CHAPTER 13 Case Study — Aylesbury Vale District Council AYLESBURY VALE DISTRICT COUNCIL AT A GLANCE Key Facts Local authority name: Aylesbury Vale District Council Local authority type: District council Population: 165,000 Current state of operation of GIS: Single-supplier/Authority-wide GIS Main GIS products in use: ESRI’s ArcInfo (7 licenses), ArcView (25 licenses), Map- Explorer, and CAPS UNI-form (50 licenses) Applications: Map production, land charges, planning application processing, building control, forward plans, property management, electoral registration, contracts man- agement, and insurance records Land and Property Gazetteer status: ESRI BS7666-compliant LPG operational GIM/GIS strategy status: GIM/GIS strategy (adopted in June 1997) Forum for steering GIS: GIS working party (reporting to information strategy working party) Staffing for GIS: GIS project manager, GIS officer, and LPG technician Contact details: GIS project manager (telephone 01296 585305) What Makes Aylesbury Vale District Council Distinctive? Aylesbury Vale District Council provides an excellent example of a local authority that has implemented GIS within the context of a strong corporate approach. While many local authorities may find this level of corporate commitment difficult to sustain, the case study identifies the many advantages that can accrue from this approach, including unambiguous setting of priorities, integration of systems, and introduction of data standards, all underpinned by the necessary staff and financial resources to make it happen. ©2004 by CRC Press LLC Key Stages in the Implementation of GIS Stage 1 (1994 to 1997) — Initial experimentation with two GIS products (FastMap and Geobuild). Stage 2 (1997 to 1998) — Consultancy study to recommend strategy. IS/IT strategy adopted. ESRI (UK) Ltd. selected as GIS supplier. Stage 3 (1999) — GIS, LPG, planning, property and land charges systems implemented with associated data capture. “First cut” BS7666 LPG built. Stage 4 (2000 to 2001) — Contracts management and insurance records databases and building control system implemented with associated data capture. Electoral registration database matched to LPG. Positive Drivers and Success Factors for GIS • Adoption of corporate IS/IT strategy and provision of associated funding for GIS • Dedicated project manager and project team for implementation, with secondment of key staff • Users receptive to introduction of new technology • Constructive relationship with GIS vendor • Pressure to achieve e-government targets Problems that Threatened Success • Poor quality source data needed cleaning in advance of data capture. • Capture of graphic planning history data took considerably longer than anticipated. • Teething difficulties with interface between planning and land charges systems. Practical Benefits from GIS • Map base and associated data available with fingertip access on the desktop • Enquiries dealt with quicker by reception desks and other users (e.g., planning, land charges, property, contract management, and building control departments) without reference to paper sources • Planning applications registered in less time (30-minute savings per application), and accuracy of constraints check improved • Accuracy of land charges search responses improved, with future potential to improve response times • One position eliminated in land charges section through improved efficiency • One position eliminated in development control as land charges searches no longer required manual check • Resources no longer needed for updating duplicate manual map sets 13.1 WHY WAS AYLESBURY VALE DISTRICT COUNCIL CHOSEN AS A CASE STUDY? In the mid-1990s Aylesbury Vale District Council began to experiment with using two different GIS products on a departmental basis. While the Ordnance Survey liaison officer was using FastMap (from Survey Supplies) for map production and management, the planning department had selected Everest (from Geobuild) for ©2004 by CRC Press LLC digital preparation of the graphics needed to compile the local plan. As a result of concern that the authority was dissipating its efforts on competing GIS products without a clear consensus as to future direction, a GIS strategy study was commis- sioned from independent consultants during early 1997. Aylesbury Vale District Council provides an excellent example of a local author- ity that has implemented GIS within the context of a strong corporate approach. As a result of the consultancy study, the framework for future implementation of GIS was agreed upon within the adoption (in June 1997) of a corporate IS/IT strategy that established a strict single-supplier policy for GIS backed up by a substantial corporate budget of £1.03 million for GIS and related systems over the following 5 years. The authority moved away from FastMap and Everest with the implementation of ESRI’s GIS products, which focused on ArcView on the desktop. While many local authorities may find this level of commitment difficult to sustain, the case study identifies the considerable advantages that can accrue from this approach: covering the unambiguous setting of priorities, channeling of staff effort, integration of systems, and introduction of data standards (including estab- lishment of the corporate LPG), all underpinned by the necessary staff and financial resources to make it happen. It is important to note that Aylesbury Vale District Council did not start from a strong corporate tradition. It moved from its early departmental experimentation with GIS to introducing a corporate approach as a result of recognition that corporate service priorities would be best served by improv- ing the ability of departments to use and exchange spatial data on a common basis. 