Latest CRS Report: More Work on Geospatial Data Management Needed

The report by Peter Folger, Congressional Research Service Specialist in Energy and Natural Resources Policy, is titled Issues and Challenges for Federal Geospatial Information and dated April 27, 2012. (full report in PDF, via FAS since these reports are not automagically public...see APB coverage)

I found the takeaway, with help from HST (cited below), to be:

In 2004, GAO acknowledged that the federal government, through the FGDC and Geospatial One-Stop project, had taken actions to coordinate the government’s geospatial investments, but that those efforts had not been fully successful in eliminating redundancies among agencies. As a result, federal agencies were acquiring and maintaining potentially duplicative data sets and systems.

Since then it is not clear whether federal agencies are successfully coordinating among themselves and measurably eliminating unnecessary duplication of effort.

Were Congress to take a more active oversight role overseeing the federal geospatial enterprise it could evaluate whether specific recommendations from nonfederal stakeholders have been addressed. For example, the National Geospatial Advisory Committee recommended that OMB and FGDC strengthen their enforcement of Circular A-16 and Executive Order 12906.

However, enforcement alone may not be sufficient to meet the current challenges of management, coordination and data sharing. The issuance of supplemental guidance to Circular A-16 by OMB in November 2010 may instigate new activity among and between agencies, which could spill over into better coordination with the state and local governments and the private sector. It will likely take some time, and several budget cycles, to track whether agencies are adhering to the ‘portfolio-centric model’ of geospatial data management outlined in the supplemental guidance. It may also take time to evaluate whether the ‘portfolio-centric model’ is the best available model for managing the federal geospatial assets.

- Homeland Security Today via @jeffharrison

NGAC Delays Action on FGDC Until April Meeting

Joe Francica covered NGAC's suggested reorganization of FGDC in its Innovatieve Strategies paper (Directions Magazine). The topic was revisited at the NGAC January 12 meeting.

From the meeting summary:

“The National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) will defer final action on the Innovative Strategies paper [ppt] until the April NGAC meeting. The Subcommittee will consider recent developments and feedback from Anne Castle, Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), and other NGAC members in developing the next version of the paper. The Subcommittee will work with FGDC staff to develop an interactive process to refine the recommendations.”

- Geodata Policy Blog

- Meeting Summary (pdf)

National Geospatial Advisory Committee Interagency Data Sharing - A Primer

I learned of this two page pdf, dated June 2011, not from NGAC's website/reports but from Esri's Pre-UC Q&A. I could only find a copy on Esri's website. I should think the federal government might want to share it, too.

NGAC’s Latest Recommendations to FGDC Focuses on Data, Transportation, Street Centerlines

At the recent meeting of the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) meeting in Washington DC, June 8 and 9, committee chairman, Dr. David Cowen, provided these key summary recommendations to the Federal Geographic Data Commitee (FGDC):

RECOMMENDATION:  The NGAC commends the U.S. Department of Transportation (US-DOT) for developing the new Transportation for the Nation (TFTN) Strategic Plan through the engagement of the stakeholder community.  The NGAC encourages US-DOT to develop a business plan as the next step in the development of TFTN. In addition, the committee had a discussion about possible impacts on LiDAR data collections from potential new Federal Aviation Administration rules related to laser pointers aimed at aircraft.  The NGAC approved the following recommendation:

RECOMMENDATION:  The NGAC recommends that the FGDC work collaboratively with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to avoid adverse impacts to the geospatial community in the implementation of potential FAA statutory or regulatory language banning the use of laser pointers aimed at aircraft.  The members of the NGAC are concerned that the potential new language may result in adverse impacts to data collections using LiDAR (Light Detecting And Ranging) and similar technologies.  The NGAC is concerned that the broad nature of the laser pointer language could cause unintended consequences to LiDAR collection activities, resulting in impacts to government programs, industry, and the public.  The NGAC is willing to provide recommendations to the FGDC and FAA, as needed, to help provide the perspective of the geospatial community on this issue.

Another action that came out of the meeting was to have the Workforce Development subcommittee complete a white paper on "strategies to meet the expanding geospatial workforce needs of public and private-sector organizations."

As noted above, one of the major efforts of the FGDC is the Transportation for the Nation (TFTN) strategic plan (PDF). What I found interesting in this document is a discussion of the "pros and cons" of nationwide road centerline data that are being considered as assets for long and short range goals for TFTN. Now included in the data asset inventory are OpenStreetMap and Esri's Community Base Map (CBM) programs. And so, the "inputs" for nationwide centerline data includes three main catorities: TIGER, Commercial (TomTom, NAVTEQ) and "volunteered" (OSM, Esri CBM).

So, what's the cost of develping TFTN? The FGDC is not as yet sure but simply developing the plan (TFTN Business pland + development of protoypes) will cost $450,000. But according to the TFTN strategic plan, "In many ways, this strategic plan hinges on the ability of independent governmental programs being able to work together for increased efficiencies." I think that's the understatement of the year.

All reports from the NGAC's June meeting can be found on the FGDC website.

Quick Hits - 6/10/11

A new Kentucky bill makes it fineable if you input data into your GPS while driving.

- WAVE 3

A new study actually suggests cell phone use may interfere with airplane safety. "Twenty-six incidents affected flight controls, while 17 affected navigation systems and 15 affected communication systems. Thirteen, says ABC, produced “engine indications” and other warnings." But the reports were anecdotal, best I understand, because it collected data from "commercial pilots and crewmembers and cited 75 incidents in which the respondents believed PEDs may have created electronic interference that impacted flight systems."

- MSNBC

The MAPPS Blog reports on the FGDC (corrected 6/13/11, was "NGAC") meeting this week:

Surprisingly and disappointingly, it was the first meeting of the group responsible for coordination of federal geospatial activities since President Obama took office 2½ years ago. The agenda was long on reports and short on votes, decisions, and actions.  In fact, no votes were taken or policy decisions made.  A lot of frustration was expressed and promises were made for action before the next meeting, the date of which was not established. 

- MAPPS Blog