Local and regional governments in New Zealand have embraced GIS or geographic information systems.
For applications ranging from land information memoranda to stormwater asset management to land use planning, GIS allows local and regional councils to capture and manage their spatial data, create maps, support day-to-day and strategic decision-making and provide access to a ‘single version of the truth’ for council staff and the public.
Esri’s ArcGIS software is a GIS solution used by local governments around the world. In New Zealand, GIS provider Eagle Technology has helped in the implementation of ArcGIS in councils representing more than 75 per cent of our population.
The reasons behind Esri’s predominance in New Zealand are not hard to uncover. “ArcGIS provides councils with the capabilities they need for mapping, reporting and sharing information across council departments and contractors,” says Matt Lythe, GIS sales manager at Eagle Technology.
“ArcGIS’s open architecture allows councils to integrate third-party enterprise applications such as asset management, financials and document management. And because it is widely taught in all our universities, skilled ArcGIS professionals are readily available while almost all useful third-party spatial data has been pre-formatted for ArcGIS.”
Eagle says ArcGIS has lowered the costs for smaller councils to buy ArcGIS licences because costs are tied to population bands rather than products. For small and mid-sized councils wanting to upgrade from current geospatial technology to a fully-functioning GIS, Eagle has developed a migration process that provides the necessary tools and templates, ensuring all existing spatial data and business processes are migrated successfully.
Esri’s ‘maps and apps’ local government templates provide models for planning, asset management, land records and more. The templates include a geo-database schema, data model documentation and a series of useful map designs. Another initiative that is common today is regional shared services. “Shared services are formal agreements among councils in specific areas to share purchasing, applications, development and service delivery,” says Lythe.
“Areas that embrace both shared services and Esri’s ELAs can organise themselves around a common ArcGIS platform, in turn enabling standardised services, a single roadmap and a critical mass of GIS expertise to fast track development so that the agencies involved, and ratepayers, can benefit.”
One area that has embraced both the ELA model and the shared services concept is the Bay of Plenty, with their Bay of Plenty Local Authority Shared Services (BOPLASS) initiative.
“Esri’s ELA has made it more affordable for four of the councils in our region,” says Greg Bennett, land information services manager at Rotorua District Council. “Now that we all have a standardised platform it is easier to share expertise and experiences.”
Greg Bennett believes that the shared service concept is a good model. “We are a group of nine councils that have similar requirements.
The techniques and processes we are developing can be easily applied to other councils and shared services groups.
The ELA and shared services concept has worked for us and we would be happy to share what we have learned with other regional groups.”