A recent publication by Esri, international supplier of geographic information system (GIS) software and GovSense’s partner, highlighted the four key steps for local government agencies to follow in order to successfully build smarter communities while embracing new GIS technologies.

According to the article, here are the four steps your agency needs to follow:

1. Start with a world-class GIS platform

“The primary reason governments the world over have embraced GIS is that location is the most common denominator looked at when addressing a problem.”

For a GIS platform to be successful, the solution needs to be of easy use and access. This allows GIS professionals, zoning administrators, other workers and even constituents to use it in a simple, timely manner. Additionally, it needs to support the five major government workflows:

• Collecting data
• Analyzing and performing what-if scenarios against information
• Improving operational awareness
• Improving field operations
• Enabling civic engagement

2. Develop a location strategy that allows governments to prioritize the GIS applications they need

“This needs assessment indicates a government’s readiness to incorporate new solutions and how quickly it wants to make those changes.”

Once the assessment has been done, the agency can determine the issues that need to be tackled first, as well as a detailed strategy that will allow them to meet goals for each department and the entire organization.

3. Deliver real solutions that serve government priorities

“Governments know that their biggest challenges are often improving infrastructure, efficiency, productivity, and local economic conditions as well delivering green solutions.”

Helping local agencies find efficient ways to successfully meet the needs of their constituents is a priority for GovSense and its partners. For this reason, we work directly with agencies during the design and testing of apps, allowing users to tailor and modify them over time.

4. Develop strong relationships with business partners

Esri’s customized solutions allow for a variety of uses when it comes to GIS platforms. Through this, local agencies can extend their solutions and strengthen relationships with others.

Esri and GovSense

The bi-directional integration with Esri is at the core of GovSense and is fundamental to the entire Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution. GovSense is able to take the spatial data of your jurisdiction and leverage it toward non-traditional purposes such as planning and budgeting or economic development initiatives. Our GIS integration is fully configurable from start to finish, which allows users to restrict view access by role and define what features communicate. This integration also gives the possibility to manage data at the service layer, down to the actual fields.

To learn more about how GovSense and Esri can help your agency embrace GIS technologies, contact us!