fractional GIO

geospatial executive leadership, without the full-time headcount.

You don't have a Geographic Information Officer. You have a spreadsheet someone's been meaning to turn into a database since 2022, a GIS license nobody remembers buying, and a very real amount of geographic complexity that your org is currently managing by vibes.

That's normal. It's also fixable.

A Fractional GIO gives you the strategic geospatial leadership of a full-time hire, like the roadmap, the oversight, and the "someone finally owns this," at a fraction of the cost, and without adding an entire full-time line to your org chart you'll have to defend at budget season. Some people call this geospatial strategy consulting. We call it having someone who actually owns your GIS.

  • In plain terms: we become the person in the room who's thinking about your geographic data so you don't have to.

    • Strategic roadmap & planning: Where your GIS needs to go over the next 1, 3, 5 years, and a realistic plan to get there (not a 40-page strategy doc nobody opens again).

    • Executive-level management & consulting: A seat at the table when decisions about data, systems, or staffing have a spatial dimension. Which is more often than you'd think.

    • On-call advising & office hours: Standing time to bring us the "wait, can GIS even do that?" questions before they become expensive problems.

    • Software & license audits: An honest look at what you're paying for, what you're using, and what you can drop, upgrade, or negotiate.

    • Staff training & mentorship: We build capacity on your team instead of quietly making ourselves indispensable. The goal is a team that needs us less over time, not more.

    • Data governance & QA: Standards, structure, and quality control, so "the map is wrong" stops being a monthly occurrence.

    If you need a geospatial strategy without a geospatial department, this is that.

  • We work across the industries we already call home, like nonprofits, land conservancies, government and civic agencies, health & human services, AEC, animal welfare, and public transit and transportation. If your organization touches geography (and almost everyone's does, they just don't always know it), a Fractional GIO makes sense.

    You're a good fit if:

    • You need geospatial decisions made by someone who actually knows what they're doing, but not full-time, and not at a full-time executive salary.

    • Your GIS work is currently owned by "whoever has time," which is another way of saying it's owned by no one.

    • You've got budget cycles, leadership, or reporting requirements that all quietly depend on your data being right.

  • Fractional GIO runs as a standing weekly retainer, not a bucket of hours you burn down, because the whole point is someone consistently in the loop on your standard weekly cadence, not a project. Billed monthly, at our Executive rate: this is principal-level strategic work, not junior technical hours. Six-month minimum commitment. Rate-locked for a whole year from contract signing.

    1. Light: 8hrs/wk for $2,000

    2. Standard: 16hrs/wk for $4,000

    3. Intensive: 24hrs/wk for $6,000

    All tiers billed at $250/hour. 501(c)(3) nonprofits and nationally recognized diversity-certified organizations get 10% off, per our standard rate policy.

  • whereabouts was built to make geospatial expertise understandable, affordable, and accessible, not gatekept behind jargon and enterprise price tags. Molly Freeman founded the firm in 2024 after a decade-plus in the field, earned Esri Partner status as a Member in 2025, and leads a small team that stays current on the tools so you don't have to.

    We're not trying to build an empire on your budget. We're trying to leave your organization more capable than we found it.

  • What is a Fractional GIO? A part-time, embedded Geographic Information Officer. The strategic geospatial leadership of a full-time hire, without the full-time cost. Think fractional CFO or fractional CTO, but for your organization's geographic data.

    How is this different from hiring a GIS consultant? A consultant gets called in for a project and leaves when it's done. A geospatial executive is a standing part of your leadership; it’s someone who knows your systems, your history, and your next three moves, not just the ticket in front of them.

    Is a Fractional GIO the same thing as geospatial strategy consulting? Close enough that we won't argue about it. "Geospatial strategy consulting" is the umbrella term; a Fractional GIO is what it looks like when that strategy comes with an actual seat at your table, on a standing basis, instead of a one-time engagement.

    What does a fractional geospatial executive actually do day-to-day? Roadmap and planning, executive-level oversight, staff mentorship, software and license audits, data governance, and standing office hours for the questions that come up in between. See the full breakdown above.

    How much does a Fractional GIO cost? Billed at our Executive rate, on a weekly retainer starting at one day a week. See Engagement Tiers above for real numbers.