The Geospatial Management Competency Model for Successful GIS Managers

Welcome to the GIS Management Academy™ - the educational offerings of GIS Management Consulting Services.Professional GIS management matters:You have a large investment in the development of your GIS. The annual operating and maintenance costs for the typical geographic information system can be as much as 0.5% of an agency’s overall budget. But the effectiveness and return on investment for an agency’s GIS can vary dramatically. A recent study of more than a dozen agencies showed that the annual GIS ROI averaged 376% but varied from more than 1600% to a negative 11%.What accounts for this dramatic difference? Why should you care?Management matters. Two GIS operations with similar resources will likely have different levels of ROI and effectiveness, depending on how the operation is managed and operated.Profession GIS management competency along with GIS operational maturity are key factors to ensure maximum effectiveness and return on investment for any agency. This is the focus of the GIS Management Academy™. Whether you are a professional GIS manager or responsible for overall operation of the GIS practice within your agency, GIS Management Academy™ workshops and training can help achieve superior effectiveness and ROI.GIS Management Academy™ workshops can also help you as a GIS manager continuously improve your competencies to achieve a successful career.The GIS Management Academy™ framework approachGIS Management Consulting Services takes a framework approach to helping our clients. The core of this framework is the GIS Capability Maturity Model (GISCMM) and the Geospatial Management Competency Model (GMCM). These two framework models are the core of two foundational GIS Management Academy™ workshops. The GISCMM and GMCM are the only two peer-reviewed models related to GIS operations and management.Individual elements of the GISCMM and GMCM will be the topics for additional workshops that will be introduced within the next 12 months. Each GIS Management Academy™ workshop will also cross-refence other important sources for GIS, IT, and project management best practices, including:•	The Geospatial Technology Competency Model (GTCM), as developed by the US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration.•	The Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge (GIS&TBOK)•	The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL).•	The Consortium for Advanced Management International (CAM-I)•	The Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®)•	And other subject-specific best practices.What you will receiveEach student in GIS Management Academy™ workshops will receive:•	Online instruction from a qualified subject matter expert•	Students who complete each course will receive a copy of the workshop presentation material

GIS Management Academy

The workshop shows how the GMCM can help you assess your management competencies and prioritize your continual career development.

Goals and objectives of this workshopGIS management is a challenging profession. Effective GIS management is a critical success factor for an agency to leverage the potential of its investment in geospatial data and technology and to maximize GIS ROI.GIS management is often seen as the culmination of a career in GIS – the opportunity to apply geospatial technology to achieve a vision for GIS within an organization, be it a government agency, non-profit, or private company. But any management position, and especially GIS management requires a systematic understanding of the many competencies required to succeed,This workshop introduces the concept of competency models as a tool to understand the range of individual competencies that an organization needs to succeed in utilizing a specific technology and related business process. We will review a variety of published geospatial competency models.This workshop will focus on the Geospatial Management Competency Model (GMCM) developed by the URISA GMI Committee chaired by the instructor and adopted by the US Department of Labor Employment Training Administration is 2012. We will discuss the characteristics that distinguish GIS management from IT and other domains within typical government agencies, non-profits, and private industry.The workshop will describe how the GMCM can help GIS managers assess their own professional strengths and identify priority areas for further competency development. The GMCM can also be used to assess an entire GIS management team.Through hands-on exercises, workshop attendees will complete an initial assessment of their own geospatial management competencies against the GMCM. Attendees will receive a report based on their input that will allow them to compare their competencies with peers and to plan their future priority competency development.Enterprise GIS is expensive to develop, maintain, and operate. Even small-to-medium-sized cities, counties, and regional agencies have invested millions of dollars to develop their GIS capabilities, and they can have large annual operating budgets. Many recent third-party studies have proven that GIS delivers significant financial return on investment (ROI) to organizations that deploy it as an enterprise business-support tool.However, like a sports team, symphony orchestra, or gourmet restaurant, no GIS operation can achieve its potential without effective leadership and highly competent management. GIS operational effectiveness, sustainability, and ROI varies depending on the competency of the geospatial manager.The relationship of the GMCM to the GIS Capability Maturity Model will also be described.Workshop attendees will receive copies of the GMCM. An exercise will be conducted during which attendees will be asked to perform an initial confidential self-assessment of their competency by applying the GMCM. This workshop will be of value to those interested in the development, implementation, and use of GIS management professional standards and best practices.AudienceCurrent GIS managers, supervisors, and coordinators, and those who aspire to a successful career in GIS management. Also, HR professional and senior management interested in understanding the competencies of a highly effective GIS manager.Topics Covered<ul><li>What is a competency model?</li><li>A survey of geospatial competency models</li><li>The GIS Capability Maturity Model</li><li>Theory of GIS Management</li><li>Origins and development of the Geospatial Management Competency Model</li><li>Exercise: Applying the Geospatial Management Competency Model—Step by Step</li><li>Methods of displaying and comparing results</li><li>Exercise: Attendee discussion and feedback</li></ul>Prerequisites and RecommendationsNo prerequisites. Recommended for GIS managers, consultants, and academics interested in assessing and improving their GIS management competencies.What You Will Receive2 hours of instruction from Greg Babinski, who is a subject-matter expert and workshop author.A copy of the workshop presentation and exercises.Upon completion, a signed completion certificate which will indicate the CEUs (0.2) and GISCI points (0.05) earned.An invitation to periodic GIS management Q&A sessions with the instructor and other workshop attendees.InstructorGreg Babinski is a GIS management consultant and founder of GIS Management Consulting Services LLC, located in the greater Seattle area.Beginning in 2010 he co-chaired the URISA GMI Committee that developed the GMCM. This international committee coordinated an extensive peer-review process that culminated in the adoption of the Geospatial Management Competency Model by the US Department of Labor Employment Training Administration is 2012.Between 1998 and the end of 2021 he served as GIS Manager, GIS Finance Manager and GIS Marketing &amp; Business Development Manager for the King County GIS Center in Seattle. Previously he worked for nine years as GIS Mapping Supervisor for the East Bay Municipal Utility District in Oakland.He holds an MA in geography from Wayne State University. Greg is a GISP – Certified GIS Professional. Babinski is Past-President of URISA and founder and Past-Chair of URISA’s GIS Management Institute. In 2005 he founded The Summit – the Washington State GIS Newsletter. In 2019 Greg was awarded an EthicalGEO Fellowship by the American Geographical Society. In addition to GIS consulting, he is a GIS researcher, author, and instructor. He has spoken about GIS management across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Greg has taught GIS for Public Policy as an instructor with the University of Washington Evans Graduate School of Public Administration. In his spare time Greg likes ‘hiking steep, narrow and dangerous trails that lead high above the clouds to awesome views’.