Posts Tagged ‘NGAC’
National Geospatial Advisory Committee August Meeting Wrap-Up
The National Geospatial Advisory Committee met on August 26-27, 2009 at the National Conservation Training Center, 698 Conservation Way, Shepherdstown, WV 25443. For Meeting Summary, updates on Imagery for the Nation, Land Parcels, and Recovery.gov visit: http://www.fgdc.gov/ngac/meetings/august-2009/index_html
A Few Hightlights:
Interior Seeks Nominations for the National Geospatial Advisory Committee
From: Ivan B DeLoatch
Sent: Monday, July 06, 2009 6:07 PM
Subject: Nominations for the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC)
Dear Colleagues:
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced a call for nominations for appointment to the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC). The press release is attached below.
As you know, the NGAC provides advice and recommendations on Federal geospatial policy and management issues and provides a forum to convey views representative of partners in the geospatial community. The NGAC was established by the Department of the Interior on behalf of the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) under the authority of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The NGAC includes 25-30 members, selected to generally achieve a balanced representation of the viewpoints of the various partners involved in national geospatial activities. NGAC members are appointed for staggered terms, and approximately one-half of the seats on the committee will be appointed during this round of appointments. We will keep you updated on the nomination and appointment process as it progresses.
Nominations for appointment to the NGAC should be submitted electronically to ngacnominations [at] fgdc.gov by August 14, 2009. Nominations may be submitted on behalf of others, or individuals may self-nominate. Nominations should include:
- Contact information for the nominee (name, title, organization, mailing address, e-mail address, and phone number).
- A statement summarizing the nominee’s qualifications and interest in NGAC membership and describing the nominee’s ability to represent a stakeholder group.
- A biographical sketch, resume, or vita.
- One letter of reference and a list of two additional references with contact information.
Additional information and instructions about the nomination process are posted on the NGAC web page at http://www.fgdc.gov/ngac/call-for-nominations
We would appreciate it if you could distribute the announcement to appropriate officials within your organizations and to your partners in the geospatial community. Please contact me or contact John Mahoney if you need any additional information.
Regards,
Ivan B. DeLoatch
Executive Director, Federal Geographic Data Committee
Chief, Office of Geospatial Information Coordination
National Geospatial Program Office
U.S. Geological Survey
U.S.Department of the Interior
National Geospatial Advisory Committee Discusses New National Geospatial Strategy
If you haven’t already heard:
The Federal Geographic Data Committe’s (FGDC) National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) will meet on May 12-13, 2009 at the George Washington University Cafritz Conference Center, 800 21st Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20052. The meeting will be in Room 405. The meeting will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on May 12 and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on May 13.
The May NGAC agenda focuses on the development of a new national geospatial policy and strategic plan. Is it time for a new governance structure? Do we need a national Geographic Information Officer (GIO) under the National CIO? What is the distinction between a “national GIS” and a “federal GIS”? How can we improve stakeholder engagement in national geospatial priority setting? Stay tuned!
Click here to check out the following NGAC documents:
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NGAC Report: The Changing Geospatial Landscape
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NGAC Transition Recommendations
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Summary of Key Recommendations (Decisions made over last year)
A U.S. Geospatial Strategy
In October 2008, the National Geospatial Advisory Committee issued a set of recommendations for the 2008-2009 Presidential Transition Team. Highlights include:
FEDERAL COORDINATION: To coordinate Federal geospatial activities and to ensure effective intergovernmental and inter-sector partnerships with State, local, and Tribal governments; the private sector; and the academic community, we recommend that the administration:
Establish a geospatial leadership and coordination function immediately within the Executive Office of the President. The geospatial coordination function should be included in the reauthorization of the E-Government Act. The function of this position should:
- Provide leadership on national geospatial issues
- Develop a partnership-based national geospatial strategy
- Oversee the revision and strengthening of policies (i.e. OMB Circular A-16) in concert with the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)
- Evaluate and clarify the roles and responsibilities of Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments; academia; and the private sector in the creation and maintenance of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI)
- Coordinate the funding and acquisition of geospatial data
Establish and oversee an Urgent Path Forward for implementation of geospatial programs necessary to support current national priorities and essential government services underpinning the NSDI, such as:Require OMB and FGDC to strengthen their enforcement of OMB Circular A-16 and Executive Order 12906.
