Building communities and infrastructure for members is a costly and multi-year process that is essential to provide needed services, economic opportunity and to rebuild tribal lands. As this development is planned and constructed, it joins another significant need, documenting and mapping the locations of monuments, allotments, allocations, and existing infrastructure. Moreover, the mapping is essential if tribes are working towards housing development and other building construction to effectively identify developable parcels and estimate the number of housing units that could be built. This “Science of Where,” as Esri says, is a tool within the reach of tribal government to better understand current conditions and build smart communities. Esri’s platform makes it easier than ever to deploy solutions that produce data-driven outcomes that improve tribal communities and the public policies that shape them. Just ask Ho-Chunk, as they are beginning to leverage OnBase with their Esri solution to create a powerful combination tool!

Content is the “what” of tribal government

Tribal government is a content-driven sector and processes begin and end with paper or a digital version of paper. Government manages the records that communities rely on, and that content is the “what” of government, the basis for decisions on individual interactions to program – and even governmental – levels and missions.

So, using the “Science of Where,” mapping, policy decisions and planning for the future can be combined with the “What” of government (aka all that content, documents, and data you’re managing on paper). The processes that define our services, the content we create and collect and the decisions we make as we govern. The variability of each interaction can make tribal program delivery an art form. That activity, with all its variation, is manageable or improved by the use of Document Management and ECM (enterprise content management)

With a central repository, automation, case management systems and more, a Document Management & ECM is an essential platform that builds smart communities by making government processes efficient and effective at the transactional level.

What and Where – Integrating Esri and Document Management

Many tribal organizations also recognize the value of Esri and Document Management together, because when you connect the “Science of Where” to the “Art of What,” you connect the content that drives your processes with the tools the Esri platform provides. This allows you to use content as additional data layers for your GIS decision tools AND have the process efficiency that ECM brings to organizations.

With Document Management, you extend and magnify the transformation you start with Esri’s platform.

When Document Management and workflow manages the “What” and is connected to GIS offering the “Science of Where,” you have a platform-to-platform synergy that describes effects, conditions and challenges to help create a better future while making tribal government better each day. When you can access the content of government as data for the Esri platform, you affordably increase the datasets available to feed your analysis. Meanwhile, each of the platforms contributes key functionality for policy consideration program impacts and program efficiency.

As tribal government strives for better communities and navigates cultural preservation, conditions, and needs, it’s great to know that the “Science of Where” and the “Art of What” can combine to transform and improve public policy and program and service delivery for tribal communities.

Learn more about how OnBase Document Management is an excellent choice for Tribal Governments.