GeoConnections geospatial return on investment case study: Multi-Agency Situational Awareness System (MASAS)
Authors: Stewart M A 
Published: May 2018

In late 2009 GeoConnections commissioned a series of Geospatial Return on Investment Case Studies to add to the body of knowledge of case studies based on the GITA ROI methodology for financial analysis of geospatial projects. This study focuses on MASAS,
Multi-agency Situational Awareness System, developed by New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization. GeoConnections funded this project under a multi-agency situational awareness initiative with the intention of expanding MASAS to a national deployment.
MASAS is intended to better enable emergency management practitioners in preparing for and mitigating the impacts of emergency incidents through timely sharing of geospatially-referenced information. The New Brunswick MASAS implementation provides situational awareness data aggregation, as well as
connection to the national MASAS.
New Brunswick MASAS was developed following an unusually large 2008 spring flood event, which resulted in damage claims in excess of $22M and required support from organizations outside the province. MASAS addresses the need to automate the information distribution and communication process during
an emergency and to allow visual presentation of this information on maps. MASAS also provides for the use of shared tools by adopting open standards for application development.
This study includes benefits to staff at: Prince Edward Island Emergency Operations Center, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Communications New Brunswick, Regional Health Offices, New Brunswick Department of Transportation, City of Edmundston, Policing Services, and New Brunswick Emergency Operations
Center.
Forward-looking five-year analysis of New Brunswick MASAS: Cumulative benefits are $1.006M. Cumulative costs are $552K. Net Present Value (benefits minus costs in 2008 dollars) is $454K with an annualized Return on Investment (ratio of Net Present Value to cumulative costs) of 16.42%. Payback
period is three years, showing a break-even point in 2011. This study uses a scaling factor based on average annual disaster claims over fifty years, taken to 2008 dollar values. The analysis reflects costs required for a Communications New Brunswick interface in order to realize public health
benefits.
Alternate scenario: As many of the benefits of the study come from time savings to public health staff working routine events such as boil water notification, an alternate scenario omitting benefits to health staff was created. Cumulative benefits are $668K. Cumulative costs are $481K. Net Present
Value is $187K with an annualized Return on Investment of 7.76%. Payback period is four years, showing a break-even point in 2012.
Conclusions: Estimated benefits begin to accrue midway through the five-year analysis, leaving only 2 ½ years for benefits to accrue. A longer study would permit the collection of more benefits over time, yet this technology is evolving so rapidly that a longer study was considered
inappropriate. Many potential benefits come from routine activities rather than disaster-driven activities. Expanding to daily use would serve to reinforce staff familiarity with the tool set and increase their effectiveness during a disaster.