Affiliations: [a] GIS Manager, Bridgend County Borough Council,
Sunnyside House, Bridgend, CF31 4AR, Wales, UK. Tel.: +44 1656 642021; Fax:
+44 1656 642125; E-mail: [email protected] | [b] GIS Research Centre, School of Computing, University
of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, CF37 1DL, Wales, UK. Tel.: +44 1443 483619; Fax: +44
1443 654022; E-mail: [email protected]
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author
Abstract: The modernisation of public services in the Information age has
placed the use, management and exchange of information at the centre of the
work of local government. As much of the information held by councils is
location based, the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in these
organisations is set to take on a far greater corporate significance. The UK
Government's promotion of "joined-up" initiatives in key sectors such as
health, education and crime prevention, has focused attention on the types of
factors that may influence the exchange and analysis of such data, much of
which is held by local authorities. Despite a number of studies that have
demonstrated the potential of data sharing, there has been a lack of published
research into the relationship between the e-Government programme and the
management and use of geographic information (GI) in local authorities. This
paper describes the results of a national survey of local authorities that has
examined the degree to which councils have included provision for the use and
management of geographic information and GIS in their formal visions for
e-government. It is clear from the survey that GI(S) are seen as very important
to the e-government process with almost ninety per cent of respondents stating
that GI(S) features in their e-government strategies. However, if full
advantage is to be taken of the integrating ability of geographic information,
then effective and efficient management of this information must be undertaken
at a corporate level.
