A framework for a national effort towards geographic information and Geographic Information Systems in Saudi Arabia

This thesis's initial hypothesis is that the highly centralized and structured form of government in Saudi Arabia would likely lead to a relatively more systematic and coordinated adoption of GIS than that witnessed in other significantly less centralized countries of Western Europe and North America. To examine the validity of this hypothesis, the current study assesses the efforts to adopt GIS within the municipal sector in Saudi Arabia. It finds, however, that GIS is being adopted within the government in a fragmented and uncoordinated manner, thus seriously hindering the potential capacity of GIS proliferation to provide a unifying framework to establish and maintain a flow and dissemination of information within government. The research study then suggests a framework for a national effort towards geographic information and GIS in Saudi Arabia.