FGDC Goals for 2007
1. Implement the Geospatial Line of Business
The Geospatial Line of Business (LoB) prepared and presented recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. The release of the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2008 budget will officially launch the Geospatial LoB initiative for OMB, the Department of the Interior (DOI) and Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) partner agencies.
A high-priority recommendation for the Geospatial LoB initiative includes establishing a Geospatial Program Management Office (GPMO). The GPMO will provide assistance to the FGDC Secretariat in support of the LoB and will be guided by the decisions of the FGDC Steering Committee. The GPMO will be responsible for task management, including activity development, contract management, deliverables management, and communications for the Geospatial LoB.
2. Establish the National Geospatial Advisory Committee
The FGDC is pursuing the establishment of a new advisory body, the National Geospatial Advisory Committee, in 2007. The committee will review and comment on geospatial policy and management issues and provide a forum to convey views representative of non-Federal Stakeholders in the geospatial community. The committee is being formed by DOI on behalf of FGDC partner agencies under the authority of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
3. Expand the Fifty States Initiative
A minimum of 10 new National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Cooperative Agreements Program grants will be issued in 2007. Additional Federal partnerships are being sought to support this initiative. By the end of FY 2007, approximately 28 States are expected to have received funding for strategic and business planning activities.
4. Expand International Collaboration and Leadership
The FGDC will continue programmatic involvement and support for the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) by contributing resources to the GSDI Small Grants Program and regional electronic newsletters, serve as members of the GSDI board, and providing support for developing comprehensive Spatial Data Infrastructure technical programs for the GSDI meetings, conferences, and workshops.
The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and its Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) embarked on an implementation phase for the FY 2007–09 work plan. The FGDC Secretariat and a number of U.S. Federal agencies are contributing to several of the committees through a U.S. GEO coordination effort.
The FGDC will collaborate on an interagency project of common geographic and topical interest that will exercise a number of interoperability standards in support of common research goals. This project supports other international activities, including the International Polar Year and GEO/GEOSS.
5. Increase the Value of the Geospatial One-Stop Portal
Increase Local Government Capacity
Because OMB Circular A-16 recognizes the importance of high-accuracy geospatial data sets created by towns, cities, counties, and regional programs throughout the country, the FGDC is increasing its outreach in FY 2007 to local governments to support development of the NSDI through the Geospatial One-Stop (GOS) program. A focal point of this outreach is reestablishing close working relationships with organizations such as the National Association of Counties, National Association of Regional Councils, National League of Cities, and various professional associations, including Urban and Regional Information Systems Association and Geospatial Information and Technology Association. Increased participation with Geographic Information System (GIS) software user groups is also planned. Local government outreach has set a goal of registering 30 to 40 local government Web mapping services to the GOS portal each quarter in 2007.
Enhance the Portal
In the continuing effort to make geospatial data easier to find and use to support decision-making across government, several enhancements to the GOS portal, www.geodata.gov, are planned for FY 2007. They will be implemented in three development cycles or releases and will improve the publishing functions, improve the geographic search for metadata, update the map viewer, and provide additional capabilities.
6. Advance Development and Acceptance of Standards
Framework Data Standard
The International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) Technical Committee L1, GIS, voted to approve the draft revised Framework Data Standard and adjudication of comments received with the previous INCITS L1 ballot. The draft standard and supporting documentation will be submitted to the INCITS Secretariat for further processing to become approved as an American National Standard (ANS) in 2007.
FGDC Standards
The following drafts will be submitted for FGDC public review in FY 2007:
• Street Address Standard
• Shoreline Data Content Standard
• Revised National Vegetation Classification Standard
• Wetlands Mapping Standard
• Trails Data Standard
Online Training for Standards
Framework implementation activities will move forward as the Wyoming Geographic Science Information Center continues developing framework training modules in FY 2007.
In 2007, a survey of framework implementation will be conducted in academic institutions to provide content for a white paper on framework implementation. The Framework Hydrographic Data Standard module will be completed and posted to an FGDC-sponsored site.
ISO 19115 Geospatial Information: Metadata—North American Profile
The draft North American Profile (NAP) is scheduled for release to INCITS L1 in 2007 for comment and ballot. After the draft NAP passes the INCITS L1 ballot, the document will be submitted to the INCITS Secretariat for further processing to become approved as an ANS.
An ISO metadata tool review by volunteers from the FGDC Metadata Working Group will be finalized during the spring of 2007. Tool review results will be posted to the FGDC metadata Web site.
7. Advance Imagery for the Nation Initiative
Three major objectives were outlined to advance the Imagery for the Nation (IFTN) initiative.
• Complete a cost-benefit analysis of the IFTN initiative to comprehensively review and determine the expected return on investment and develop a better understanding of the associated tangible and intangible benefits and risks.
• Develop and communicate a detailed analysis of the governance requirements, partnership opportunities, and contracting options related to State and Federal interactions on the implementation of IFTN.
• Develop strategies and options for funding a viable IFTN program in the FY 2009 budget.