Until recently, application specific needs largely drove the development of GIS within organizations. Historically high costs of data and software restricted GIS primarily to large corporations and government entities. The people in charge of implementing GIS have historically been technical workers who used GIS primarily to answer specific application questions, whether the specific questions required only a simple map, or a relatively sophisticated analytical model.
GIS is on the verge of a dramatic shift. Considering that between 70% and 80% of all data is geographically referenced, GIS is beginning to emerge as an information management tool across entire organizations. The question needs to be asked, "How do we use GIS as a information management tool across our entire organization?" Now, rather than implementing GIS at a technical level, in response to an application need, GIS needs to be implemented using a top-down, information management approach.
There is a growing need to develop an overall GIS plan within organizations, outlining the organization's current situation, needs assessment, and implementation strategy. Ideally, as a GIS program matures within an organization, the business plan will evolve from an immediate, one- to two-year implementation strategy, to a long-term strategic plan.
Toward the goal of establishing a GIS implementation strategy for the St. Johns River Water Management District, Department of Resource Management, a two-year plan was developed which identified seven major objectives. These seven objectives consist of maintaining current levels of support, employee enhancement, creating and maintaining digital databases, providing departmental-wide support, providing on-line data access, providing GIS to off-site service centers, and application development. These objectives will be used as a basis for effective management and development of GIS within the department.
This paper examines the implementation of a GIS within the Department of Resource Management at the St. Johns River Water Management District. Two considerations emerge when addressing the implementaion of a GIS within any program. First is the pragmatic considerations needed for day-to-day operations. Second is the larger and far more significant concern that involves the business framework of the organization and GIS as an information management system capable of reengineering business processes.
The St. Johns River Water Management District (District), one of five water management districts covering the state of Florida, is charged with assuring the quantity and quality of the water resources in the State of Florida. The St. Johns River Water Management District covers 12,400 square miles and encompasses all or part of 19 counties. Extensive surface and ground water features abound in the District; the primary source of potable water in the District comes from ground water. The District manages the use of water resources to provide the greatest good for the residents of the state, while at the same time protecting these vital yet fragile resources. Toward this goal of managing these resources, GIS emerged as an integral tool.
Over the past few years District staff expressed a growing interest in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to enhance daily work. As technology continues to emerge, this interest has quickly turned to an excitement with the possibilities an integrated GIS offers. GIS offers a powerful tool for managing the vast amounts of permitting and related data that the District collects. GIS also provides a potent tool for analyzing and evaluating these data.
In 1991 in order to successfully develop a GIS program, the District centralized GIS under strong knowledgeable leadership. This effort proved highly successful - so successful that GIS evolved into an integral component of almost every project at the District. In 1994, the District began a fundamental change in philosophy and structure. The District concluded that in order for GIS to meet the new levels of demand for GIS support, a hybrid model of a partially centralized/decentralized GIS model should be employed. The District maintained a small central GIS 'core group', now located within the Department of Information Resources. The District, also as part of the reorganization, recognized the importance of developing the GIS discipline equally throughout the various departments at the District. GIS analysts were strategically placed in the Departments of Water Resources, Planning and Land Acquisition, and Resource Management.
The Department of Resource Management (Resource Management), one of six departments which comprise the District, employs 200 people, whose expertise ranges from environmental science, to engineering, to records management. The department handles all administrative processing of permits and applications, application review, and ensuring compliance to issued permits and rules. Until the recent District reorganization, GIS never played a significant role in Resource Management. Two key components for applying GIS technology successfully, that were previously lacking within Resource Management prior to the reorganization, were (1) trained GIS professionals, (2) and a Wide Area Network (WAN). Both of these issues have been addressed over the last two years.
Implementation strategies for GIS at the District changed over the course of the last ten years. Historically, those in charge of GIS technology consisted of technical workers attempting to solve particular problems, and GIS proved very effective in solving these problems. GIS provided a solution to specific project problems. Prior to 1989, the District gathered data in discrete project areas. This situation resulted in the inconsistent and sporadic gathering of spatial data throughout the District. The District needed an understanding and vision of how GIS could be used effectively as an organizational tool.
Over the past five years, the District systematically identified and gathered GIS data layers for the entire District. Currently, the District maintains over 70 data layers. Initially used by a limited number of projects and primarily as a map making tool, the use of GIS now spreads to almost every division of the District and plays a role in most projects.
