Using Web GIS to Aid Inter-Agency Collaboration

About the Program

Category: Planning (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

Mecklenburg County GIS has developed a web-based GIS application called the Creek Coordination App, which aids multiple local governmental entities in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina – specifically Charlotte Water (CW), Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation (MCPR) and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services (CMSWS) – in planning and coordinating future capital improvement projects (CIPs) that are near local streams. The application was developed and is maintained by Mecklenburg County GIS for the benefit of the participating agencies, utilizing a password-protected service to provide a secure platform for the sharing of internal planning details and contact information related to CW’s sewer improvements, MCPR’s greenways and CMSWS’s stream restorations, before they are ready for public circulation. In addition to each agency’s private planning data, the application also integrates 21 other GIS data layers into one interface that end users can reference to assess additional constraints and conduct detailed property research from their desktop computer or mobile device at any time. In developing this application, these project managers and related staff at each agency can observe where they have prospective projects along the same streams, which both facilitates joint pursuits where costs and access are shared and where project activities can be phased and executed more efficiently.