The Federal Geographic Data Committee: Historical Reflections -- Future Directions

By Bruce McKenzie

Planting the Seeds

In July 1973, the Report of the Federal Mapping Task Force on Mapping, Charting, Geodesy, and Surveying was published. It presented the analyses and recommendations of representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Defense Mapping Agency, and the U.S. Geological Survey. They found that most of the major cartographic agencies were in the process of developing and implementing computer-assisted automated systems, although no complete system had been developed at that time. The Task Force recognized that there were fast-growing cartographic requirements to relate points and areas on the ground to the social, economic, and ecological framework of our society and to present these relationships in digital form. The advent of the digital computer was ushering in a revolution in mapping.

From Digital Evolution to Revolution

During the decade following the Task Force Report, government agencies conducted extensive research, development, and application of computer-assisted cartography. Fledgling digital mapping programs were begun in the late 1970's in many government agencies. Within DOI, the USGS started its "Digital Mapping Program" and the Bureau of Land Management initiated the "Automated Land and Mineral Record System." Other DOI bureaus, while not having major automated cartography programs, were using the technology for project-specific purposes. Soon advances in the technology, coupled with reduced computer costs, fueled an explosion in digital cartographic programs government-wide.

To assess the magnitude and growth of digital cartographic activities in the Federal government, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) initiated two studies. The first study, conducted in 1980 by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, identified the scope of Federal digital cartographic activities and assessed the next course of action in this evolving field. Recommendations from this study focused on establishing a centralized database and a schema for building this database. The second study was conducted by the General Accounting Office in 1982. Three major findings resulted from this study: 1) substantial duplication of effort in the Federal community, which was expected to increase; 2) lack of prescribed standards; and 3) inadequate interagency coordination. OMB issued a memorandum in 1983 establishing a formal committee with the specific charge of coordinating digital cartographic activities among Federal agencies.

From Revolution to Coordination

This newly established committee was called the Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee on Digital Cartography (FICCDC). The DOI was identified as chair of this committee, which included representatives from the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, State, Transportation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The FICCDC was specifically instructed to "improve the use of digital cartographic base data within the Federal government and to provide a framework for its proper management." Within this context, the committee addressed the key issues of database development, standards, and duplicative effort.

By the late 1980's the distinction between the fields of automated cartography and geographic information systems (GIS) was becoming blurred. The use of this automated technology was now widespread. New administrative and regulatory responsibilities assigned to agencies were placing tremendous pressure on existing information delivery systems. Computerized spatial data handling technologies, such as GIS, had emerged as cost-effective tools for solving complex geographical problems and assisting decision-makers in finding solutions to real-world management challenges. In recognition of these changes taking place, the OMB in 1989 renewed the charter of the FICCDC and tasked the committee to look at the future of spatial data coordination in the Federal Government. In December 1989, the FICCDC held a "Forum on Spatial Data Coordination," bringing together representatives from 60 organizations to discuss, debate, and formulate recommendations to affect the future shape and character of coordination.

From FICCDC to FGDC

OMB issued a revised Circular A-16 "Coordination of Surveying and Mapping Activities" on October 19, 1990, formally establishing the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), chaired by the Secretary of the Interior, to look at the broader national landscape of spatial activities (with involvement of Federal, State, and local governments and the private sector), and called for the "development of a national digital spatial information resource, linked by criteria and standards, that will enable sharing and efficient transfer of spatial data between producers and users." This 'resource' has come to be known as the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The NSDI is viewed as a series of actions to bring about improved collection, sharing, and use of geographic information. It provides a base or structure of relationships among data producers and users, and a foundation for data applications, services, and products.

The FGDC has grown into a 19-member interagency committee composed of representatives from the Executive Office of the President and Cabinet-level and independent agencies. In addition, the Committee has involvement from 32 State Geographic Information Councils, and 9 non-Federal organizations representing broad sector interests. Since its inception, the FGDC has worked to put in place the six basic building blocks of the NSDI: Metadata, Clearinghouse, Standards, Framework, Geospatial data, and Partnerships. Each component is essential for establishing consistency and structure in documenting spatial data for everyday applications and for building a distributed network of producers and users that facilitates the sharing of these data. While the NSDI serves as the supporting infrastructure, it will be further developed and maintained as a growing resource by new users who will contribute their data for access and use by others.

In 1994, Presidential Executive Order 12906 specifically called for the establishment of the NSDI for the Nation and laid out specific actions. One of the major initiatives was the establishment of the NSDI Cooperative Agreements Program. This merit-based funding assistance program provides seed money to encourage collaborative NSDI resource sharing projects between and among the public and private sector. This grant program has provided funding for over 200 projects involving more than 1000 organizations. Many of those organizations have institutionalized NDSI practices and become anchor tenants on the NSDI, and thereby attracted others to use and become a part of the infrastructure.

Future Directions

This current Administration's awareness of and interest in geography and geospatial data has cast a spotlight on the FGDC and the NSDI and has led OMB to again revise, reissue (July 2001), and rename Circular A-16 "Coordination of Geographic Information and Related Spatial Data Activities," 1) adding the OMB as co-chair of the FGDC, 2) increasing the breadth of coordination to 34 data categories, 3) more clearly articulating and strengthening Federal agency roles and responsibilities for the NSDI, and 4) stressing the importance and requirement of interagency/intersector collaboration.

In addition, Presidential E-Gov initiative "Geospatial One-Stop" was launched in 2003 to make it easier, faster, and cheaper for all national sectors to locate and access geospatial information. It is intended to build upon existing capabilities and ongoing agency programs to accelerate the implementation of the NSDI. Current and expected future national and international priorities such as security, environmental, and economic issues make the basic tenets of the NSDI more relevant now than ever before. To reap the benefits of the vast data resources being generated today and expected in the future, it is important that agencies make the investment in and the commitment to those same basic tenets--common standards, data partnerships, and accessible data. In its first decade, the FGDC had great success in introducing the concepts of data sharing, putting in place the building blocks to facilitate the sharing, and promoting the tenets of the NSDI. The basic tenets of the NSDI have been embraced by many other countries as they develop their own spatial data infrastructures in the growing 'global spatial data infrastructure.' In the next decade the goal of the FGDC will be enabling widespread implementation through data sharing and data integration, to move us all closer to the kind of spatial data infrastructure that will truly fulfill the vision of the NSDI: "Current and accurate geospatial data will be readily available to contribute locally, nationally, and globally to economic growth, environmental quality and stability, and social progress."