guided tasks for adding roads, creating site addresses, and managing road name changes. Organizations using ADM have reported meaningful reductions in address creation time and fewer manual errors being seen during routine editing.

ADM is an excellent tool for address lifecycle management within a single jurisdiction, and it handles the creation as well as the maintenance sides effectively. Where a ‘gap’ emerges is on multi-layer NG9-1-1 validations at scale, multi-jurisdictional aggregation, and the NGCS provisioning side of the equation. A GIS team may create and maintain clean address data in ADM, but confirming compliance to NENA standards, rolling it out in concert with neighboring jurisdictions, and pushing the final results to the Spatial Interface (SI) for Emergency Call Routing Function/Location Validation Function (ECRF/LVF) deployment requires a different set of capabilities.

Most organizations bridge this gap through manual QA processes, spreadsheet-based tracking, or by exporting data into a separate validation platform. Each of those steps introduces version mismatch risk, adds turnaround time, and creates unnecessary manual handoffs between systems by pulling GIS analysts away from the editing environment they are most productive in.

How 1Engage Operates Inside ArcGIS Pro

1Engage is available as a native ArcGIS Pro add-in, enabling GIS data contributors to run over 300 NG9-1-1 validation checks, review failures with clear remediation guidance, and provision corrected data to NGCS within the same editing session where the data was created.

In practice, the workflow operates as follows: an analyst finishes updating address points using ADM’s guided tasks, then runs 1Engage validation on the full dataset or a selected area. Results appear directly in the ArcGIS Pro interface, flagging issues at the individual record level with specific explanations of what failed and how to resolve it. Once corrections are applied, the data can be provisioned through 1Engage’s spatial interface to the NGCS deployment without an additional export step.

This approach delivers several operational advantages. First, validation happens where the data lives, reducing the number of handoffs and thus eliminating what would have been unnecessary opportunities for version mismatches. Second, the rules behind validations are managed centrally and updated by 1Spatial subject matter experts as NENA standards evolve, so individual teams are not responsible for maintaining a separate ruleset on their own. And third, the entire loop from creation through provisioning stays inside one environment, reducing the time between data editing and data readiness. In 9-1-1, particularly in data provisioning and correction work, the faster the better for getting updated data to the live saving systems that need it.

Regulatory Context and Standards Alignment

The FCC’s NG9-1-1 transition rules became enforceable in March 2025. 9-1-1 Authorities can now issue valid service requests to Originating Service Providers (OSPs), and compliance timelines are active. Without NENA-compliant GIS data, Phase 1 requests for IP-based SIP delivery may be harder to operationalize, and Phase 2 requests requiring i3-enabled SIP, PIDF-LO location delivery, and LVF interface readiness cannot move forward.

GIS data validation is a non-negotiable foundation of NG9-1-1 because location-based routing depends entirely on the accuracy of the geospatial data utilized for it. Every 9-1-1 call, whether placed from a wireless device, a landline, or a VoIP phone inside an office building, must be validated against GIS data and routed to the correct PSAP by mapping the caller’s location to jurisdictional boundaries. Deploying substandard GIS data can introduce errors that can result in calls routing incorrectly, and at least increasing response time to calls and incidents.

A common weakness in NG9-1-1 programs is that GIS data readiness is still treated as a downstream issue instead of an early delivery priority. Agencies may not discover data problems until testing or cutover, when numerous fixes are more difficult and expensive to make. Multi-jurisdictional coordination also adds further complexity: cooperation across dozens of agencies validating their maps to ensure no overlaps or gaps in roads, address points, or service boundaries is essential though for a regional deployment to function as needed.

NENA has recently released its NG9-1-1 GIS Data Model v3. This updated standard introduces a relational data model example that can be supported alongside the traditional flat file approach, mandatory globally unique IDs, and enhanced vertical measurement support. These changes reflect the growing complexity of NG9-1-1 data requirements, particularly as indoor mapping and three-dimensional location data become more central to accurate caller location identification and response.

1Engage v1.2, released in October 2025, was built with these evolving requirements in mind. The release introduced several workflow changes designed to tighten the loop between data preparation and operational deployment. Users now upload data a single time and manage validation through a streamlined workflow, reducing repeated setup and unnecessary handoffs.  

A refreshed portal-to-desktop continuity model allows GIS analysts to move between the 1Engage web portal and their ArcGIS Pro desktop environment without losing context, a change that eliminates hours of repetitive data checks. And end-to-end visibility across every validation and provisioning step supports the auditability that multi-agency deployments require, ensuring that what goes into NGCS is exactly what was intended.

Critically, 1Engage aligns with the forthcoming NENA v3 data model requirements, so organizations adopting this workflow now are building on a foundation designed to accommodate the next generation of standards without requiring a rebuild. Future releases will expand support for indoor mapping and complex location data as NG9-1-1 expectations continue to mature.

What This Means for NG9-1-1 Programs

For agencies and statewide NG9-1-1 programs, the combination of ArcGIS Pro, ADM and 1Engage for ArcGIS Pro represents a shift from fragmented, export-dependent compliance processes to a unified data readiness workflow.  

1. GIS analysts stay in their primary editing environment.  

2. Validation is continuous rather than periodic.  

3. And provisioning to NGCS is a direct step in the workflow rather than a separate project.

Ensuring GIS readiness no longer requires months of manual data cleanup or forces teams to jump between disconnected systems. By keeping tasks connected and traceable within a single environment, the workflow addresses practical realities that matter when multiple agencies and vendors must interoperate under the pressure of public safety timelines.

As compliance timelines accelerate and data model standards evolve in the future, the ability to validate, correct, and provision NG9-1-1 data without leaving ArcGIS Pro removes a significant source of operational friction from the readiness process.

See the Workflow in Action

1Spatial has built an interactive demo that walks its users through the full ArcGIS Pro and 1Engage workflow, from address creation in ADM through validation and NGCS provisioning.  

To explore this capability, click the button below to review it at your own pace:

Take the Interactive Demo.

For organizations already working in ArcGIS Pro for NG9-1-1 data management, 1Engage is the solution that closes the gap between editing and compliance: no new environment to learn, no data exports to manage, and a continuous path from address creation to routable data.