AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 1 of 33 8. b - CC Enterp rpri rise Geogr ograp aphic Infor ormation on Syste tem COUNTY COUNCIL AUGUST 11 TH 2015
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 2 of 33 8. b - CC Outline 1. What is GIS? 2. History of the Middlesex Geography Network 3. What has Changed? 4. The Proposal
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 3 of 33 8. b - CC What is GIS? A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a set of tools for mapping and analyzing things that exist and events that happen. It integrates and organizes layers of spatial data (where things are) with non-spatial or descriptive data (what things are) to give a better understanding of a place or process. GIS allows people to integrate information, test scenarios, create maps, and present data in a manner that a non-specialist can interpret.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 4 of 33 8. b - CC What is GIS? GIS can play an important role in supporting the day-to-day operations of a municipality and can be useful for almost all departments and services. Common municipal uses of GIS include: land use planning, asset management, public works, emergency management and response, parcel mapping, utilities, tourism, economic development, engineering, and recreation. A municipal GIS is comprised of hardware, software, data, staff, and procedures, and can allow for faster, more accurate and less costly service delivery and decision making.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 5 of 33 8. b - CC Middlesex Geography Network The County started using GIS in 1996 to undertake mapping in support of the Official Plan. In 2005 the Middlesex Geography Network (MGN) partnership was established as an opportunity for users of GIS in Middlesex to move forward in a coordinated and integrated manner to elevate the level of GIS available to each user. The MGN was initially funded through Bell Canada’s Community Fund, MNR’s GeoSmart program and contributions from local municipalities however the on-going maintenance of the system was moved to the County levy.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 6 of 33 8. b - CC Middlesex Geography Network The MGN guiding principles include: making efficient and cost effective use of resources through the sharing of data, centralized storage and access to web-based applications, facilitating information sharing, providing for data standardization, collaborative planning and decision making, and addressing issues of liability.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 7 of 33 8. b - CC Middlesex Geography Network The MGN is used to varying degrees by all local municipalities and also non-municipal partners including: Lake Huron and Elgin Area Water Supply System, Middlesex-London Emergency Medical Services, Strathroy-Caradoc Police Services and the Ontario Provincial Police, Western University and Fanshawe College, conservation authorities, and the public.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 8 of 33 8. b - CC Middlesex Geography Network The most visible outcomes of the MGN are two Internet based mapping applications created and hosted by the City of London under a fee for service contract. The first application, a Public Interactive Mapping System, allows the public to search for addresses, roll numbers, community facilities, view aerial photography and obtain information about features on the map. This is the second highest requested area of the County’s website and receives over 1500 user accesses a month and is used to generate over 30,000 map views a month.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 9 of 33 8. b - CC Public Interactive Mapping System
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 10 of 33 8. b - CC Middlesex Geography Network The second MGN application, an Internal Planning Application, is available to designated staff of partner organizations through password protected user accounts. This application allows users to view additional data layers (zoning where available, CLI Soil Classifications, SAR layers, CA Regulated Areas, etc.), use tools such as on-screen measurement, and generate documents such as notifications for Planning Act applications. There currently are 130 internal users of this application, most of which are local municipal staff.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 11 of 33 8. b - CC Internal Planning Application
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 12 of 33 8. b - CC Middlesex Geography Network In addition to the Internet based mapping applications, the County and the municipalities of Thames Centre, Middlesex Centre, Strathroy- Caradoc, and Southwest Middlesex have desktop GIS software and spatial data sets. The municipalities of Lucan Biddulph, Adelaide-Metcalfe, and North Middlesex have spatial data sets but do not utilize GIS software in- house. After a very successful implementation, the MGN has been ‘treading water’.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 13 of 33 8. b - CC Middlesex Geography Network Use of the City of London’s Internet based mapping applications has saved Middlesex in the neighbourhood of $750,000 over the years, but has constrained GIS within Middlesex. We have not been able to develop independent applications and the current applications are increasingly not meeting our user’s needs. The Internal Planning Application could not be segmented by local municipality such that there was one application for all staff – this restricted the types of data that municipalities were willing to host in the system.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 14 of 33 8. b - CC What Has Changed? The purchase of the Internet based mapping applications from the City of London will conclude at the end of this year. While the changes at the City are a catalyst, other factors support moving forward at this time with a new GIS system: Internet based GIS has significantly evolved and the barriers to entry in terms of hardware, software, and costs have decreased, the technology now truly provides for a ‘distributed system’ that we feel is necessary for a two-tier municipal system, and the County received Provincial Source Water Protection Implementation funding which can be used for ‘the development of business processes’ including GIS.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 15 of 33 8. b - CC Moving Forward Enterprise GIS We believe that it is time to re-boot the GIS program within Middlesex by moving forward with in-house GIS services. The new GIS system would be comprised of a suite of tools distributed across the County and municipalities – an ‘enterprise GIS’. The Enterprise GIS would include (1) a central GIS server (2) advanced desktop GIS users (3) standard desktop and mobile GIS users and (4) cloud-based GIS applications.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 16 of 33 8. b - CC Moving Forward Enterprise GIS Conceptual Enterprise GIS System Design Source: ESRI online
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 17 of 33 8. b - CC Moving Forward Enterprise GIS At the centre of the system would be a GIS server hosted by the County that would: offer secure (privacy legislation) central data storage, host Internet mapping applications to the public, host secure Intranet applications to staff, host secure mobile applications to staff, provide segmented applications, and provide GIS data services to technical desktop GIS staff. The County’s existing technology infrastructure (virtual server, web server, etc) is capable of handling a new GIS system without any new investments.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 18 of 33 8. b - CC Moving Forward Enterprise GIS The advanced desktop GIS users would be technical staff at the County and local municipalities that work with GIS to undertake both local processes but also to feed data to and retrieve data from the server. The standard desktop and mobile GIS users would be non-technical staff at the County and local municipalities that would be provided tools and applications to assist them in completing their duties. Most of the applications would be Internet based either on a desktop computer or on a mobile device such as a tablet for use in the field.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 19 of 33 8. b - CC Moving Forward Enterprise GIS The system would also utilize cloud-based Internet GIS tools to provide public applications that do not contain private information and that need to be very flexible in their use. The implementation of this system would include a training program for municipal staff.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 20 of 33 8. b - CC Moving Forward Enterprise GIS GIS is a multi-departmental and GIS responsibilities throughout the multi-organizational resource, so various partners requires strong some structure and processes communication to ensure that need to be put in place to facilitate multiple GIS projects and users an enterprise GIS. work together. After looking at best practices, a In order to facilitate this, we decentralized organizational believe that the establishment of structure appears to be the best an informal technical working option for GIS within Middlesex group is necessary. County.
AUGUST 11, 2015 Page 21 of 33 8. b - CC • Meghan Gooyers, Thames Centre • Marsha Paley, North Middlesex Recommended • Maria Camacho, Strathroy-Caradoc Technical • Michael Barnier, Middlesex Centre Working Group • Brian Lima, Middlesex Centre • Jeff Denomy, Adelaide Metcalfe • Ron Reymer, Lucan Biddulph • Liz Jeffery, Southwest Middlesex • Chris Durand, SCRCA • Durk Vanderwerff, and Morgan Calvert, County • plus others as required based on project or issue • and would be supported by County GIS and IT Staff
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