Because of this proliferation of GIS, there exists a growing need for a greater emphasis on the implementation and management of GIS. Because of the relative newness of this technology, organizations are just now starting to understand the potential uses of GIS as an information management tool, with emphasis on information management.
Joel Barker, in his book entitled 'Paradigms' identifies anticipation, innovation, and excellence as the three keys for any successful organization in the future. While much has been written, and will continue to be written about excellence, in the near future excellence will no longer be the strategic advantage of successful corporations. Excellence, will only be the ticket to the dance. Corporations or government agencies will not even remain in the game without meeting the demands from the public and consumers for excellence in any product or endeavor. Anticipation and innovation however, promise a different story. These keys will open up the door into the twenty-first century. Exceptional organizations thrive on anticipating and finding innovative ways to use new and existing technology. These factors are where GIS stands to generate immense impact.
Conceptionally, technology changes our lives in two ways. First, it changes how we perform our job; and second, it changes what tasks are now possible. To provide an example - typing a letter - whether typing a letter on a manual typewriter, an electric typewriter, or a word processor, typing a letter remains the same task. Where technology, GIS technology in particular, holds the greatest benefit, is in allowing us to do new and different tasks not possible in the past. The use of technology to reengineer our work processes emerges as one of the most powerful and beneficial aspects of technology.
The long range vision we have for GIS at the District is to use GIS as a tool to manage data and integrate technology. Eventually, the goal is to make desk-top GIS available to all the staff who need access to District data. Developments such as the Spatial Database Engine (SDE) from Esri, will allow real time GIS access to scientists and administrators alike. Ideally, staff can chose an area of interest, whether spatially, or logically, through a series of reselects, and graphically display the results of their query. Staff can then link to any of the data available about that event, whether that data resides in database tables, an image document, a photo, or a video, to mention a few types of media already accessible to a GIS.
Because so much information is spatially referenced, GIS stands out as a prime candidate for the purpose of tying together various technologies. For example, approximately 80 percent of all information is referenced spatially; also, it is estimated that 80 percent of an organization's information is located within an organization's documents. These factors would suggest that document imaging and GIS make for a powerful duo.
To Resource Management staff, this technology could mean review staff in charge of evaluating applications for permitting, can combine their personal knowledge with related data within a GIS. Staff can more easily identify areas of potential water quality concerns, contamination zones, and evaluate applications based on the region as a whole, by easily accessing the information about surrounding existing permits and other proposed permits in a holistic manner rather than case by case.
GIS technology can improve work processes - from the data entry level and the way we manage databases, to the level of sophistication of the analyses. Currently, GIS is used for analyzing and displaying data often entered into and stored in other formats. In the case of many applications, the spatial and descriptive data could be entered straight into the GIS, eliminating redundant data and repetitive transferring of data and creation of GIS coverages project by project.
The success of any project depends on two elements: (1) support by executive management and (2) a goal/problem orientation. Each step of the way must possess clearly defined objectives, methodologies and time lines.
Resource Management possesses tremendous potential for an effective GIS program. Using GIS as a tool will greatly enhance the management of the large amount of data obtained and maintained by Resource Management; this function is essential considering this data is used by the District in many of its scientific and policy making processes.
In 1995, in order to achieve a highly functional, integrated GIS program, staff identified seven objectives for development over the course of the next twelve to twenty-four months, in order to establish GIS as a major component within Resource Management. These seven objectives are: * Maintain current levels of support * On-line data access * Employee enhancement * GIS in Service Centers * Create and maintain digital databases * Application development * Provide department-wide GIS support
While maintaining the current level of support seems the most obvious and straight forward objective, this objective requires the ability to handle an ever increasing work load. Every year presents not only new permits which must be handled, but an ever increasing load of modifications and renewals from the previous years.
At first the assumed solution to handle this situation was through computer automation. While computer automation can successfully absorb some of the daily operating increases, automation simply does the same old procedures, with the net result being hopefully faster more accurate results, but neither are necessarily true. The strength of the technology, in its application in the department, is enabling staff to change daily operating procedures entirely, making them more efficient and accurate.
