Issue link: https://resources.esri.ca/i/1313392
54 | GEOSPATIAL STRATEGY ESSENTIALS FOR MANAGERS MATTHEW LEWIN Chapter 10 Implementing Geospatial Governance: Structure and Processes I n the previous chapter, I presented the scenario of a mid-size city government in need of improved GIS governance. I reviewed an approach to developing a geospatial governance model and identified the city's governance priorities. In this chapter, I discuss development of the model itself. This covers two core concepts: the governance decision structure and the governance processes. Additionally, I provide recommendations for establishing the governance model within an organization. Establishing the Decision Structure The city decided to tackle the governance decision structure first. The decision structure is an essential component of a governance model and provides clarity around accountabilities and decision rights. It is usually comprised of an organizational structure that defines membership, reporting lines and relationships amongst stakeholders in the decision structure. Typically, governance decision structures are organized as hierarchies with descending levels of authority. The top of the hierarchy consists of an executive steering committee comprised of senior stakeholders from IT, relevant business units, related management boards or committees and occasionally external partners. The group's responsibility is to provide strategic direction and overall business approval of governance decisions. With so many competing priorities, it's vital that this group is highly collaborative and has a clear definition of how conflicts and disagreements are resolved. Reporting to the executive steering committee are functional working groups. These groups plan, implement and monitor key governance processes and provide recommendations to the executive steering committee. In this configuration, strategic decisions are allocated to the steering committee while the actioning of those decisions and related tactical decisions are assigned to the working group level. The city preferred this approach as it provided a clear and simple structure while avoiding becoming overly authoritarian. The trick was defining how many working groups were appropriate in the decision structure and the specific areas of responsibility that would be assigned to each group. They also needed to define the specific responsibilities of the steering committee and its relationship with other levels of corporate or IT governance. These groups also needed names and they needed to fit the culture of the city. After many rounds of discussion, the city landed on a decision structure summarized in the illustration below. An effective geospatial governance model integrates structure and processes