The evolution of public participation GIS is a direct outgrowth of the research on societal issues related to implementation of the technology, although it has earlier antecedents as well. The first formal gathering of scholars to discuss this topic was the "GIS and Society" workshop, organized by Tom Poiker, sponsored by the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA), and held at Friday Harbor, Washington, in November
1993 . The January 1995 special issue of Cartography and GIS (GIS and Society) reports research and ideas growing out of that early conference. In spring of 1996, the University of Minnesota hosted an NCGIA specialist meeting at Koinonia to develop a research agenda for GIS and society. Several break-out groups formed, one of which was what eventually became known as the public participation group. In summer 1997, the University of Maine node of the NCGIA hosted a workshop devoted to Public Participation GIS. Several of the contributors to this special issue participated in one or more these three meetings.