5 key benefits of a renewed geospatial governance structure

A medium-sized municipality’s geospatial program—once among the highest-performing in the region—has progressively faded away over the years, leaving team members with an inability to take on new projects, a constantly shifting set of roles and responsibilities, and an absence of clear guidance on geo. In this blog post by Esri Canada management consultant Alexandre Guy, discover how the municipality benefits from a renewed geospatial governance to obtain better results.

In a recent strategy project for a medium-sized municipality, the group of stakeholders talked at length about their inability to take on new projects, the ongoing shifting of roles and responsibilities within the project team, and the absence of clear guidance. They had hired Esri Canada’s management consulting team to put them back on track and wanted us to tell them which way to go. This was a surprise, as the municipality used to be one of the frontrunners in their regional geospatial landscape. 

As it turns out, their geospatial program—once among the highest-performing in the region—had seen its governance fade away over the years, leaving the main geographic information systems (GIS) group buried under IT without visibility. The relationship with IT was stagnant; there was no interest in growing GIS. The GIS group had resorted to being responsible only for the container—that is, the infrastructure and related software deployments—but was doing nothing with the actual geospatial content. Said content was left to the municipality’s operational departments. Instead of working jointly with GIS, the operational departments had become mutually exclusive from the GIS team. They were working in silos, sometimes using the other groups’ services, hoping that everything would go well.

They knew they were in trouble because this was unsustainable.

As part of the project mandate, we proposed implementing a new governance structure. This key recommendation enhances the local government in many ways, paving the way towards success.

Here’s what having renewed governance means for them:

1. An organizational structure geared toward growth & adoption

One of the main challenges the municipality initially faced was a work structure that was incoherent and that did not reflect their aspirations. In fact, as their geospatial governance faded away, so did the clear roles and responsibilities each department had. Each department had become increasingly independent from the others and took their destiny into their own hands.

To address this, we worked on helping the municipality establish a clear vision for the next three to five years. Specifically, we were looking to address questions such as: “What specific business value will GIS provide to the municipality?” and “how will GIS contribute to the municipality’s overall strategy?”

The answers clearly showed that the municipality wanted to make GIS a strategic enabler to allow for better-informed decision-making, reinforce public engagement and optimize operational efficiency.

The next step was to find the most suitable location for the main GIS group to support the vision. We surveyed the various possible departments along with their specific visions and missions and found that there was a clear alignment between the Organizational Performance & Business Intelligence department and what the municipality was trying to achieve with geo.

In fact, this group was working specifically towards extracting insights from all the data that the municipality managed, enabling better decision-making and seeking continuous improvement. It was a clear fit, and adding GIS to the mix would enhance their capabilities.

We took some time to consider the pros and cons of this move, as follows:

Pros & cons of moving GIS to the Organizational Performance & Business Intelligence Department

At time of writing, the municipality was still in the process of deciding whether to move the GIS group to the Organizational Performance & Business Intelligence Department, but having a clear sense of the possibilities is helping to support that decision-making process. 

2. Seamless collaboration across teams

Without adequate governance and with a misaligned organizational structure, collaboration was achieved solely on the goodwill of the municipality’s employees. Fortunately, municipal staff were open and collaborative by nature, which made it possible to get things done. When necessary, everyone stepped up and helped one another.

However, this informal collaboration did not account for everything. There were still inefficiencies, business needs that were not answered and a whole lot of problems to address. Furthermore, the existing workflow was highly reactive to crises rather than proactive.

To address the issue, we recommended that the municipality implement some more formal collaboration channels where specific topics would be discussed. The overall goal was to become more proactive and to foster engagement and leadership at all levels of the organization. With these lines of communication in place, the necessary conversations needed to happen. And that's exactly what we proposed.

A key aspect of the solution was to implement a Community of Practice (CoP), a forum where practitioners come together to discuss specific topics that are relevant to their activities. For instance, they would discuss data management practices and standards to implement across teams to facilitate data exchange. Other subjects, such as upcoming training and skills development for new hires, could also be considered.

All of these elements contribute to promoting a cultural of sharing, collaboration, engagement and mutual growth. Basically, it’s all about being part of a community.

3. A technology portfolio that acts as a strategic enabler

When departments could not get their needs addressed, they took matters into their own hands and looked for solutions online. The Public Works department purchased a tool to follow snow removal routes; the Ecology department did the same. Other departments soon followed suit. Consequently, the municipality lost control of their technology portfolio. Data integration and sharing proved difficult, if not impossible. Even worse, there was a duplication of technologies where departments had bought a solution that was already available internally but had not yet been implemented. These inefficiencies would cost the municipality tremendous amounts of money if not addressed promptly.

To resolve the situation, we recommended that one of the primary activities of the new governance body be to take stock of the solutions currently in use by the municipality. Once they had a clear picture of what was in use, they would have to rationalize the portfolio of solutions to make it coherent.

Ultimately, the municipality would benefit from a simpler technology portfolio allowing benefits from technology synergies and economies of scale. These technologies would cost less and offer more value and capabilities, as they could be used by multiple departments.

4. GIS as a vanguard

When leadership support was lacking, so was the visibility of the GIS group. The group was in urgent need of recognition for the value they bring day after day and of some well-deserved promotion of their capabilities.

We addressed this problem by promoting the municipality’s geospatial practice at all levels of the organization. First, we recommended that the municipality designate a geospatial champion, someone responsible for promoting the value of GIS in various internal forums throughout the organization. This person, part of the management team, would promote awareness about the possibilities of GIS amongst municipal decision makers. This person would also engage departments in sharing experiences and recent progress, exploring what others are doing and seeking to develop opportunities in the organization.

From a tactical and operational standpoint, we recommended that the core GIS group send out quarterly newsletters to communicate updates about the GIS program, highlight key projects and recognize employees who are helping to shape the future of GIS in the municipality. We also recommended that the organization take part in industry events such as GIS Day, where professionals raise GIS awareness through various activities and demos.

5. Governance as a framework

With renewed governance now in place, the municipality is well equipped to leverage the benefits of a strong GIS program where strategies related to technology, processes and people are aligned and enable success. This also means that the GIS group now has the visibility necessary to become a business leader collaborating with departments to develop solutions that integrate GIS.

Like this municipality, organizations with strong geospatial governance set themselves up for success by clearly aligning their geospatial capabilities with the organization’s vision and goals.

They also encourage collaboration by providing structured communication, a clear technology roadmap and leaders who are aware of future possibilities—and, most importantly, fully committed to reaping the benefits of a successful GIS program.

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This post was written in French by Alexandre Guy and can be viewed here.