For several decades, many government agencies and other organizations have used geospatial technologies to input, store, retrieve, manipulate, analyze, and output geographically referenced (location-based), or "geospatial," data. With Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to organize these data, users can easily:
At State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), where nearly all transportation decisions are in some way tied to geography, geospatial technologies are becoming increasingly advanced and useful tools. These technologies are helping State DOTs to more cost-effectively and efficiently deliver needed transportation improvements to the public.
While some State DOTs use stand-alone applications to serve specific, individual business needs, others have developed or are developing enterprise solutions that address a range of business requirements across the organization. In both cases, factors such as early history, data development and management arrangements, funding availability, and organizational structure shape State DOTs' abilities to apply geospatial data to improve decision-making.
This report describes six State DOTs' business models for implementing geospatial technologies. It provides a comparison of the organizational factors influencing how Arizona DOT, Delaware DOT, Georgia DOT, Montana DOT, North Carolina DOT, and Oklahoma DOT invest in and use geospatial information to support their respective business needs. Critical success factors identified by each DOT are also documented, along with suggestions for how the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) might better support State DOTs in implementing geospatial programs.
In general, at State DOTs the early history of implementing GIS and data development considerations have been significant contributors to determining how GIS activities are arranged organizationally. Some GIS programs originated in response to a need for providing maps more quickly. Others developed applications to meet specific business needs that had been communicated from various divisions across the organization.
State DOTs have obtained data in a variety of ways, including developing their own data from digitizing paper maps or purchasing commercially available data. In all cases, the interviewed State DOTs have developed or are moving toward creating an enterprise GIS. Such systems enable access to information across multiple divisions regardless of familiarity with GIS, allowing greater efficiency, public transparency, and quicker and better decision-making.
Key activities for successful implementation of geospatial technologies identified during interviews include:
These factors are described in more detail in Section IX. Critical Success Factors and Recommendations.