13.2 THE BACKGROUND — WHAT HAS AYLESBURY VALE DISTRICT COUNCIL DONE? Aylesbury Vale District Council is an example of the implementation of a single- supplier/authority-wide GIS, using the terminology that we introduced in Chapter 8. Since June 1997, the council has strictly enforced the implementation of GIS based on the products of a single supplier as a consequence of adopting its corporate strategy. Three different GIS software products are currently in use across the authority: • ArcInfo 7 (7 licenses), which is used to support the processing of LLC searches • ArcView 3.1 (25 licenses), which is used across all departments for a wide range of tasks including map production, planning application processing, building control, forward plans, property management, contracts management, and insurance records • MapExplorer 2 (unlimited free product) which is used throughout the council for “cheap and cheerful” viewing of high-interest data within the GIS, especially at customer reception desks in the new customer services centers The development and implementation of GIS in Aylesbury Vale District Council took place over four major stages: Stage 1 (1994 to 1997) — Initial experimentation with GIS had begun with FastMap used for map management and production by the OSLO (within the engi- neer’s department) and Geobuild for digital preparation of the local plan. ©2004 by CRC Press LLC Stage 2 (1997 to 1998) — The consultancy project to formulate the strategy for GIS and identify the early priority areas for implementation was undertaken. The justification for investment in GIS was accepted and the corporate IS/IT strategy adopted (with GIS being one of the key elements). A substantial corporate budget of £1.03 million was committed for GIS, LPG, and related systems over the next 5 years. Following tendering, ESRI (UK) Ltd. was selected as the GIS supplier. Stage 3 (1999) — GIS software for map production and management was rolled out widely across the council, parallel with an extensive data capture program for planning, property management, and LLC. New processing systems for LLC and property management, linked to GIS, were implemented from CAPS (the local gov- ernment application software house within ESRI). The council’s existing planning application processing system was replaced by the CAPS uniform planning system and interfaced to GIS. As part of this stage of the project, an LPG conforming to BS7666 was implemented (using ESRI’s LPG Tools) and dynamically interfaced to the planning, property management, and LLC systems (with half hourly updates of change data to the planning and property systems; and overnight updates to land charges). The “first-cut” gazetteer (57,000 records) was built for the council by the data capture contractor as a text and graphic database (using council tax, National Non- Domestic Rates, ADDRESS-POINT, and the county council’s National Street Gazetteer (NSG) file). This database was enhanced in-house, resulting in a gazetteer that currently comprises 73,000 records; the database is now continually updated. Capture of other data also took place during this stage, covering land charges registrations (30,000 records), planning history (53,000 records), and land terrier (25,000 records). Stage 4 (2000 to 2001) — Implementation was extended to other areas, in particular contracts management (grass cutting, street cleaning, and litter picking), insurance records, and the introduction of a business processing system linked to GIS for building control. A second phase of data capture was contracted out to collect the data involved with the contracts management work. Over this period the LPG was submitted to Intelligent Addressing and further work undertaken to resolve the small number of anomalies in the data that were identified. 13.3 WHAT ORGANIZATION HAS IT SET UP? To support the implementation of the procurement phase of Stage 2 and the whole of Stage 3 of the corporate GIS strategy, the council established a GIS working party, which was an officer group with representation from each directorate, and from each of the business functions that were linked to the LPG. The GIS working party was chaired by the GIS project manager (see below) and reported to the council’s information strategy working group. The role of the working party was to: • Coordinate and facilitate the rollout of GIS throughout the authority • Resolve priorities between different projects when resources become overstretched • Ensure that steady progress was made with implementation of the LPG in terms of interfacing to other council systems, in accordance with the project plan ©2004 by CRC Press LLC To ensure successful management of implementation of the GIS, LPG, and associated business systems, the council appointed one of its existing staff as the GIS project manager (a user, rather than a technical expert, from the planning division who was transferred to the IT division). To support ongoing operation of the systems, the council also established a corporate GIS team (jointly managed by the GIS project manager and the information team manager within the forward plans division). The team consisted of a GIS officer (who is an experienced ArcView specialist) and an LPG technician. 13.4 WHAT DOES AYLESBURY VALE DISTRICT COUNCIL PLAN TO DO IN THE FUTURE? The council is currently upgrading all products used within the corporate GIS solution. This is intended to result in a solution that is considerably easier to support, exploits the most recent improvements in technology, and automates the connections to both the NLPG and NLIS. The council plans to continue the expansion of GIS, including links from the LPG, to other areas that can potentially benefit, in particular environmental health, the customer service center, council tax, and benefits. With the increasing emphasis on e-government, the council is currently putting in place plans to publish selected data from the GIS on its Website and to encourage interactive access. 13.5 WHAT WERE THE POSITIVE DRIVERS AND SUCCESS FACTORS FOR GIS? Much of the success of Aylesbury Vale District Council is due to a number of significant drivers and success factors that have helped to provide a climate of support for the project. The positive drivers that have been of particular importance prior to and throughout the project are: • The far-sightedness of the authority in recognizing, early on, the long-term benefits to service delivery that would accrue from adopting a corporate strategy for GIS within the framework of an overall IS/IT strategy. • Consequent on the adoption of the corporate IS/IT strategy, the commitment of substantial resources to the project at the outset, which enabled implementation to progress without interruption. • More recently, the imposed need to achieve the e-government targets has further strengthened the justification for the GIS implementation program that was already underway. The critical success factors that have underpinned the project and maintained its profile within the authority have been: ©2004 by CRC Press LLC • The appointment of a dedicated project manager and project team, together with the secondment of key staff onto the project for defined periods • Users who were receptive to the introduction of new technology, rather than scared that it may mean that their jobs were at stake • A continuing constructive relationship with the GIS vendor with the emergence of Aylesbury Vale District Council as one of ESRI’s “show sites,” which has had advantages for both parties The champions for GIS within Aylesbury Vale District Council included the chief executive, director of corporate resources, and IT manager. These individuals saw the potential benefits of GIS and were able to enlist the support of councilors in committing the authority to an ambitious program of implementation. Also key to achieving this support was the involvement of a panel of four councilors (from each of the political parties) as a sounding board for the GIS strategy while it was in the draft stage and throughout the first 2 years of implementation. 