Industry perspective
Building a Mobile Government Strategy With GIS
It’s no secret that people all over the world are increasingly relying on mobile devices to access information. In fact, 95 percent of Americans currently own a mobile device of some sort, according to the Pew Research Center, and more than one in 10 American adults are “smartphone-only” internet users – meaning they own a smartphone, but do not have traditional home broadband service. Government is no different than the average citizen out in the world. Mobile technology has significantly impacted the way government does business, both internally and in the methods in which it communicates with and provides information to constituents. But while government at all levels has become more adept at using mobile technology and services for efficiency and communication, many organizations still lack a comprehensive mobile strategy. Mobile deployment and the data collected via mobile devices is often piecemeal, meaning use of it and the data gathered is siloed in different departments or dashboards, and not incorporated in an organization-wide workflow.
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Building a Mobile Government Strategy With GIS
To discover how geographic information systems (GIS) technology, paired with a thoughtful mobile strategy, can transform state and local government services, GovLoop partnered with Esri, a leader in GIS, for this industry perspective. Keith Mann, State and Local Government Marketing Lead at Esri, provided insight on what a mobile strategy at the state and local government levels looks like, how governments can get there and how mobile, geo-enabled data can fundamentally shift the way cities, counties and states enable access to information.
Mobility and GIS: Transforming State and Local Government Mobile strategies have come a long way since the first Nokia and mobile GPS systems. Early mobile strategies largely focused solely on field data collection, allowing government employees who were previously going out into the field to collect data with a paper survey and clipboard to start utilizing GPS capabilities and electronic data collection on mobile devices. But as the mobile revolution moves forward, new mobile strategies need to go further. They must have an impact on the entire workflow of organizations rather than just data collection. This means changing the workflow and using mobile to collect data that can be instantly fed back to a dashboard collected in one organization, allowing organizations to make real-time, data-driven decisions. Along with mobile approaches and technology, GIS technology – software designed to capture, manage, analyze and display all forms of geographically referenced information – has also grown and is in wide adoption by many state and local governments today. While mobile and GIS technology have evolved, however, they remain independent of each other in many state and local governments. Combining the two technologies can fundamentally shift the way cities, counties and states enable access to information. By enabling immediate insights into data and incorporating a mobile strategy into the workflow, jurisdictions can deliver services to citizens faster and more efficiently. “Simply doing business on your phone or your device isn’t a strategy per se,” said Keith Mann, State and Local Government Marketing Lead at Esri. “To be effective, your mobile government strategy requires a simple, integrated approach that ensures data continuity, quality, and the ability to easily share that information with other departments.”
Today’s mobile government is looking to incorporate field data collection that can quickly update back-office systems and databases. Applications such as executive dashboards provide insight that moves agencies from static data collection to a more responsive position. Once analyzed, this data can be communicated with other agencies and the public in the full spirit of transparency and accountability. Location-based technologies can then enable documentation, processing and management of government issues in real time, taking advantage of the entire mobile workflow. Mobile data collection apps allow government to collect and process data out in the field, in the office or in any other location – a truly powerful ability that allows government to reach communities where they are. Both online or offline, government workforces can access maps and collect and view real-time information. Paired with GIS software, they can bring data straight from the field into a geodatabase in a seamless workflow – and also take GIS data back into the field via a mobile device or laptop computer. Incorporating a mobile strategy with GIS into the entire workflow allows governments to be more holistic in their capabilities and approaches. Mobile field-to-back-office communications allows collected data to be fed into a management system or executive dashboard. This emphasis on mobile data will support real-time decisionmaking, which allows processes to move at a faster pace and meet the growing expectations the public has of the government.
Industry Perspective
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Building Your State and Local Mobile GIS Strategy GIS technology helps the world better understand, respond to and ultimately improve citizen services and efficiencies. This is especially true with respect to mobile government. Geospatially enabled mobile solutions are differentiated by their ability to capture and store data at the source location, which can be fed immediately into master databases and operational dashboards in real time. This real-time capability is changing the face of state and local government. Here are some ways to take advantage.
Tools Esri provides a full suite of mobile-enabled tools to help state and local governments get started on their path to a mobile strategy, and get out in the field collecting and sharing data.
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ArcGIS
Survey123
Workforce
ArcGIS® provides a scalable framework for implementing GIS for a single user or many users on desktops, in servers, over the internet and in the field on mobile devices. It includes a set of free maps, apps and best practices developed especially for local government. Users can deploy it to improve government operations and enhance citizen services and create configurable applications tailored to address a state or county’s economic landscape, health and safety, educational performance, emergency management response and environmental protection. This allows you to empower organizations and policymakers with improved analytics to solve business problems and serve constituents.
Survey123 for ArcGIS® is a simple and intuitive form-centric, datagathering solution that makes creating, sharing and analyzing surveys possible. Data captured in Survey123 for ArcGIS is immediately available in the ArcGIS Platform to optimize field operations, understand data and make the best decisions and communicate and share work.
Workforce for ArcGIS® enables a common view in the field and the office, which allows government agencies to connect the right worker to the right place with the right tools to do the right job. Governments can use the web app in the office to create and assign work to mobile workers – firefighters, inspectors or repair people, for example – who then use the mobile app to work through their assignments in the field.
