Overview
Timmons Group was contracted to develop a five-year GIS Business plan that communicates a shared vision for the way in which ODOT manages Geographic Information Systems (“GIS”) technologies. Timmons Group provided project management, business analysis, organizational and workforce review and analysis, technology and software review and analysis, and ODOT GIS-specific business recommendations. Timmons Group brought a breadth and depth of GIS and transportation-related data and technology knowledge to the project while quickly learning and understanding ODOT-specific business needs, context, histories, goals, and objectives. Engagement with stakeholders was critical to, and successful in, ensuring recommendations aligned with agency goals and stakeholder needs.
The GIS Business Plan provides ODOT’s Geographic Information Services Unit (GIS Unit) with common and communicated direction and guidance for the next five years to improve the use of technology and data as well as staff business practices. This plan was built on the success of previous plans and is informed by a series of stakeholder engagements, peer state examinations, literature reviews, present condition assessments, and outlooks on industry trends.
Project tasks included:
- Project Kick-off and ODOT GIS Unit Background Review – virtual and onsite project meetings
- Literature Review of GIS Planning for Public Agencies – reviewed industry examples to highlight business plan concepts and organization
- Peer State Transportation Agency GIS Comparison and ODOT Stakeholder Engagement – conducted a peer state comparison with three similar state DOTs in addition to an ODOT GIS survey that garnered more than 225 responses
- GIS Tools and Technology Audit – inventoried technology and audited and organized the findings into nine functional groups
- Workforce Development: Skill Competencies and Training Strategies – conducted interviews to analyze the skills, competencies, and knowledge of the staff, then created recommendations on tasks, assignments, priorities, and workload
- GIS Performance Management Survey – surveyed all 50 state DOTs and received significant responses from eight states
- GIS Unit Business Plan – the final plan contained more than 70 individual recommendations that were organized into primary recommendations
The ODOT GIS Business Plan was a very successful project. Timmons Group met the needs of the agency and the requirements under its contract by providing services and deliverables that yielded a new and strong foundation. These efforts can be expected to help guide our GIS program through successful implementation for the next several years. – Philip Smith, ODOT Project Manager
