Summary of Actions:
Action: The testing period for the Geospatial Applications
Registry (GEAR) is August 18 - September 5. Submit GEAR Nominators and
Super Users names to Vaishal Sheth at vsheth@fgdc.gov or Matt Leopard at leopard.matthew@epamail.epa.gov.
Action: The next Coordination Group meeting will be a WebEx -
only meeting on September 4.
Action: Ivan DeLoatch and Milo Robinson will work to clarify the
level of recognition and support needed from FGDC to provide to the
State of Florida for their efforts in developing the ”Strategic
Planning for Florida GIS Coordination”.
Announcement: Fed -only Coordination Group members: Comments and
suggestions on the FY 2010 Geo LoB Joint Business Case Work Group are
due to Michael Thieme at mthieme@usgs.gov and Roxanne Lamb at
rhlamb@usgs.gov by August 18.
Concurrence from participating agency SAOGI’s is due August 29,
2008.
Welcome and Introductions – Ivan DeLoatch, FGDC
Ivan welcomed the Coordination Group, provided an overview of the
meeting, and took roll call.
Updates
ESRI User Conference
Ivan provided an update of the ESRI User Conference that was held on
August 4 – 8, 2008 in San Diego, California. There was significant DOI
attendance. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne provided a
keynote address and a plenary briefing [attach plenary here] The
Secretary announced that by September 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey
will make 35 years of Landsat satellite imagery available over the
internet free of charge [ attach technical release] The Secretary
also announced that the Department of the Interior has created a
Geospatial Information Officer position to be housed in the Office of
the Secretary to ensure communication and to coordinate geospatial
activities in all eight Interior bureaus. The Secretary’s speech
touched on the fact that the DOI will continue to guide the FGDC in its
leadership role in coordinating federal geospatial activities and
mentioned his support for Imagery for the Nation.
FGDC Annual Reporting Process
FGDC is continuing to work on improving the annual reporting process in
order to make it functional and useful for its audience. During the
last FGDC Steering Committee meeting, the annual report process was
reinvigorated and although there is value in this new approach, FGDC is
looking to the CG to provide comments and lessons learned. Each agency
has an individual process in providing financial data; we are trying to
narrow in on the most effective approach.
Demo – Geospatial Application Repository (GEAR) – Matt Leopard, Vaishal Sheth, Doug Nebert
[ GEAR
presentation ]
Matt Leopard and Vaishal Sheth provided an update from the GeoLoB
Common Services Workgroup and introduced the new test version of the
GEospatial Applications Registry (GEAR). GEAR provides government
geospatial users the ability to nominate, share, and discuss reusable
geospatial software products and associated geo-enabling best
practices. The SmartBuy vision is to establish common access to a wide
portfolio of software, data etc. and to establish an enterprise network
at the agency level so that this does not remain a burden on
individuals.
In Mid- July the SmartBuy announcement was handed off to GSA. The
wording in the announcement extended the SmartBuy out to states and
tribes and has the potential to being of a much larger scale than
initially envisioned. The statement of work is due to OMB by early
September.
GEAR stresses simple, centralized access to information. The benefits
to the users are that it saves time, provides insightful commentary and
access to information. Users nominate geospatial applications for
listing on the registry. After review, the applications are published
to the website and the public can post comments.
The Common Services work group is asking agencies to test the GEAR
software and to identify individuals to serve as Nominators or Super
Users. The GEAR test version is available at
http://gear.morphexchange.com
Nominators are ideally individuals in a position to nominate software
for inclusion on GEAR. This would most likely be a senior staff or
manager working on behalf of the Chief Information Officer or
Geographic Information Officer. However, the Nominator could be anyone
in your agency who is knowledgeable about the application including the
original application developer or main POC for the application.
Super Users will receive and process nomination forms by looking at the
technical merits of the nominated application. Ideally this would be a
senior level staffer who has expertise in one of the following
areas:
- Geospatial Metadata (creation, management,
stewardship)
- Geocoding Services (including coordinate transformation
services)
- Visualization/Analytical Software and WebBrowser
Applications or Services
(e.g. NASA Worldwind, Google Earth, etc)
- Geospatial Web Services (for accessing information
through web services)
It is helpful to have 1-2 names from each organization. The testing
will take place over a three week window, during which time testers
will be asked to spend no more than 1 to 2 hours of time a week using
GEAR to either nominate or adjudicate nominations.
