MEASURING GIS MATURITY
The Geospatial Maturity Index (GMI) is a public sector benchmarking initiative to assist with GIS program development and capacity building across organizations. The GMI serves to audit existing GIS programs with real-time accurate and comprehensive comparative data for public sector organizations to compare themselves against their peer groups and track their progress over time based on specific core competencies.
2019 NORTH AMERICA TOP 25
Rank | Organization | Size | Type | Province/State | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | City of Calgary | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | AB | 96.3% |
2 | Toronto Police Service | 1001+ | Law Enforcement | ON | 94.7% |
3 | York Region | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | ON | 93.7% |
3 | City of Leduc | 501-1000 | Single-tier municipality | AB | 93.7% |
5 | District of Kitimat | 201-500 | Single-tier municipality | BC | 92.1% |
6 | District of North Vancouver | 501-1000 | Single-tier municipality | BC | 90.5% |
7 | Strathcona County | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | AB | 89.4% |
8 | City of Winnipeg | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | MB | 85.7% |
9 | City of Burnaby | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | BC | 85.2% |
10 | City of Mississauga | 1001+ | Lower-tier municipality | ON | 84.7% |
11 | County of Newell | 51-200 | Single-tier municipality | AB | 84.1% |
12 | City of Cambridge | 501-1000 | Lower-tier municipality | ON | 82.5% |
12 | Grey County | 501-1000 | Upper-tier municipality | ON | 82.5% |
12 | Region of Niagara | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | ON | 82.5% |
15 | Halifax Regional Municipality | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | NS | 82.0% |
16 | King County | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | WA | 81.0% |
17 | Ville de Montréal | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | QC | 79.9% |
18 | City of Guelph | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | ON | 77.8% |
18 | San Juan County | 501-1000 | Upper-tier municipality | NM | 77.8% |
20 | Durham Region | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | ON | 76.7% |
21 | City of Burlington | 1001+ | Lower-tier municipality | ON | 75.7% |
22 | Municipality of Chester | 51-200 | Single-tier municipality | NS | 74.1% |
22 | Municipality of the County of Kings | 51-200 | Single-tier municipality | NS | 74.1% |
24 | Conservation Halton | 501-1000 | Conservation Authority | ON | 73.5% |
25 | Stark County IT | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | OH | 73.5% |
TOP PERFORMING ORGANIZATIONS

1. Calgary, AB
Ranking: 1st | Score: 96.3%
The City of Calgary on how it provides its staff with professional development opportunities related to GIS:
“We provide opportunities for our staff to gain diversity in experience through rotations in job roles, backfilling for other specialized positions, and through participation in corporate-wide initiatives. We also host a formal community of practice that is used for both professional collaboration and skills development. Hundreds of hours are also spent each year by GIS staff participating in the above training and sharing their knowledge with each other and with external GIS staff.”

2. Toronto Police Service, ON
Ranking: 2nd | Score: 94.7%
The Toronto Police Service GIS Program identified an expanding team, with brand new product deliverables, a larger integration with open source GIS software, and the use of real-time data as the primary changes that will occur in the next five years.

3. York Region, ON
Ranking: 3rd | Score: 93.7%
York Region on how their organization provides staff with professional development opportunities related to GIS:
“We provide presentation opportunities, published articles, peer-to-peer training with other GTHA programs … and Toastmasters deliver sources through our digital academy presentations to senior management.”

3. City of Leduc, AB
Ranking: 3rd | Score: 93.7%
The City of Leduc has identified the primary aspects of a leadership succession plan they are in the process of implementing. They plan to update job descriptions to align with industry standards, develop an exam bank for testing potential candidates, and set up a mentoring program for existing staff.

Top Performing GIS Program in the US: King County, WA
Score: 81.0% | US:1 – NA: 16
King County has developed a workshop series titled, “GIS in Equity and Social Justice” where both GIS and non-GIS professionals can learn about recent trends in critical race spacial analysis through the use of critical race theory. This workshop series will help GIS professionals better follow the GIS code of ethics, which exist to “help professionals make appropriate and ethical choices,” to consider the impact of their work on society.
SNAPSHOT OF RESULTS

Average Overall Score:
59.5%

Average Readiness Score:
63.5%

Average Implementation Score:
61.4%

Average Impact Score:
52.3%

Top Performing Organizations by Staff Size:
1-50: Central Lake Ontario Conservation
51-200: County of Newell, AB
201-500: District of Kitimat, BC
501-1000: City of Leduc, AB
1000+: City of Calgary, AB

Top Performing Organizations by Type:
Upper Tier: York Region, ON
Lower Tier: City of Mississauga, ON
Single Tier: City of Calgary, AB
Conservation Authority: Conservation Halton
Other*: Toronto Police Service