This objective proved to be one of the greatest challenges - finding ways to free up employee's time, in order to move each employee's knowledge and work responsibilities to the next level.
Human resources are the single greatest asset in implementing new technology. Regardless of how powerful and impressive any technology appears, one employee can only do the work of one employee; however, as more employees take advantage of new technology, the power and usefulness of the technology grows exponentially. Upper level training and hands-on experience with GIS development is the key to developing staff as a resource.
With GIS technology continually changing, the potential exists to fall behind technological changes without continuous advancement in learning. Educational classes in ArcInfo have been one of the keys to advance staff in their GIS understanding and capabilities. Since April 1995, staff has received several Esri GIS training classes. This training has already paid dividends allowing staff to undertake projects which earlier would have been beyond their capabilities. This year, staff is scheduled to receive even more training.
The two primary types of permits issued by the District are Consumptive Use Permits (CUP) and Management and Storage of Surface Waters (MSSW) permits. The CUP permits regulate ground water withdrawal. The MSSW permits pertain to almost all forms of surface water bodies; these permits must be issued for activities which in some way may affect the flow or storage of surface water. A cursory examination reveals that potential applications for these data include: application review, permit compliance, surface and groundwater modeling, and conservation efforts.
Creating and maintaining digital databases could be approached in stages or parts. In order to create digital databases consistent with the current level and condition of permitting, the District let and completed a contract for digitizing the CUP boundaries. The second phase in creating the GIS databases, as they pertain to Resource Management, concerns the contract to digitize the MSSW boundaries. This data layer is scheduled to be completed in October of 1996.
In many respects, keeping data current is by far a more difficult and critical responsibility than actually automating the CUP and MSSW databases. Failure to keep the data up-to-date and accurate for even a short period of time impacts the validity and usefulness of the entire database. These two data layers will form the basis for many District functions and projects including ground water modeling, permitting, protection of drinking water supply, compliance, engineering, and wetland mitigation.
Undoubtedly as the system progresses there will be a need for secondary databases to also be established. Examples of these auxiliary databases are: storm water permits, contamination zones, and conservation easements.
Because a GIS requires a substantial commitment of time, personnel, and money, part of developing a GIS program involves generating a consensus among senior management, project managers, and staff. In order for a project such as this to be effective, it must be viewed as beneficial to the entire department. Building a consensus among staff and management has come through persistent willingness to explain, educate, and whenever possible, provide products. Toward the goal of building this consensus, a number of initiatives have been undertaken for the various divisions within Resource Management.
Because GIS was a late arrival to the Resource Management environment, staff did not have the hardware, software, or training to take advantage of GIS technology. Two considerations must be addressed to provide on-line data access. The first is to provide the hardware and software necessary to simply make the connection to the GIS data and applications. This issue is currently being addressed through a series of PC upgrades to run X-Windows off a backbone of Sun workstations. The second step is to provide staff the training and support necessary for them to successfully use GIS technology. This on-line access can go far beyond support of District staff. The District could make this on-line data available to the public. Access of this kind allows for greater understanding and participation by the public.
The District has three remote Service Centers: Jacksonville, Orlando, and Melbourne, and one local Service Center located at the District headquarters in Palatka. In order to provide networked communications to the three remote Service Centers, the District has entered into a contract with Department of Communications (DOC) to handle the telecommunications needs. In 1995, the District contracted out for data communication services. This step now makes possible the use of GIS throughout the District.
A number of simple GIS applications, in support of various departmental requests, are an on going part of daily activities; however, higher level applications require extensive and accurate data, highly trained staff, sufficient equipment, and time. As data becomes digital, hardware and software are upgraded and made available, more staff become aware of the possibilities of GIS projects, and tasks become more frequent.
The future of GIS lies in emphasizing the information systems aspect of GIS. GIS provides a powerful tool for managing information. Whether the information is census data, client lists, routes, property management, suitable locations, or any number of other factors, GIS can store, analyze, retrieve, and display that data. Resource Management is one of the richest Departments at the District in terms of potential for GIS applications, and since the time of the reorganization, Resource Management made a commitment to successfully develop a comprehensive GIS program. The secret, if Resource Management is to be successful, is in understanding and using GIS in a systematic and comprehensive manner; this will take time to continue to develop and implement a strategic plan for GIS.