In conjunction with the County’s overall Strategic Plan, the GIS Division has developed an enterprise GIS Master Plan. GIS is a collaborative platform that supports the collection, sharing, and exchange of location-based information. As such, GIS underpins much of the collective organizational effort devoted towards the strategic priorities identified in the Bay County Strategic Plan, including ensuring a safe county, delivering effective services, management and stewardship of natural resources, informing the public, and supporting economic development.
The Strategic Plan recognized the need for the development of a GIS Master Plan (GIS Task 2.1.1). This Master Plan fulfills that directive. Multiple data-gathering techniques and assessment methodologies were used to identify Bay County’s current successes and future needs. Key methodologies included:
• Six Pillars of Sustainability – used to evaluate Bay County in regards to gaps and organize action items.
• Voice of the Customer (Online Questionnaire)
• GIS Benchmarking
• Kickoff Meeting
• Key Performance Indicators
• Departmental Interviews
The Master Plan (Exhibit 1) once adopted, will serve as a guide to ensure that the GIS needs of the county are met and sustained.