Enterprise GIS for Local Government

Geographic Information System (GIS) technology has been in use in local government (e.g., municipalities, townships, cities, counties) organizations for decades. In most, the GIS started in one department then gradually gained acceptance and was adopted in others. However, this expansion frequently resulted in isolated or, at best, loosely related departmental systems throughout the organization. Although efficiencies were gained within individual departments, the full potential of GIS to the organization as an enterprise did not materialize. Both technical and operational impediments yielded this result. This white paper introduces a set of best practices that has been shown to minimize and often eliminate those impediments and allow end users to benefit from an integrated GIS that serves the entire organization as an enterprise.