Please read the linked blog post here from Bent Ear Solutions, Leadership Challenges in Deploying Modern GIS
Their is a huge need to take a programmatic approach that goes beyond one person or one section of the government. Here's a quote from the article above:
"History has shown that, no matter how advanced or progressive capabilities are, without effective governance the program will wither and die under the weight of competing interests and lack of sustained and institutionalized effort.
Effective governance also means establishing core principles, determining short-term and long-term objectives, defining the optimal organizational structure and implementing policies and procedures to ensure the program is maintained.
As GIS has evolved and transformed, executives, managers, and operations personnel have not kept up with the powerful situational awareness capabilities this technology provides. When made aware, the focus often becomes acquiring or deploying the technology without taking the time to develop a comprehensive organizational approach. The requirements to implement and maintain a comprehensive situational awareness program are often underestimated and under resourced. This frequently leads to short term success that is not sustainable. Without a balanced approach that guides and directs the synchronization of personnel, procedures, and technology an organization will not achieve its desired goals."
Most emergency managers might be thinking—this isn't in my wheelhouse, but the services you should be getting are. Perhaps you can be the spark plug to get something moving in your parent jurisdiction/organization.