Building a Mobile Government Strategy With GIS
Steps These tools like the ones above help government use the power of location to improve coordination and achieve operational efficiencies in field workforce activities. This means agencies can reduce or even replace reliance on paper and ensure that everyone, in the field and the office, uses the same authoritative data to reduce errors and boost productivity. Most important, though, is the ability to share mobile data across departments and apps. Follow these simple steps to strengthen your mobile strategy using GIS to take you to the field and back.
Monitor
Coordinate
Stay on top of your field operations by monitoring, tracking and reporting real-time data feeds to focus on what matters most.
Create projects and assign tasks to field workers using streamlined workflows designed to boost efficiency, reduce downtime and cut operational expenses.
Plan
Navigate
ArcGIS includes powerful mapping applications that provide a common source of truth for planning field workforce operations.
Consistently meet deadlines by using the most efficient route so you can get there on time and get the job done.
Capture Field data collection deserves a solution as specialized as the data it provides. Put everything on the map — asset information, survey results and imagery.
Industry Perspective
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Case Studies: In the Field
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Building a Mobile Government Strategy With GIS
Pierce County, Wash. In 2009, Pierce County Road Operations staff inspected drainage features. The inspections showed that a lack of field access to map data had left some catch basins in need of cleaning. To remedy this, county staff increased assessments and cleanings. One year later, however, the cost of assessing and cleaning peaked at $120 per catch basin.
Seeking ways to increase efficiency, Road Operations staff replaced laptops and a manual database-reconcile process with iPads using Esri ArcGISSM Online. Staff deployed the Collector for ArcGIS® app for field workers and supervisors used Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS® to monitor and manage the work. Now, teams can access over 200,000 drainage features via ArcGIS Online. With that update, supervisors could see locations of all work orders spatially, using appropriate work-task filters. They have total access from the office or field. Thanks to maps, apps and dashboards, they can see up-to-date work order status — with pictures — and adjust schedules as work is completed.
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When a series of storms rolled through Harrison County, W.Va., one Sunday evening, it left substantial wind damage in its wake. As the storms battered his region, Paul Bump, Director of Harrison County Emergency Services, started contemplating a plan of action. He wrote a survey to start mapping the storm.
His team hit the road to capture both locations and photos of some of the damage. To assess storm damage, Bump and one other person from his team used Survey123 for ArcGIS on a Samsung Galaxy Note smartphone. After about six hours in the field, they returned to the office and put the photos and locations they collected to work. Within just a few minutes, Bump used the survey data and ArcGIS Online to create an online map showing definitive storm progress. He then shared the map with first responders as well as state and county officials. The primary data goal for the initial Harrison County storm damage assessment was to find out what and where — GPS points and photos of damage. The survey included other fields for owner, notes, etc. In light of the initial success, Bump said the county has expanded its use of Survey123.
Harrison County, W.Va.
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Building a Mobile Government Strategy With GIS
Boston, Mass. In 2015, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency produced the Boston Marathon Dashboard, an online map that tracks every aspect of the event as it happens. The technology behind the dashboard is remarkable: layers of real-time data, information that’s clickable and zoomable and a map that can be viewed and updated from any device by hundreds of people.
But what matters most, even to the people who built and use the dashboard, is that it keeps people safe. If the 2013 marathon bombing attack left participants and spectators fearful and made police and public officials feel vulnerable, the Boston Marathon Dashboard could take away some of that fear and give people back a sense of control. The dashboard hosts dynamic web map layers, including live weather and traffic, real-time tracking of runners and emergency vehicles and information about emergency situations. And there are 20 static layers that can be turned on or off, as needed, to show helicopter landing pads, National Guard staging areas or medical facilities. Additionally, during the race, crews on the ground used Collector for ArcGIS, an iPhone app that’s also part of ArcGIS Online, to do real-time tracking of police cruisers, ambulances and other emergency vehicles.
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Conclusion: The Evolution to Smarter Jurisdictions As we’ve shown, today’s mobile devices now allow field crews to easily collect huge amounts of data to improve efficiency and citizen services. Data from these devices can enable jurisdictions to work smarter, but without a way to coordinate it all, benefits are difficult to realize. The true evolution to a smarter jurisdiction – one that offers improved planning, coordination, navigation, datagathering and monitoring as well as better service to citizens and improved efficiencies – comes when you pair GIS technology and a strong mobile strategy. “A smart jurisdiction is one that is applying technology in a meaningful way that’s beneficial to their organization and to their citizens in particular,” Mann said. “Their overall strategy is to use technology to expand the value of data they collect to improve government services.” When your agency can truly leverage its geo-enabled data via a robust mobile strategy, the result will be improved government activities and enhanced services provided to the general public.
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Building a Mobile Government Strategy With GIS
When Esri was founded in 1969, we realized even then that geographic information system (GIS) technology could make a difference in society. Working with others who shared this passion, we were encouraged by the vast possibilities of GIS. Today our confidence in GIS is built on the belief that geography matters - it connects our many cultures and societies and influences our way of life. GIS leverage geographic insight to ensure better communication and collaboration. Explore our website to discover how our customers have obtained the geographic advantage by using Esri software to address social, economic, business, and environmental concerns at local, regional, national, and global scales. We hope you will be inspired to join the Esri community in using GIS to create a better world. go.esri.com/gov-mobile @esrislgov
GovLoop’s mission is to inspire public sector professionals by serving as the knowledge network for government. GovLoop connects more than 250,000 members, fostering cross-government collaboration, solving common problems and advancing government careers. GovLoop is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a team of dedicated professionals who share a commitment to the public sector. For more information about this report, please reach out to info@govloop.com.
Industry Perspective
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