NSGIC Folk Featured on Capitol Hill

A current NSGIC Board member and two long-time friends of NSGIC (one a past-president) testified together in front of the Subcommittee On Energy And Mineral Resources at an oversight hearing On "Federal Geospatial Data Management" on Capitol Hill on July 23.

Full video of the hearing (WVX), which also included a panel testifying on legislation relating to the AmericaView program, is posted on the subcommittee web site, along with links to the written testimony of each of the panel members.

The Federal Geospatial Data Management panel included:

• Michael Byrne, the Geospatial Information Officer (GIO) of the State of California, who is a current member of the NSGIC Board of Directors. (Written testimony [PDF])
  
• Karen Siderelis, the GIO of the U.S. Department of the Interior, who was a long-time NSGIC member as GIS Coordinator for North Carolina and later as a USGS representative. And she served as President of NSGIC in 1999. (Written testimony [PDF])
• John Paletiello, Executive Director of the Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS), who has long attended NSGIC meetings and whose organization includes many of NSGIC's main corporate leadership partners. (Written testimony [PDF])
• Susan Marlow, the Chief Executive Officer of Smart Data Strategies, Inc., who is remembered by many in NSGIC for her work on the parcel study committee of the Mapping Science Committee. (Written testimony [PDF])

The subcommittee web site also includes the opening statement of Chairman Jim Costa (PDF).

Observers among the NSGIC membership, who watched on-line from around the nation, were well pleased with the hearing.

"I was most surprised by the interest of the Committee," said one. "Two self-described 'map fiends' and a former land state land commissioner were among the members. And they asked questions that showed their interest and knowledge."

Congressional Research Service Reports on Cadastral Data

The Congressional Research Services (CRS) which last month reported on GIS and geospatial data in general, has now released a report on "Issues Regarding a National Land Parcel Database." The report is posted as a PDF file on the web site of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), which often posts CRS reports.

According to the Summary section of the report, cadastre -- land parcel data -- is an important part of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure -- the NSDI (PDF).

Why a national land parcel database? The National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) observed that the federal government’s land parcel data is missing an arrangement for acquiring the detailed property-related data necessary to make decisions during times of emergency, such as a natural disaster. In addition to emergency response to disasters, other perceived needs for a national land parcel database include responding to the home mortgage foreclosure crisis, dealing with wildfires, managing energy resources on federal lands, dealing with the effects of climate change, and possibly more.

The report is by Peter Folger, a Specialist in Energy and Natural Resources Policy. It is dated July 22, 2009.

The Congressional Research Service serves Congress by providing research support to members of Congress and to congressional committees on issues they are considering. Given the two GIS-related reports released this summer, and the congressional oversight hearing on geospatial governance this week, it seems that those of us who follow GIS and spatial data issues are in for more interesting, and now high-level, discussions on how to create and maintain the NSDI.

Update: Congressional Hearing on Geospatial

As noted in Learon Dalby's "Prez Column" earlier this week, there are plans for a Congressional oversight hearing on geospatial governance on July 23. With thanks to commenter jlhgis (who are you, masked commenter?), we can now point to the web page for the House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources hearing.

Here's the part to bookmark for future reference:

The hearing will be webcast live and archived on the Committee's Web site at resourcescommittee.house.gov.

It is also interesting to note that this will be a hearing on "Federal Geospatial Data Management" and it will be immediately followed by a legislative hearing on House Resolution 2489 (AmericaView Geospatial Imagery Mapping Program Act), which NSGIC will want to keep an eye on:

H.R. 2489 (Herseth Sandlin): To authorize a comprehensive national cooperative geospatial imagery mapping program through the United States Geological Survey, to promote use of the program for education, workforce training and development, and applied research, and to support Federal, State, tribal, and local government programs. "AmericaView Geospatial Imagery Mapping Program Act."

We understand that the hearing could go about two hours. Each witness will be given five minutes of testimony. There will only be three or four witnesses, to be followed by a question and answer session.

Congressional Research Service Looks at GIS

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has published a new report that looks at GIS, geospatial data, the NSDI, the FGDC, various geospatial coordination groups, and the challenges and opportunities that the geospatial community faces.

The report -- Geospatial Information and Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Current Issues and Future Challenges (PDF) -- includes a primer on GIS that would be useful in introducing GIS to new audiences, particularly among policy-level leaders. It also presents of examples of uses of geospatial information and explores the issues of geospatial data coordination, governance, and data sharing.

The report ends with a discussion subtitled "A National GIS?" which draws on the several proposals offered at the time of the presidential transition earlier this year. It concludes:

Congress may wish to consider how a national GIS or geospatial infrastructure would be conceived, perhaps drawing on proposals for these national efforts as described above, and how they would be similar to or differ from current efforts. Congress may also wish to examine its oversight role in the implementation of OMB Circular A-16, particularly in how federal agencies are coordinating their programs that have geospatial components. 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 between 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 now successfully coordinating among themselves and measurably eliminating unnecessary duplication of effort. An additional challenge is how Congress oversees the federal geospatial enterprise when so much government information has a geospatial component, and many departments and agencies are actively involved in acquiring and using geospatial data for their own purposes.

