Build your GIS ... No money Down and no closing costs
James A. Cadoret GIS Director Huntington County, Indiana 201 North Jefferson Huntington, IN 46750 260.358.4859 E-Mail: james.cadoret@huntington.in.us Eric Torok GIS Director The Schneider Corporation 8901 Otis Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46216 317.826.7100 317.826.7200 fax E-Mail: etorok@schneidercorp.com Abstract End your confusion and learn how to build 100% consensus and unanimously agree to move forward with your GIS. Huntington County, Indiana shares their lessons learned both successful and unsuccessful on how they built consensus among the Commissioners, County Council and also enjoyed overwhelming public support to move forward with their GIS needs assessment and pilot study. Learn how the county brought together a diverse group of people, formed a collaborative effort and ultimately reached a common decision without creating public clamor. Main issues will address assembling a task force, appointing an effective leader, providing sufficient and appropriate technical support, and procuring grant money. Most important, attendees will see one the successful implementation of Huntington County’s GIS--Echo its Electronic Courthouse Online which provides public access via the Internet to the county’s GIS information. Introduction For the Task Force spearheading an effort to fund, develop and implement a GIS in Huntington County, Indiana, the process of building 100% consensus for a GIS wasn’t difficult, it just took a lot of patience, broad participation and creative financing. What started in 1997 as a formidable challenge -- reaching total consensus for a GIS among interested parties throughout the County and the public -- turned into a success across the board. Less than two years ago, after several years of moving forward while keeping focused on building consensus, the County unveiled Electronic Courthouse Online (ECHO). The web site now reaches all of the county's constituents, allowing easy access to detailed GIS property maps and records at http://www.huntington.in.us/website/mvp_hunt/viewer.htm.. The successful development, implementation and ongoing maintenance of any GIS hinges on two critical factors -- funding and perhaps most importantly, enlisting the support of key stakeholders, which for Huntington County meant building 100 percent consensus. Though funding is important, when the GIS effort was launched, Huntington County realized that building support among both the county government and the public was the crucial factor to long-term success and realizing the full value of the GIS investment in time, effort and money. This presentation covers the realities -- victories, as well as the challenges and barriers -- of initiating, planning, funding and then implementing a GIS. It tells how support for the GIS was elicited up front and how a GIS Task Force of members with diverse backgrounds and interests came together to make the program a true success. The main issues discussed in the paper are assembling a Task Force and keeping the group on course and motivated. Also, tips and criteria for appointing an effective leader, and securing the appropriate technical support, funding and grant support are outlined. Reality 101: The INS, outs and in betweens of a countywide GIS Imagine this scenario. You work for a small government agency that's in charge of managing property records for the county and making them available to the public. For years, the County has been considering a GIS as a solution to the property records problem, but such a program has remained on the back burner because it lacked ready funding, leadership and support. In 1997 though, you decided to explore a GIS program and created a large Task Force that represented the entire county including government agencies, cities and towns. The plan was to solicit support from the County Commissioners, who subsequently would seek the blessing of the County Council for funding the first phase of the GIS, a needs assessment. After researching GIS needs assessments and qualifying potential vendors, you approach the Commissioners with a $35,000 quote from one of the vendors. Just hours before the meeting, another vendor reaches the Commissioners with the unthinkable -- an offer of a "free" needs assessment! There is no free GIS Much to your surprise though, the Commissioners reject the no-cost offer. Why did they pass up a golden opportunity for the "free" needs assessment versus spending $35,000? The Council recognized that during the previous five years, the county's GIS proponents and advisors such as The Schneider Corporation had focused on educating decision-makers and building constructive relationships. During that period, trust was built, and at all times, the message was consistent. Even though the Council rejected the free offer, a pot of money was still not readily available to fund the first phase of the GIS. Having to secure the initial piece of funding though was a major benefit. It triggered the process of building consensus across all county government agencies. The Council and Task Force asked all the county agencies to reach within their budgets and find any "available" money to put towards this common cause. The thinking was that when you're an investor, you're going to make sure that the GIS comes to fruition, so you can use this resource once it's built. More than one way to build 100% consensus Huntington County's 18-member GIS Task Force was originally formed through an "open door" approach, which The Schneider Corporation facilitated. Anyone and every one from any county agency were invited to participate. This inclusive representation ensured that decision making by the Task Force would consider factors and issues from all corners of the county. In the beginning, success of the Task Force was due partly to sheer curiosity -- participant agencies were all interested in one another and learning about each other's plans for the GIS information and applications. Soon, a team spirit evolved from the Task Force and agencies began sharing information openly with one another. The consensus process was far from challenging, in fact consensus begets consensus. The momentum for a GIS built on itself, compounding along the way. By the time the needs assessment was formally launched in 1997, 100% consensus had been achieved. Perhaps one of the biggest victories of the GIS Task Force was bringing together every agency, triggering an integrated and coordinated mode of operation in the