Action items.
Action: On February 20 there will be an all day meeting on Geospatial One Stop. This will include all Theme Leads, Agency Geospatial One Stop Leads, as well as others that will be involved in the initiative to help solidify their approach to the Standards process and go over the templates.
Action: John and Milo will send template feedback prior to the February 20 meeting.
Host: Scott D. McAfee, FEMA
John Moeller, FGDC
Alison Kiernan, FGDC
William Nellist, NIMA
Chris Clarke, NRCS
Nancy Blyler, USACE
Hedy Rossmeissl, USGS
Julie Binder Maitra, FGDC
Betsy Banas, USFS
David Morehouse, DOE
Jason G. Racette, BLM
Leslie Wollack, NSGIC
Ivan DeLoatch, EPA
Michelle Torreano, EPA
Frederick R. Broome, Census
Howard Diamond, NOAA
Leslie Weiner-Leandro, FEMA
Paul Rooney, FEMA
Tom Usselman, STIA
Alison Hill, USFS
Billy Tolar, USGS
Myra Bambacus, NASA
Fred Corle, STIA
John Palatiello, MAPPS
Milo Robinson, FGDC
Mark Bradford, BTS
David Painter, FGDC
Lisa Warnecke, LLGIS
Steering Committee Meeting Summary
It was an excellent meeting that was capped off by the surprise of Governor Geringer (WY) attending (he was invited by Steven Griles, the FGDC Steering Committee Chair and Deputy Secretary of the Interior). Governor Geringer spoke with an impressive knowledge of GIS.
The Steering Committee meeting was enlightening for the Steering Committee members. What they heard at the meeting will be a good base for building a business case. It is important to build on the momentum and focus on the implementation of standards for interoperability.
After the Steering Committee meeting, Steven Griles expressed that he was impressed with the level of interest and support for geospatial standards and interoperability from the States and private industry.
Alan Leidner gave a great presentation detailing how GIS was used at the WTC.
Local Leaders in GIS liked that local government could speak at a Steering Committee meeting. But it was disappointing that there was not enough time for discussion after the presentations.
Geospatial One Stop Discussion
NOAA is struggling with marrying their template with their budget shop's numbers. There will be heavy discussions at NOAA involving the line offices and techies. There is concern about reporting on the Geospatial One Stop, on how to account for everything.
There was a request for definitions for the different tasks so that the Agencies will know if what they are already doing will count towards something or if they need to change what they are doing. The definitions could help clear up questions but shouldn't be too narrow.
How will the Standards implementation work?
Each of the 7 Framework layers will have a team to develop the Standard.
USGS has human resources but not cash and would like the flexibility to leverage their employees. NRCS also has similar concerns and would like to give people and not dollars to fulfill specific tasks.
Q: How do we develop interoperability tools?
A: Work with OGC to develop translators to import/export legacy data into the new Framework.
We need a mix of cash and internal capability to pull it together from the 11 or 12 agencies.
It is easy for some agencies to tell what they are spending but difficult to break it down into specific tasks.
Wanted: Clearer definitions in the A-300 of the specific tasks. Give examples of what would and would not qualify for each task.
For the FY04 budget, OMB will be looking at how agencies implement standards.
The portal will not just be for the Framework - the Framework is just the first step.
John Moeller showed slides depicting the E-Gov Structure. The Government to Government Steering Committee members have not yet been finalized. There will be Best Practices Teams to bring in industry groups to discuss best practices.
There will need to be and Interagency Project Management Team for the Geospatial One Stop that would include DOI (FGDC, USGS, BLM), DOC (NOAA/NGS), USDA, NASA, EPA, DOD (USACE, NIMA), DOT, and FEMA. State, local and tribal governments will also be included as well as OGC and the E-Records Project undertaken by NARA.
The Project Management team will work full time or substantially. It will be a virtual team with core people working at a common location. The Project management team will lead modules and work tasks and provide project assistance and support.
The Project Management Groups will include the 7 layers (Cadastral, Transportation, Elevation, Hydrography, Orthoimagery, Governmental Units, Geodetic Control), as well as Standards Support (Modeling, Facilitation, I-Team Support), Standards Working Group, BDR, Cost/benefits, Data collection/Metadata, Portal Development, and Project Support.
