NextGen 9-1-1 is completely changing the role of GIS within the 9-1-1 incident response workflow. For those of us working in GIS, the work we do now provides the very foundation of how 9-1-1 calls are routed to dispatch centers. GIS therefore has become the very first line of first response, and our work has an impact on incident response that occurs even before the dispatcher takes the call. We find ourselves tasked not only with new responsibilities but also with the need to collaborate with others in ways that effectively create a new organization – and this requires creating a new culture.
Culture defines who you are as an organization and so can have a strong impact on business. NG9-1-1 is presenting a new way of doing business to both the GIS and Public Safety communities alike, demanding a marriage of sorts between GIS departments and Public Safety groups at a local, regional and state level. We must understand and embrace not only what this new community of professionals needs to look like and how it needs to act, but also what shared values and beliefs need to be agreed upon. Likewise, just as in a marriage between two individuals, this new community needs to represent and honor both parties individually and as partners.
In this presentation, we’ll learn key elements of creating a new organizational culture and explore how to apply this directly to GIS departments and Public Safety groups as a community – with an eye specifically toward NG9-1-1 and beyond.