GMI Participation by Organization Type

GMI Total Participation: 127

TOP PERFORMING CANADIAN AND US ORGANIZATIONS
CANADA
UNITED STATES
Rank | Organization | Size | Type | Province | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | City of Calgary | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | AB | 96.3% |
2 | Toronto Police Service | 1001+ | Law Enforcement | ON | 94.7% |
3 | York Region | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | ON | 93.7% |
3 | City of Leduc | 501-1000 | Single-tier municipality | AB | 93.7% |
5 | District of Kitimat | 201-500 | Single-tier municipality | BC | 92.1% |
6 | District of North Vancouver | 501-1000 | Single-tier municipality | BC | 90.5% |
7 | Strathcona County | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | AB | 89.4% |
8 | City of Winnipeg | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | MB | 85.7% |
9 | City of Burnaby | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | BC | 85.2% |
10 | City of Mississauga | 1001+ | Lower-tier municipality | ON | 84.7% |
11 | County of Newell | 51-200 | Single-tier municipality | AB | 84.1% |
12 | City of Cambridge | 501-1000 | Lower-tier municipality | ON | 82.5% |
12 | Grey County | 501-1000 | Upper-tier municipality | ON | 82.5% |
12 | Region of Niagara | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | ON | 82.5% |
15 | Halifax Regional Municipality | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | NS | 82.0% |
16 | Ville de Montréal | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | QC | 79.9% |
17 | City of Guelph | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | ON | 77.8% |
18 | Durham Region | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | ON | 76.7% |
19 | City of Burlington | 1001+ | Lower-tier municipality | ON | 75.7% |
20 | Municipality of Chester | 51-200 | Single-tier municipality | NS | 74.1% |
20 | Municipality of the County of Kings | 51-200 | Single-tier municipality | NS | 74.1% |
Rank | Organization | Size | Type | State | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | King County | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | WA | 81.0% |
2 | San Juan County | 501-1000 | Upper-tier municipality | NM | 77.8% |
3 | Stark County IT | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | OH | 73.5% |
4 | City of Lewisville | 501-1000 | Single-tier municipality | TX | 70.4% |
5 | City of Longview | 501-1000 | Single-tier municipality | TX | 68.8% |
TESTIMONIALS
“I participated in the GMI to refine my insights into how King County GIS compares to its peers and to help identify areas that we should target for improvement in the future.”
– Greg Babinski, GIS Marketing and Business Development Manager at King County, WA
“We continue to be a proud leader in the use, management and evolution of geographic information systems which enable The City of Calgary’s location analytics. Our success is not achieved independently – it would not be possible without our collaborative partnerships inside and outside our organization.
PSD’s GMI Rankings continue to demonstrate that our decades of focus on this valuable technology has positioned us well for today’s economic climate. Locational intelligence is the foundation for well-connected data and shareable data, enabling us to expand our Smart City infrastructure, utilize big data and continue to efficiently provide decision-support for citizen services. Not only does it provide a solid backbone for numerous City operations, but it also supports the growth of technology industries locally. The GMI Ranking gives us valuable insight and adds another benchmark to which we can gauge our effectiveness and efficiency. Last year’s GMI results helped us focus on areas of improvement and we’ve spent a lot of time refining our strategic direction to ensure sustainment of our core, reliable geospatial technologies.”
– Liz Findlay, Manager, Geospatial Business Solutions, Corporate Analytics & Innovation, The City of Calgary
2018 GMI RESULTS
Rank | Organization | Size | Type | Province | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | City of Calgary | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | AB | 94.09% |
2 | City of Brampton | 1001+ | Lower-tier municipality | ON | 91.40% |
3 | District of North Vancouver | 501-1000 | Single-tier municipality | BC | 89.78% |
4 | Halifax Regional Municipality | 1000+ | Single-tier municipality | NS | 88.17% |
4 | City of Leduc | 501-1000 | Single-tier municipality | AB | 88.17% |
6 | Regional Municipality of York | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | ON | 87.63% |
7 | Ville de Québec | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | QC | 86.56% |
8 | City of Waterloo | 501-1000 | Lower-tier municipality | ON | 84.41% |
8 | City of Guelph | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | ON | 84.41% |
10 | City of Oakville | 1001+ | Lower-tier municipality | ON | 83.87% |
11 | County of Newell | 51-200 | Single-tier municipality | AB | 80.91% |
12 | City of Burnaby | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | BC | 79.57% |
12 | District of Kitimat | 51-200 | Single-tier municipality | BC | 79.57% |
12 | Toronto Police Service | 1001+ | Law Enforcement | ON | 79.57% |
15 | King Township | 51-200 | Lower-tier municipality | ON | 79.03% |
16 | Vancouver Police Department | 1001+ | Law Enforcement | BC | 78.49% |
16 | Capital Regional District | 501-1000 | Upper-tier municipality | BC | 78.49% |
16 | City of Kamloops | 501-1000 | Single-tier municipality | BC | 78.49% |
19 | Region of Peel | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | ON | 77.96% |
20 | City of Coquitlam | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | BC | 77.42% |
21 | Niagara Region | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | ON | 78.88% |
22 | Durham Region | 1001+ | Upper-tier municipality | ON | 74.73% |
23 | Township of Langley | 501-1000 | Single-tier municipality | BC | 73.66% |
23 | City of Owen Sound | 51-200 | Lower-tier municipality | ON | 73.66% |
23 | Municipality of Chatham-Kent | 1001+ | Single-tier municipality | OH | 73.66% |