Establish/designate Geographic Information Officers within each Department or Agency with responsibilities stipulated within OMB Circular A-16.
- Imagery for the Nation
- National Land Imaging Program
- National Land Parcel Data
Continue to task the National Geospatial Advisory Committee to provide advice and recommendation for the use of geospatial information and the related policies and programs of the Federal Government.
FEDERAL STATUTORY REVIEW: Revise restrictive statutory language as it pertains to non-sensitive address data in Title 13 U.S. Code and to “geospatial data” in Section 1619 of the 2008 Farm Bill.
The FGDC 2008 Annual report is also available.
2008 FGDC Annual Report Released
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Federal Geographic Data Committee’s (FGDC) 2008 Annual Report is now available online.
The report includes remarks by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne at the ESRI User Conference in San Diego, Calif., on August 4, 2008:
… My vision for the future is that with the click of a mouse, decisionmakers and land managers…will have access to maps that Lewis and Clark could never have imagined-
- Maps that include up-to-date digital imagery of the landscape.
- Maps that overlay population data, land use, wildlife habitat, and other forms of geographic information, to paint a more complete picture of our planet.
Information is power, and this information will be a powerful tool in the hands of policy makers, land managers, and scientists in the United States and around the world.
Finally, the Department of the Interior will continue to partner with other countries, the importance of which I saw first-hand in December when I led the U.S. delegation to the World Summit of the Group on Earth Observations in South Africa. Seventy-three nations were there. The other leaders and I left that summit united in the belief that the world must embrace the idea of science without borders, achieve global data compatibility, and have full access to coordinated Earth observations. We agreed to focus on helping countries to better share data from their weather satellites, ocean monitoring buoys, earthquake sensors, and other geospatial technology. …
First Meetings of the National Geospatial Advisory Committee
Ted Koch, the Wisconsin State Cartographer, interviewed Don Dittmar, Land Information Manager for Waukesha County, Wisconsin, on his impressions as a member of the newly formed National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC), a Federal Advisory Committee sponsored by the Department of the Interior. The scope and objectives of the NGAC are described in the NGAC Charter: “The Committee will provide advice and recommendations related to management of Federal and national geospatial programs, the development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure, and the implementation of Office of Management and Budget Circular A-16 and Executive Order 12906. The Committee will review and comment upon geospatial policy and management issues and will provide a forum to convey views representative of non-federal stakeholders in the geospatial community.”
Dittmar discusses beginnings of national committee
Late last January, U.S. Dept. of the Interior Secretary Dick Kempthorne announced the selection of 28 individuals to serve on the newly-created National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC). Much to the delight of those of us in Wisconsin, Don Dittmar, Land Information Manager for Waukesha Countywas included as one of the appointments. …Since the January announcement, the NGAC has held two in-person meetings in Washington D.C. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Don to discuss his impressions on the beginnings of the NGAC.
For full text of the interview, visit: http://news.sco.wisc.edu/news/guest-interview/dittmar-discusses-beginnings-of-national-committee.html
Source: Ted Koch, Wisconsin Mapping Bulletin, July 29, 2008
Of particular interest given recent discussions regarding a national land parcel database, Don commented:
The committee and especially the federal representatives don’t yet know how to handle us. There was one point when they were discussing building a single, massive database of parcel and address data. After some discussion, I stated that since we had convened that morning, my county had added 6 tax parcels, deleted 2 parcels, and assigned 10 new addresses. I stated that until they figured how to accommodate updates, our discussions were nothing. At that point, the discussion took on a more map service/interactive tone.
For more information on NGAC’s “action agenda” also see the article by Anne Hale Miglarese, NGAC Chairperson, in ESRI’s ArcNews Online (Summer 2008). Miglarese also was interviewed by Directions Magazine on August 6, 2008 on their short, medium and long-term plans.
Of note, NGAC reviewed Imagery for the Nation Proposal, and passed a resolution of support.
