Transferability of the Qatar Enterprise GIS Model: Experience in Vietnam and Jamaicaby Dr. Jerry C. Coiner, Remote Sensing and Information Systems Co., Hawaii, USA.
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Jerry C. Coiner |
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Abstract : |
The enterprise Geographic Information System (GIS) implementation model developed by the Centre for Geographic Information Systems (CGIS), State of Qatar holds numerous attractions for other developing-country governments. Among those attractions are: enterprise GIS is cost effective; it makes good use of limited technical resources; and it provides a step-by-step approach to GIS development across multiple government agencies.
This presentation reviews the transferability of the Qatar GIS implementation model in two very different environments - the national governments of Jamaica and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
In Jamaica, GIS has been used by a number of government and parastatal agencies for over ten years, but its implementaion has been eclectic and internal to each agency. Although the government established a committee that monitored GIS in the late 1980s, it did not identify a methodology to turn individual GIS projects into a government-wide, programmatic GIS effort, i.e., enterprise GIS. An aspect of the Qatar experience that is most important in Jamaica is the use of common documentation, i.e., the data dictionary concept, to organize diverse GIS projects into a national GIS effort and to establish a common framework for current and future projects.
In Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), there has been less exposure to GIS and, therefore, less of its use. Consequently, much more of the Qatar model is proving to be relevant , especially the organizational framework of a Steering Committee and a GIS center of expertise to support multiple city agencies. Again, the use of common user needs assessments and data dictionary formats will help to reduce duplication and increase data sharing.
Based on the consultant's experiences, the Qatar model seems to be most appropriate in cases where there has been only limited GIS exposure within a government. When government agencies develop GIS applications on a project-by-project basis without regard for a shared model of development, it is more difficult to implement enterprise GIS ex post facto.
Jerry C. Coiner - Profile :
Jerry C. Coiner is principal of Remote Sensing & Information Systems Co. (RS&IS), which he founded in 1983. He advises business and governments on geographic information systems (GIS), land information systems (LIS), digital cartographic systems, remote sensing, and global positioning system (GPS) applications. Dr.Coiner has planned and managed the design, training and implementation of micro and minicomputer appliations for businesses, international organizations, and governments ( in the fields of urban data management, housing, physical and environmental planning).
Prior to establishing RS&IS, Dr.Coiner was a project manager and inter regional advisor for the United Nations and held academic and research positions at Columbia University, Hunter College, and the University of Kansas.
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