II. ORGANIZE FOR GIS INVESTIGATION

Organize a core group that will see the GIS implementation through to success. Nearly every successful implementation owes its success to a relatively small group of people that includes:

• an organizational champion with enough influence or authority to get the necessary resources,
• technical people who made the technology produce results,
• a small circle of supporters and cooperators.

This core group is likely to be informal and to cross organizational boundaries. They will share a belief in the benefits to be realized from the technology and a willingness to work for these benefits. Around this core a formal structure, such as a GIS Committee, should be created. This will provide an organizational entity for the group's activities and cause it to be recognized by the larger organization.

The GIS Committee should work in two key areas.

• Building organizational and political support for a parcel-based GIS.
• Creating, then implementing, a plan for parcel-based GIS.

These two tasks are highly interrelated. The nature and extent of political support will determine how ambitious the plan can be. The quality of the plan and the incremental success of the implementation will add to or detract from political support.

E-mail comments or questions to IISAC at iisac@state.mn.us.

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