GIS Road Show: Bringing Back the Maps

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

Oakland County, MI has made a significant investment of both time and dollars in geographic information systems (GIS) since the 1990s. Throughout that time, GIS technology has evolved from complex desktop software requiring hours of technical training to web-based, intuitive mapping and spatial analysis tools. Oakland County wanted to ensure that all County departments and local cities, villages, and townships (CVTs) were aware of how easy to use spatial technologies had become. Thus, the GIS staff in the Information Technology (IT) department embarked on a GIS Road Show, educating both GIS and non-GIS savvy audiences on how they could use these new tools to streamline their workflows, improve collaboration, and connect with the public. The tools are simple enough that the users are enabled to create their own spatial products without needing to rely on GIS staff. Through this ongoing process, not only are we helping those we visit, but also further educating our core GIS team on how we can best meet the needs of our customers. We have uncovered opportunities for collaboration, data publishing, and public interaction, that otherwise would have remained hidden. This information helps us (the GIS team) to prioritize our future work and investments to best position ourselves to meet these new opportunities.