Issue Brief: NSDI Cooperative Agreements Program Grants (CAP)

NSGIC has published an issue brief (PDF) on the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Cooperative Agreements Program (CAP). The brief, one of a series of issue briefs focused on the organization's 2008 - 2009 Advocacy Agenda (PDF), presents an overview of the annual program that assists the geospatial community through grant funding and other resources to implement components of the NSDI.

This program (sponsored by the FGDC and housed at USGS) has funded 75 projects in the previous 3 years that have focused on building and improving the existing geospatial data infrastructure necessary to implement the NSDI.

How has the Cooperative Agreements Program benefited the States? Among the competitive grants that make up the CAP program are the 'Fifty States Initiative' grants that have been awarded to 30 States (thus far) to develop and implement statewide strategic and business plans.

Speaking from a personal perspective, in 2007, the Iowa Geographic Information Council received one of the Fifty States Initiative grants to develop a business plan for the creation of an Iowa Geospatial Infrastructure. The State of Iowa has had several statewide GIS coordinators in the last dozen or so years (and without any Coordinator at all since 2004). The Council itself is an entirely volunteer organization.

The CAP Grant awarded to Iowa has allowed the Council to hire a consultant to come and collect business costs and benefits associated with geospatial practices in Iowa. Without the CAP Grant award, Iowa would not have been able to approach a task as daunting as this. And we have seen positives that have stemmed from this project. The Council is now in a position where we have "hard" dollar costs associated as well as documented benefits related to geospatial practices in Iowa. We have found these figures to be extremely helpful as we enter into uncertain economic situations and look to compete for funding sources with other more established government business practices.

The achieve that vision, the NSGIC issue brief suggests that Congress:

• Instruct the Department of Interior through specific language in the budget to ensure that these funds are not used for other purposes and that they are awarded to non-federal entities to further the development of the NSDI.
• Double the available funding.

The issue brief provides more detail and additional information. it is part of a series that also looks at Transportation for the Nation, Nationwide Parcel Mapping, Imagery for the Nation (IFTN) , and improved Technology for the 21st Century.