county government, which still functions today. When the GIS was launched, the Task Force was also instrumental in seeking information from other counties on pitfalls to avoid, successful strategies for funding, and new GIS technology. This information sharing effort also equipped the Task Force with the knowledge it needed to select the vendors and consultants best suited for their GIS program. Early in the effort, The Schneider Corporation was hired to assist with several phases and aspects of the program, including facilitating the work of the Task Force and its leader, securing funding support, determining GIS needs, and implementing GIS technology. Schneider compiled and presented GIS information in layman's terms and also kept the decision making process moving forward, two behind-the-scenes efforts that were critical to consensus building. Through their GIS experiences, Huntington County determined that along with broad representation by means of a GIS Task Force, the other two critical success factors were effective leadership and expert technical and GIS consulting support. Every Team Needs a coach Identifying and recruiting an effective leader is critical to organizing and mobilizing a Task Force and GIS efforts. He or she must command respect without being domineering. An effective leader must encourage in-depth discussions while keeping everyone focused on the task at hand. Huntington County appointed Jim Cadoret, Director of Community Development to lead the GIS Task Force. Cadoret was successful in using group dynamics to build support for the project and he also involved everyone in the decision-making process. Use mandated programs to support GIS costs For the cost/benefit analysis, the estimated costs of completing the GIS with digital orthophotography and the County's share of expenses were projected. It was determined that certain projects were mandated by state or federal law, and thus required funding. Also, data for programs such as watershed studies could be managed and performed via the GIS. The cost/benefit analysis compared the expenses of existing mandated programs to the costs of using a GIS for the program management. A GIS base fee was also calculated. After evaluating current mandated program costs, it was concluded that resources currently allocated matched or exceeded the cost of developing a GIS (excluding the cost of producing new digital orthophotography). The cost of a GIS, including the digital orthophotography and providing data for mandatory programs was estimated at $794,500 plus the cost of the GIS project manager. As a next step in developing funding support for the GIS, a cost/benefit report was delivered the weekend before the Council meeting to the Council members at home rather than their offices. This tactic was effective in eliminating distractions -- other programs -- that competed for Council members’ attention. Plus, the GIS leader and task force members made a point of following up with Council members at home, where they could discuss the GIS casually in a receptive environment. Friendly front porch and back yard chats even took place, which helped bring the concept home to Council members, who would be among the "public" users of the GIS. The following layers were produced through the County's GIS project:
GIS Data Tip: Cutting costly orthophotos proves Penny wise, Poud Foolish The main cost of completing the GIS was producing the digital photography with planimetric data. From its conversations with other Indiana county GIS programs, the Task Force learned that often the single most important piece of GIS data is digital orthophotography produced with maximum ground control points. Previously, the aerial photography that was produced for the county was not controlled or rectified. The proposed digital orthophotography would provide the accuracy required by the county agencies, towns, and other users. With the orthophotography, maximum survey ground control was utilized to ensure that the section corners and control points were sufficient. Huntington County has two Indian Reserve areas. To achieve the required accuracy, ground control points were critical because the reserves don't follow the state's or county's standard surveying grid. While not mandated, the county drain books required updating and partial funding had been granted previously. Under the proposed GIS, the drain books would be updated as each parcel was split or a transfer of ownership occurred, which eliminated the duplication of work and resulted in a major saving of staff time. Eventually funding of the GIS could also be derived from public tax dollars, among other sources. So, the Task Force focused on educating potential county users such as the Economic Development Department as well as the public. Presentations were made to various community groups and the Task Force also briefed Commissioners monthly on progress, status and new developments of the GIS initiative. The County Surveyor even attended monthly meetings of the Council over the next year to remind the group of the GIS effort and its value. This focus on awareness and education helped pave the way for support when it came time to sign GIS contracts. The Schneider Corporation also organized and hosted a “GIS Test Drive” day. Print and radio spots invited the public to try out a fully functional GIS in 1-1/2 hour instructor-led test drive sessions. Five of these sessions were presented throughout the day at the courthouse with eight computers available for the test drive. Schneider also produced and distributed handouts with step-by-step instructions for performing typical GIS tasks. This "test drive" day was a big hit with the County and the public. Conclusion The Association of Indiana Counties (AIC) in 2000 recognized the cooperative and creative effort to study, develop, initiate and fund the countywide GIS with its County Achievement Award. Then in 2001, the program won the Indiana GIS Initiative’s County Implementation Award. A year earlier, a design competition was held to create a logo for the GIS Internet application. The entry -- ECHO, Electronic Courthouse Online -- was the winner. For the first time, Huntington County participated in the 1999 GIS Day by inviting the public to the courthouse for an all-day demonstration of ECHO. The event was a huge success, perhaps the ultimate benchmark in achieving consensus --generating full support for the GIS from both the county government and the public. | ||
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