The The Congressional Research Service provides research support to members of Congress and to congressional committees. It does not directly post its reports for the public, but other services, in this case the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), often post CRS reports.

The FAS web page that collects CRS reports includes this explanatory note:

The Congressional Research Service, a congressional support agency, does not make its publications directly available to the public online. The FAS collection of CRS reports indexed below primarily addresses national security, foreign policy and related topics. These reports are provided without CRS authorization as a public service.

GIS is Now Widely Discussed as a Tool for Economic Stimulus

This month has seen a flurry of activity around several proposals to use the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) to guide and organize the national stimulus plan. The NSGIC Board is tracking the issue closely (through the impressive and diligent efforts of NSGIC President Learon Dalby and Washington Liaison Bill Burgess) and has authorized letters of support for several proposals.

The issue is starting to generate a broader discussion, with commenters from all sides considering the value of the NSDI and efforts over the years to achieve it as a vision of an interconnected series of data sets used by all levels of government, and others, to serve their clients and constituents.

Adena Schutzberg has been tracking the various proposals, and some reaction to them at All Points Blog. She has also posted the full text of the recent letter to Congress from COGO on the subject.

Sean Gorman, of the Off the Map blog, has started a discussion of the NSDI proposals and asked for thoughts that might counter what he describes as hie own "cynical" reaction:

I’m as bullish on the potential of the Geoweb as anyone, but I think we have to ask some hard questions. What is the customer really demanding? Further, what is the cheapest way we can deliver the most value to the customer? How can fulfilling those demands best grow the economy?

Later in the week, Mr. Gorman returned to the discussion with a more hopeful post about the inherent good in the NSDI proposals: an emphasis on making government data public.

David Smith, on his Surveying, Mapping and GIS blog, approached the issue with a brief history of the idea of the NSDI, an overview of the present proposals, and a call for continued discussion:

The hope is that the community can have an open, informed discussion of these elements and proposals, along with all of the key context, history and background. And hopefully adequate open forums will become available for doing so.

Finally (not really, but for now), NSGIC veteran Ted Koch, of Wisconsin, has posted a thoughtful review of the situation on the Wisconsin Mapping Bulletin:

While it’s unlikely that GIS, per se, will be included in any economic stimulus bill, a small contingent of folks in Washington continue to advocate for some inclusion of expanding the collection of spatial information. The House of Representatives may be voting on the Bill this week, followed by the Senate. Following votes by both Congressional chambers, differences will have to be reconciled. Possibly within that upcoming timeframe, GIS will get its due recognition.

This is by no means at that has been said, or will be said, about this issue. But it is what I've been reading this week. I'm sure there will be more. I plan to keep a list of links to other such discussions as we go along, using the delicious.com tag "nsdi-stimulus."

Please feel free to suggest other such discussion in the comments.

Directions Magazine Digs Into COGO's Letter to Congress

The latest Directions Magazine Podcast finds Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg in a detailed discussion of the recent letter from COGO to the leaders of the House and Senate calling for more congressional oversight of federal geospatial activities.

Mr. Francica starts the podcast by describing the letter as a "demand," though in the conversation Ms. Schutzberg tones that down to "a request, but a big one." They discuss the timing of the request -- tied to the start of a new Congress -- and links to industry meetings coming up in the first part of the year.

There is also a brief discussion of what the prospects for the request might be. Mr. Francica wonders if there is an effective lobbying organization in place. Ms. Schutzberg notes that this is only a first step; letting Congress know that there is an issue and a constituency for that issue.

There is also a discussion of whether the idea might get "pushed aside" by the budget crises. Both agreed that a stimulus package will require some geospatial guidance, though and that makes the timing fortuitous.

Image (Tivo Play) courtesy of flickr user rgusic.

COGO Advocates Congressional Oversight of Geospatial Efforts

The leadership of the Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (COGO) has sent a letter to Congressional leaders suggesting that House and Senate subcommittees be given some level of jurisdiction over geospatial activities at the federal level.

The letter (PDF) is from COGO Chair (and past NSGIC President) Cy Smith to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). It outlines some of the history of geospatial coordination, stresses the value of geospatial data and coordination in the public and private sectors, and points to the problem with the current state of congressional oversight:

Despite this extraordinary growth and the near-ubiquitous presence of geospatial data in government and the private sector, Congress does not have a committee or subcommittee with primary jurisdiction over geospatial activities. Rather, responsibility for oversight and authorization of federal geospatial activities is spread among more than 30 House and Senate committee and subcommittees.

It is important to note that the letter does not ask for a new committee or subcommittee. Rather, it suggests "including geospatial in the name and mission of an existing House and Senate subcommittee."