At 06:15 AM 6/12/2003 -0700, Rex Brooks wrote:
>Hi Folks,
>
>Hmmmn. I don't quite know what to say about this article, but it
>highlights a situation we should probably assess better.
>
>http://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=10300774
>
>My recent survey of both the EM and Health Care standards arena as part of
>my focus on Human-Centric standards revealed common concerns in this area.
>I'm a lot less interested in trumpeting the shortcomings than I am in how
>to best contribute to improving this arena effectively--and saving us
>taxpayers some money better spent elsewhere, while improving the
>availability and delivery of information and services.
I do not think one should read into the article any criticism of the
Geospatial One-Stop. Rather, I think the point is made that even more of
such work is needed. Here is some background in case you are interested.
Everyone agrees that standardization of GIS data is and must be a primary
goal. The ongoing process of GIS data standardization is supported by a
variety of programs, in and outside of government. The Open GIS Consortium
(OGC, http://www.opengis.org/ ) is a standardization forum that includes
most GIS vendors among its participants. The Federal Government lead in
such work is the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC,
http://www.fgdc.gov/ ).
In cooperation with organizations from State, local and tribal governments,
the academic community, and the private sector, the FGDC is developing the
National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI
http://www.fgdc.gov/nsdi/nsdi.html ). The NSDI encompasses the
technologies, policies, and people necessary to promote sharing of
geospatial data.
The Geospatial One-Stop ( http://www.geo-one-stop.gov/ ) is one specific
project within this broad context of GIS data standardization programs and
the NSDI. The project is accelerating standardization that otherwise would
have taken longer to achieve. Given limited resources and time, the
Geospatial One-Stop project chose to focus on those kinds of GIS data that
are often the base layer for other kinds of GIS data. These most crucial
GIS data are designated as "NSDI Framework". NSDI Framework data are "the
best available data for an area, certified, standardized, and described
according to a common standard."
NSDI Framework is comprised of seven "themes", having the following data
layers: Transportation (Road, Railroad, Transit, Air, Waterway),
Hydrography, Government Units, Geodetic Control, Elevation, Digital Ortho
Imagery, and Cadastral. You can see the products of this standards work of
the Geospatial One-Stop at http://www.geo-one-stop.gov/Standards/
Eliot