As Scott Cameron stated in the Steering Committee meeting, we want State and local interests represented, as well as tribal and non-government sector interests. We need to set up a process that gets input, is vetted to them and is sent out broadly through State and local governments for review.
The challenge of Framework Standards is that it is just the core and it is hard to narrow down to the core. Everyone has a different idea of what should be core.
Q: Should critical infrastructure also be included as a layer? Although transportation and waterways will be included in the 7 Framework Standards, what about lifeline utilities such as water, sewer, electric, gas, and fire facilities? Should we consider what the Framework is in order to include the needs of the State and local 2/3 and include lifeline utilities?
A: We need to include critical infrastructure into our overall activities but it might not fit in the Geospatial One Stop. We need to push ourselves to work congruently on Framework, the Portal, and homeland security.
The Office of Homeland Security has embraced the Geospatial One Stop as a source of data and information that can support homeland security.
Q: Who will oversee the 7 Framework layers so that they all talk to each other?
A: The 7 Themes will be integrated through a consistent modeling process and by following the ISO Standard. OGC will also be involved to aid in the standards and model development.
Standards are not a one shot deal, they will need to be reviewed periodically and updated as needed.
Action: On February 20 there will be an all day meeting on Geospatial One Stop. This will include all Theme Leads, Agency Geospatial One Stop Leads, as well as others that will be involved in the initiative to help solidify their approach to the Standards process and go over the templates.
Action: John and Milo will send template feedback prior to the February 20 meeting.
Requirements analysis needs to be discussed with the 7 Themes so that a consistent document is sent to State and local governments that is easy to understand and fill out.
On March 20 Mark Forman will meet with the Managing Partners, I-Teams, and Federal Partners to agree on project goals, actions, and next steps.
STIA Report - Fred Corle, STIA
PowerPoint (544 KB)
Increase private sector awareness of, and enthusiastic participation in, the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).
The STIA was incorporated as a trade association in June 1999. 60 companies related to GPS, remote sensing, GIS, IT, and location services have membership. STIA addresses public policy and support public sector market policies.
STIA Report on Increasing Private Sector Awareness of and Enthusiastic Participation in the NSDI
Premise: Private Sector has not played a significant role in the NSDI program. The private sector is in some cases not aware of the NSDI. There is a linkage between the private sector and the public sector market.
Goal of project: Increase public sector awareness of NSDI. Examine authorities behind NSDI and the framer's expectations.
The framers of the NSDI expected that the private sector would find value and help fund the NSDI. The expectation of the Executive Branch regarding private sector participation in the NSDI was examined. STIA would like the FGDC expectations of the private sector to be reset.
Drivers: Economic, Competitive Advantage, Time-to-market, Quality, Cultural. How does the NSDI relate to the current environment?
Conclusions:
- NSDI must compliment private sector interests
- NSDI lacks business plan based on action, not process
- Multiple NSDI related activities lead to confusion. Simplify Federal offerings to be more consistent.
- Knowledge of NSDI and it's value to the private sector is lacking
- NSDI must address demand factors in the marketplace
- Security, availability and reliability of NSDI needs to be improved
- NSDI must address scale and accuracy of data
Actions:
- Articulate public sector responsibilities and the private sector's role
- Better understand private sector needs
- FGDC should focus on its efforts to coordinate Federal spatial data activities
- Encourage expansion of OMB oversight role (this has already been done)
- FGDC should expand liason with the private sector
- Develop outreach targeted to specific industry sectors
- Establish NSDI Private Sector Advocate
- Convene a private sector advisory group
STIA would like to work with the FGDC. This report will be available on the FGDC Website.
Summary: STIA plans to form a Private Sector Advisory Group to the NSDI (want to form a closer relationship between the public and private sectors).
Next Coordination Group Meeting
Date: March 5, 2002 (although the meeting may need to be rescheduled due to a Geospatial One Stop meeting with Mark Forman for all Partners)
Time: 9 a.m. - noon
Site: USFS
More details will follow.
Agenda will be forwarded in late February. Please submit agenda suggestions to Alison Kiernan (akiernan@fgdc.gov)