A new introduction will be added soon, until then here's text from the proposal:

DataWorkshop

Democratizing access to Minnesota’s data assets – a user friendly data integration and visualization tool

Project goals

An informed public is vital to the successful management of our environment in a future where major change is occurring rapidly. Minnesota has invested a great deal in the development of data assets describing natural resources. But processing these materials requires training and facilities out of reach of the organizations and local governments who make day to day decisions about future land use. The tool proposed here will allow greater utilization of valuable data by groups previously without effective access.

State agencies will also benefit from the efficiency of the interface it provides. For example, many of the diverse data sets required for implementation of the Statewide Conservation Plan will be more easily handled with DataWorkshop