The true benefits of all information technologies are realized through their ability to support the basic operational mandates of local governments. Only by providing support to the fundamental operations and functions for effective governance, e.g. regulatory, utility management, human services, and taxation authority, can a true cost benefit be achieved. This is a key to accepting GIS technology as a governmental information support system. Its use at operations level is essential in justifying GIS programs during times when economic restraints dictate budgets cuts, and other technologies compete for scarce resources. Many risks and uncertainties threaten the acceptance of the technology. Using GIS to support the operations of diverse functional areas in an enterprise wide environment is difficult to achieve. The evolution of GIS technology from a scientific/tactical tool to a production and operational support system at a desktop level has enabled it to operate in these environments. New services legislated by local governments will demand the use of these technologies, but they will require cost effective development programs if they are to succeed. GIS technology is beginning to emerge as an information management tool across entire organizations and local government in develop countries, but has still to fulfill its promise to organization and government planners in most developing countries especially in the Philippines.
GIS could be viewed as a mapping function of local government that can uniquely portray the wealth of data and information stored by various agencies. The ability to view data in a spatial dimension is what has always made GIS a valuable tool. To integrate GIS in a bureaucracy without developing the symptoms that have always impacted the operations of governmental programs, one must maintain the idealistic viewpoint that propelled GIS from a scientific tool to a technology that can influence the basic services that affect the lives of local communities.
GIS could also serve as the logistical and productivity tools to become a mandatory government information infrastructure. The question in the future is how best to integrate these systems into the local bureaucratic environments at a reasonable cost. The effectiveness of the integration of the systems will be directly tied to the individuals that will be responsible for the implementation of the programs.
This paper argues the use of GIS technology as a planning and decision support tools for effective and efficient local governance, its costs and benefits, the management issues, and GIS development cycles. While the discussion is in terms of local governments, many will recognize that the discussion applies to the national government as well.
