GIS and Data Sharing Study, City of Houston, Texas

In January 2002, the City of Houston contracted MRF to conduct a GIS and data sharing study. Major tasks involved in the study were:

A comprehensive review of the City’s current GIS, entailing:

• GIS software and hardware configuration
• Staffing
• Existing data sets and maintenance cycles
• Data set exchange within and outside the city (dependency and provision)
• Development plans
• Current efforts for the seamless flow of information to the citizens of Houston

Identification of deficiencies in the current GIS, such as:

• Insufficient inter-departmental sharing of GIS data and applications
• Insufficient inter-departmental coordination of GIS activities
• Duplication of GIS efforts between City departments

Recommendation of solutions, consisting of:

• Technical innovation within City departments
• Standardization of the City’s GIS data sets and applications
• Inter-departmental coordination through proper funding mechanisms

MRF accomplished the City of Houston’s GIS Study in three phases. The first phase involved MRF’s visit to the City of Houston to observe the current GIS efforts within 10 city departments and one local agency. The second phase focused on the analysis of the systems, as well as phone interviews with an additional seven city departments. The third phase consisted of discussing MRF’s findings and recommendations with individuals involved in the study and submitting a final report to the City of Houston’s Council on February 28, 2002.