Juno Maps, a leading geospatial technology company, has been named a winner of the RISE Riverine Community Resilience Challenge II, an international competition focused on addressing growing flood risks in inland communities across western Virginia. The award recognizes Smart Site Plan, Juno Maps' cloud-based flagship platform designed to help local governments prepare for, respond to, and recover from flood events. The platform allows municipal teams, regardless of technical background, to visualize flood risk, assess vulnerable infrastructure, and collaborate in real-time across departments.
Dustin Rauch, President & CEO of Juno Maps, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership opportunity, stating the solution has potential to save lives and protect infrastructure while putting powerful data in the hands of those who need it most. As a Challenge winner, Juno Maps will pilot Smart Site Plan in multiple western Virginia municipalities to demonstrate how intuitive geospatial tools can support data-driven resilience planning in high-risk areas. Paul Robinson, Executive Director of RISE, emphasized the urgency of the solution, noting that it gives communities tools to see and understand flood risk before disaster strikes.
The competition, funded by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, supports scalable solutions that strengthen long-term recovery, improve local decision-making, and build resilience to freshwater flooding. RISE Resilience Innovations, the nonprofit organization behind the challenge, has awarded more than $8 million through its Innovation Challenge model to pilot cutting-edge technologies in real-world conditions. Additional information about the organization is available at https://www.riseresilience.org.
Juno Maps was selected for its potential to deliver measurable, real-world impact in high-risk communities. The company builds intuitive, data-rich geospatial platforms that help cities, utilities, and organizations tackle challenges ranging from infrastructure planning to environmental risk. More details about the company's technology can be found at https://junomaps.com. The recognition highlights how accessible technology can empower local governments with limited resources to address complex environmental threats through collaborative, evidence-based approaches.
The implementation in western Virginia represents a critical test case for how geospatial tools can transform community resilience strategies nationwide. By providing clear visualizations of flood vulnerabilities and enabling cross-departmental coordination, the platform addresses a fundamental gap in many municipal planning processes. This award underscores the growing importance of public-private partnerships in developing practical solutions to climate-related challenges that disproportionately affect inland communities with limited technical capacity.