13.6 WHAT WERE THE NEGATIVE FACTORS THAT THREATENED SUCCESS? While there have been many positive encouragements to the implementation of GIS within Aylesbury Vale District Council, there are a number of negative factors that have potentially threatened success. These include: • Poor quality source data: • For local land charges it was decided to clean the data in advance of capture, as a substantial six-person-month project using in-house staff; this was con- sidered time well spent that eased the subsequent workload. • The property management data were not cleaned as adequately as they should have been before capture, which resulted in considerable time and effort by in-house staff to tidy up the data once received back from the data capture company; this delayed the go-live date for this part of the solution. • The planning applications history data could not be effectively cleaned and difficult cases had to be captured by in-house staff rather than by the data capture company. This resulted in the capture of graphic data relating to planning history (back to 1974) being much more protracted than originally anticipated. • Teething difficulties with the interface between the CAPS uniform planning appli- cation processing system and LLC system, which was a “one-off” development for Aylesbury Vale District Council; these were resolved by a team effort between council and ESRI staff. 13.7 WHAT HAVE BEEN THE PRACTICAL BENEFITS? A major prerequisite underlying the early commitment to corporate GIS was that substantial benefits would accrue from implementation, particularly from improved service delivery. Now that implementation is substantially complete, the ©2004 by CRC Press LLC authority recognizes that it is obtaining significant and growing benefits from GIS in the following areas (some of which it has been possible to quantify): • The electronic map base and associated map data are now available throughout the council, including reception desks in the new customer services centers. As a result, many queries can be answered by “customer-facing” staff that previously could not be done without extensive support from the “back office” and without the need to refer to poor quality paper maps away from the desk. • Since all staff now have access to the same master copy of OS Landline data, resources are no longer devoted to maintaining duplicate map sets that were inconsistent with each other. • Planning applications can be registered and consultation needs identified without staff having to leave their desks. This has resulted in quicker and more accurate processing (a resulting time saving of 30 minutes per application has been estimated). • Property enquiries can be answered quickly and accurately without staff having to leave their desks — which is a considerable asset for users who are remote from paper records. • The accuracy of responses to LLC searches has considerably improved, and there is potential to reduce response times, though this has not yet been realized. • One staff position within the LLC section has been eliminated as a result of computerizing the service — and one staff position in the development control service has been eliminated as LLC search responses no longer have to be checked manually. • The issue of plans to support contracts that are let by the council can now be done electronically, with many hours of staff time saved through avoiding the need to draw plans manually. • Data from other business applications, which have been matched against the LPG, can be mapped using automated procedures. An example of this is the mapping of property attribute data from the council’s housing system. 13.8 WHAT ARE THE LESSONS FOR OTHERS? The Aylesbury Vale District Council case study demonstrates what can be achieved within the framework of a corporate approach and stresses the importance of: • Enlisting from the outset the support of potential champions (at the chief executive and chief officer levels) and the elected members • Making the case for adequate resources based on potential improvements in service delivery and adding strength to the case through the ability additionally to meet e-government targets • Monitoring and publicizing the actual benefits (including savings) that have been achieved in order to sustain momentum • Putting in place dedicated staff to take the lead on implementation • Not underestimating the problems and complexity of the associated data capture While many local authorities will find it difficult to achieve this level of corporate commitment, it is important to note that Aylesbury Vale District Council did not ©2004 by CRC Press LLC start from a strong tradition of corporate working. Much of the impetus toward a corporate approach came from the firm belief of the early champions and the subsequent recognition of councilors that the results would be real improvements in service delivery. ©2004 by CRC Press LLC . improvements in service delivery and adding strength to the case through the ability additionally to meet e -government targets • Monitoring and publicizing the actual benefits (including savings) that. ESRI BS7666-compliant LPG operational GIM/GIS strategy status: GIM/GIS strategy (adopted in June 1997) Forum for steering GIS: GIS working party (reporting to information strategy working party) Staffing. planning, land charges, property, contract management, and building control departments) without reference to paper sources • Planning applications registered in less time (30-minute savings