Part 1 (Open to the public)
ITEM NO.
REPORT OF THE LEAD MEMBER FOR E-GOVERNMENT SERVICES MANAGER
TO THE Lead Member for Customer and Support Services
ON Wednesday, 23 February, 2005
TITLE : Establishment of post of Corporate GIS Manager
RECOMMENDATIONS :
That approval is given to the creation of the post of Corporate GIS Manager, who will
oversee the the implementation of the corporate GIS strategy for Salford in order to meet the
demands of geographical information management and distribution, and respond to the
delivery of the ODPM priority outcome for public access to GIS data.
The strategy and its recommendations have been presented to Corporate Directors Team
and approved.
The Post will be established within corporate ICT at a PO4/5 Grade on a 2 year fixed term
contract with a extension review at the end of that period.
The first 12 months of the post will be funded via IEG4 grants, thereafter the post would
need to be established in the base budget or seek further external funding.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY :
In August 2004, Independent consultants from Salford GIS Limited were commissioned to
investigate the current and future usage of Geographic Information Systems within Salford
City Council. This review involved extensive discussions with current and potential users of
the technology, incorporation of best practice throughout the industry, and evaluation of the
benefits across the council of wider adoption of GIS.
Whilst GIS is widely used within the authority, it has developed departmentally with little
regard for the corporate benefits. Several different software products are in use, and these
have been procured as ‘best of breed’ for particular use. There is some localised expertise
within the authority, but many users ‘get by’ with little or no training, and using a small
percentage of the available functionality.
The report details the many benefits of adopting a corporate approach to GIS across the
authority. These benefits include; meeting ‘priority outcomes’, financial savings,
improvement of service to the citizen, providing tools to allow the implementation of
electronic government, the sharing of data, the expansion of the possible interfaces for
customer relationship management (CRM), and the meeting of Best Value Performance
Indicator (BVPI) 157.
The report proposes that the authority adopt a ‘structured evolution’ approach to GIS
expansion within the authority, with the objective of expanding access to GIS functionality
and data, whilst allowing individual sections and departments to continue the use of their
current application software.
The report recommends a multi-faceted strategy for the council to manage and expand its
GIS in a corporate manner. This strategy addresses issues of data, software and staffing.
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The authority should appoint a corporate GIS manager, and ideally establish a corporate
GIS team, which could be comprised of current departmental experts. This individual/team
should be located centrally within the organisation and without specific departmental
influence. Such a role/team is required to manage the setting up of a corporate GIS data
store, the establishment of a spatial data dictionary, and the provision of a web based
delivery mechanism for GIS. This corporate GIS team will both work alongside existing user
departments to support their GIS implementation, and be pro-active in identifying
opportunities to expand GIS usage where there is a sound business case to do so.
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS :
(Available for public inspection)
Corporate Geographical Information Systems Strategy - 8th September 2004
ASSESSMENT OF RISK:
Low
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
IEG4
COMMENTS OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER AND SUPPORT SERVICES
(or his representative):
1. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
Provided by :None
2. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Provided by :None
PROPERTY (if applicable):
None
HUMAN RESOURCES (if applicable):
Yes
CONTACT OFFICER :
David Hunter - Egovernment Services Manager
WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S):
ALL WARDS
KEY COUNCIL POLICIES:
Information Society Strategy; Modernising Local Government; e Government;
DETAILS (Continued Overleaf)
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