Action: The testing period for the GEAR is August 18 - September
5. Submit GEAR Nominators and Super Users names to Vaishal Sheth at vsheth@fgdc.gov or Matt Leopard at leopard.matthew@epamail.epa.gov.
Q. When using GEAR, does the user use the actual tool or is it
paperwork?
A. Actual tools are used. Gear was modeled after Wikipedia and uses
self management.
Q. Does the licensing indicate if it is in the public
domain?
A. It is open source; we tried to keep it simple. If the Super
User approves then the application is available to the public.
Q. How many Super Users do you envision?
A. We envision ten or so Super Users but this depends on
the interest of the agencies.
Geo LoB Update - Michael Thieme and Work Group Leads
[Michaels’s presentation] [Wendy’s
presentation]
Michael Thieme gave an update on several of the Geo LoB activities and
accomplishments and showed the Geo Lob poster that was used at the ESRI
User Conference.
Lew Sanford, lead of the Grant and Contracts Work Group, completed a
draft statement that will establish pilot programs through DHS that
will test the Grants Policy Guidance.
Wendy Blake-Coleman, lead for the Lifecycle Management Work group, gave
an update on her work group and discussed the purpose and progress in
the following areas:
- Lifecycle Stages
- Theme Assessment Principles and Theme Criteria
- Roles and Responsibilities
- Geospatial Lexicon
- Coordination Points for Reporting
- Reporting Requirements
Comment: The integrated package dealing with Circular A -16 is a
multipiece package. It is ready to discuss at the October Steering
Committee meeting.
Q. Do stakeholder include non-federal?
A. John Mahoney is working on a process for working with
NGAC.
Comment: First we must have a common understanding with the
fed’s before taking issues to the NGAC. We are committed to give input
but it is a timing issue. We will provide a preview at the NGAC in
Oct.
Wendy thanked DOI for providing contacts for data producers. We want to
make sure that the correct data collection managers are associated with
the correct themes.
Update on FGDC Executive Committee/NGAC- John Mahoney
John Mahoney gave an update on the recent FGDC Executive Committee
meeting and the upcoming National Geospatial Advisory Committee
meeting.
The ExCom is meeting once a month and the recent discussions have
focused on IFTN and the Land Parcel data study.
Vicki Lukas gave an update on the status of IFTN to the ExCom and the
Charter has been approved by the group.
Upcoming Meetings:
- FGDC ExCom meeting Aug. 19 at the Department of the Interior
- FGDC CG September 4, WebEx only
- IFTN Chair/Champions Meeting September 23
- FGDC CG October 7
- NGAC October 15-16 in Shepardstown, WV.
- FGDC Steering Committee – October 17
Anne Miglarese held an NGAC information session at the ESRI conference.
There were many questions from the audience and a good discussion of
the role of the NGAC and future issues the committee may address.
Florida Statewide GIS Strategic Plan (WebEx) -Richard Butgereit, Lou Driber
[presentation]
The GIS Coordination, State Planning for Florida presentation was given
by Richard Butgereit, GIS Administrator, Florida Division of Emergency
Management; and Lou Driber, Geospatial Liaison to Florida, USGS.
Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, rising sea level, and, traffic
congestion are some of the realities that face the State of Florida.
Richard works with emergency response teams across all levels of
government to help manage these challenges by optimizing the use of
geographic information through communication, coordination and
collaboration. Florida ranked very low nationally in its use of
geospatial information as an enterprise resource according to
NSGIC.
We are seeking endorsement from FGDC and stakeholders as part of the
approval process and are looking for champions to carry this plan
forward. We have a Florida GIS Council in place for approval but would
like a higher level approval.
The second part of our plan is the development of the business plan. We
will coordinated between the States and determine which each State
plans to accomplish.
Q. Talk about the multidata workshop.
A. FGDC offered to provide four of these workshops. We have
completed the first one.
Action: Ivan DeLoatch and Milo Robinson will work together to
clarify the level of recognition and support needed from FGDC to
provide to the State of Florida for their efforts in developing the
”Strategic Planning for Florida GIS Coordination”
Comment: As you continue to move forward, we would like to see
your progress.
Adjourn