Issue link: https://resources.esri.ca/i/1313392
39 | GEOSPATIAL STRATEGY ESSENTIALS FOR MANAGERS MATTHEW LEWIN Common organizational archetypes for geospatial programs include the centralized, hub-and-spoke, balanced, federated and decentralized models. • A central group serves as official owner of all geospatial data and systems • Little, if any, data and systems reside outside the central team • Most geospatial professionals, including analysts, developers, architects and map production specialists reside in the central team • Support to other business areas is highly prescriptive and tightly controlled • Often seen in highly-regulated organizations with stringent system of record requirements and conservative culture • A central group is responsible for management of foundational datasets and systems and overall governance of the geospatial environment • Departments manage department-specific datasets and systems under strong guidance from the central team • Most support and administration roles reside in the central group while discipline- specific analyst roles reside within the departments • Favored by organizations that value strong and central governance and want to benefit from the economies associated with shared data, systems and resources. Also recognize the need for department-specific roles that benefit from being closely aligned to the business • A network of geospatial practitioners from various business units collaborates to collectively manage and deliver this geospatial function • A common, central group of practitioners may serve as a center of excellence defining common standards and processes as well as providing management and support of shared geospatial data and systems • Other practitioners are embedded within business units where they manage geospatial data, systems and resources and enforce governance established by the community • Seen in organizations with highly collaborative cultures • Departments and business functions manage geospatial data, systems and resources independently • No central coordinating team, departments coordinate amongst themselves as required • Often separate geospatial strategies • Favored by organizations with autonomy-based cultures and limited need for cross- department collaboration Centralized Hub-and-Spoke Balanced • A small central group serves as a coordinator amongst various departments • The primary focus of the central group, sometimes called a Community of Practice, is to develop standards and processes to facilitate collaboration and sharing • Departments are primarly responsible for management of their own geospatial data, systems and resources • Seen in organizations that value department-level independence but require a degree of collaboration and sharing in terms of data, systems and skills Federated Decentralized