WAGIS2018

This presentation will outline a new proposed Municipal GIS Implementation Maturity Model.
There has been considerable work done in modeling GIS operations for cities, counties, regional agencies, and other municipal type governments. Some models focus on the GIS operation and its staff, users, capabilities and processes. Other GIS models focus on the overall developmental stage of a municipal GIS, with maturity stages that typically range from initial exploration, to individual adopters, department focused adoption, to an enterprise wide GIS.
However, for GIS managers and the agencies that employ them, to understand the potential for GIS implementation within their organization a new model is needed to analyze adoption and use of GIS within typical municipal business units.
Municipal governments vary considerably in their organizational structure. Within the United States, city and county responsibilities are usually defined by state constitutions, individual charters, and the specific business case for the jurisdiction. Within other countries, national and/or provincial law defines a range of local government agency responsibilities. For every local government agency, other factors influence their organizational structure, including geographic factors, economy, demographics, etc.
The proposed model will allow local government agencies and their GIS management to identify areas where GIS is underutilized within their jurisdiction. The model will be customizable, so this it is both relevant to the specifics of the jurisdiction, while allowing peer-agency comparison. It will facilitate data and information sharing between agency GIS managers to help leverage existing GIS resources and increase GIS value and ROI. The model will help the GIS industry focus on underserved municipal business functions. And it will help the academic community focus research and training for both GIS professionals and GIS end-users.