The Value of In-House Experts: Connecting the GIS Community

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2009

In order for Henrico County to efficiently utilize GIS applications, they came up with a creative approach using in-house experts to provide a customized training program in GIS applications. A Geographic Information System is a collection of computer hardware, software, and geographic data for capturing, managing, examining, and displaying geographically referenced information. It links geographic information (where things are) with descriptive information (what things are). Unlike a paper map, a GIS has many layers of information. It involves users, databases, the web, programming, and expensive software and hardware. This innovative initiative involved the collaborative efforts of the County’s GIS Office, located in the Department of Public Works, and the Employee Development and Training Division of Human Resources. The use of internal GIS experts as designers and facilitators saved the County over $46,000 in training dollars in the first year and provided GIS users with a richer learning experience.