Geospatial Information Officer (GIO), also known as Geospatial Information Officer (GIO)
The GIO is quickly becoming a new and needed entity in many levels of government. For some time the role for the Chief Information Officer has been clearly defined as a broad technology focused individual. The GIO needs to straddle technology and business in a much more significant way. Clearly there are IT related issues to implementing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the management of its large datasets. Moreover, the GIO, like the CIO, needs to be positioned in an area such that it serves all of an entity, rather than a particular specific business area. However, the GIO needs to have a broad understanding of the entire business function so that appropriate data, techniques and analysis can be applied to help solve policy and business problems. GIOs are fundamentally different from CIOs in that they are primarily concerned with the development and responsible use of data content and analysis rather than the IT infrastructure itself. They work in close collaboration with other topic area experts to foster the wise use of geospatial information technology. When used correctly, GIS can vastly improve the efficiency and efficacy of an organizations business processes and soundness of its decision making.
In order to describe the GIO role better, we have outlined the description below. The GIO role can best be described in three categories; (1) Coordination role, (2) Planning and Strategy Role and (3) Operation role.
GIO Coordination Role
• Coordinate Geographic Information Systems (GIS) efforts amongst the agency, department, division or unit to include providing the central point of contact for GIS resources;
• Develop GIS program authority, policy, standards, staff, computing, data, and infrastructure for the continued use of GIS technology for policy and business;
• Establish Departmental guidelines on appropriate staff knowledge, skills and abilities; and appropriate civil service classification use;
• Establish relationships with partners at federal, state and local levels, academia, private industry and non-governmental organzations;
• Implement standards to facilitate interoperability of information used to support State services;
• Create information sharing agreements with appropriate entities; establish policies on for the distribution of public, confidential, proprietary, draft and commercial data;
• Work with other GIOs in order to more effectively develop GIS activity; and
• Maintain expertise on GIS and related technologies and provide expert advice on application and use.
Planning & Strategy Role
• Ensure that GIS policies and projects support the mission of, as well as add demonstrable value to, the State government agencies, boards and commissions; as well as local and federal partners. For example provide leadership in meeting the information requirements of responsible State agencies and coordinate GIS users to assure interoperability and prevent unnecessary duplication of effort;
• Develop cost/benefit analysis and return-on-investment documents to support continued investment of organizational resources in geospatial data and systems;
• Establish cooperation among and between State Agencies in the use of GIS technologies in providing solutions to interagency, multi-organizational, multi-stakeholder, cross-jurisdictional public policy issues;
• Implement a strategy that includes regional/local GIS practitioners as partners; allowing the CIO to take the role of an investor partner;
• Implement a policy that supports and sustains a continued and concerted effort to work with regional and local governments and organizations, many of whom will have diverse and, at times, conflicting priorities with respect to the use of state resources;
• Request that other entities of State government not under direct executive authority, including the CPUC, the University of California, the California State University, California Community Colleges, constitutional officers, and legislative and judicial branches make use of GIS technologies in providing solutions to relevant interagency, multi-organizational, multi-stakeholder, cross-jurisdictional public policy issues;
• Propose, review, track and provide expert advice on legislation and regulations affecting GIS including funding and data access/public records issues; and
• Operate a user maintain registry of local, state, federal and tribal government and utility GIS experts.
GIO Operation Role
• Facilitate the development of framework spatial data for internal and external use. In particular set the standard for stewarding data relevant to the business need of the agency, department, division or unit;
• Provide leadership in collaboration and sustainability of critical framework geospatial data; and
• Facilitate and coordinate the creation/sharing of, and updates to, and the description of geographic data for the state. a metadata catalog.