GIS Management Institute

Promoting professional adoption and awareness of best practices and standards in the GIS profession.

URISA's GIS Management Institute^SM serves GIS professionals and organizations that use GIS with resources, products, and services that focus on promoting the advancement and adoption of professional best practices and standards for the management of GIS operations.

URISA has nearly 50 years of study, experience, and intellectual capital related to GIS management. The GIS Management Institute^SM (GMI) continues to build upon resources that URISA has already developed, including:

GIS Capability Maturity Model - GIS is a highly complex system. Because of this complexity, it seems useful to think about the ideal capability of a GIS operation in theoretical terms and then analyze and measure individual GIS operations against a theoretical ideal state.

The GIS Capability Maturity Model is intended primarily to define the components of an effective GIS operation, as well as to identify the characteristics of a well-managed and mature GIS. The GIS Capability Maturity Model is intended to serve both as a stand-alone document, as well as a central component of the GIS Management Institute.

The GIS Capability Maturity Model was originally developed in 2009 and adopted as a URISA initiative in 2010. In 2011 and 2012 it was used to inform development of the Geospatial Management Competency Model by URISA (see below). URISA’s GIS Management Institute conducted an internal review/revision process from October 2012 through March 2013. This process resulted in the version of the model now offered for public review.

Geospatial Management Competency Model - URISA’s Geospatial Management Competency Model (http://www.urisa.org/gmcm) specifies 74 essential competencies and 18 competency areas that characterize the work of most successful managers in the geospatial industry.

The U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA) has incorporated URISA’s GMCM in its Competency Model Clearinghouse (http://www.careeronestop.org/competencymodel/). This endorsement follows a year-long effort to draft the GMCM by a task force of 18 contributors and a public review process that attracted 100 comments. Of the 20 industries that have published competency models, the Geospatial industry is the first to have specified management competencies. Dr. Jennifer Troke of DOLETA’s Office of Workforce Investment called the GMCM “a groundbreaking accomplishment.”
Exemplary Systems in Government (ESIG) Awards - The ESIG awards, inaugurated in 1980 by the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association, recognize extraordinary achievement by government agencies in the use of automated information systems. This achievement is defined as the effective application of computer technology that can be measured in terms of improved government services and increased benefits to citizens. The award competition is open to all public agencies at the federal, state/provincial, regional and local levels. A comprehensive history of these outstanding systems, is included here.

URISA Leadership Academy - First presented in 2007, the URISA Leadership Academy (ULA) has graduated more than 300 professionals. The entire five day program, the only leadership training program of its type, is tailored to industry leaders and practitioners faced with unique challenges of GIS leadership and management and who want to make an impact leveraging the power of GIS. The ULA, held at least annually, offers fiver days of targeted GIS leadership training…taught by GIS Leaders. For more information, click here.
GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) - URISA is the founding member of the GIS Certification Institute, the organization that administers professional certification for the field and is dedicated to advancing the industry.
URISA's GISCorps is a philanthropic program of URISA that provides volunteer GIS support for underdeveloped countries (including mapping health care and educational facilities) and also supports disaster recovery efforts (Hurricane Katrina, Japanese Earthquake, Indonesian Tsunami).

URISA is also a founding member of the Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (COGO). COGO was developed to provide a forum for organizations concerned with U.S. national geospatial issues that 1) improves communications among the member organizations (and others), 2) provides educational information on relevant issues for their respective memberships, 3) aligns and strengthens their respective policy agendas, and 4) facilitates development of strategies to address national issues.

The GIS Management Body of Knowledge (GMBOK) is the central unifying element of the Institute. The GMBOK will be a collection of peer-reviewed best practices and standards that can inform geospatial managers and operations in order to improve the effectiveness of their use of geospatial technology.

Programs are being developed based on the GMBOK to accredit the capability and maturity of GIS operations against the GISCMM. It will also develop a program to accredit GIS management educational programs against the GMBOK and GMCM. URISA has agreed to work in cooperation with the GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) to advance the future certification of GIS managers.

Greg Babinski, GISP, Immediate Past-President of URISA, explained the motivation behind the development of the GIS Management Institute: “The management of enterprise GIS operations requires knowledge, skills, and abilities that clearly set it apart from other management domains. GIS operations today are highly complex, critical for effective agency services, and have been proven to deliver tremendous financial benefits.” He further noted that, “Central to the GMI, is the theory that as GIS operational maturity improves, ROI (return on investment) from GIS increases.”

For more information about the GIS Management Institute, contact Greg Babinski, URISA Past-President. For more information about URISA, contact Wendy Nelson, URISA Executive Director.

Greg Babinski's PPT presentation at the Esri User Conference:

URISA Labs