    Geospatial Information: Better Coordination Needed to Identify
    and Reduce Duplicative Investments (23-JUN-04, GAO-04-703).

    From homeland security to tracking outbreaks of disease, to
    investigating the space shuttle disaster to responding to natural
    disasters, the collection, maintenance, and use of location-based
    (geospatial) information has become critical to many federal
    agencies' abilities to achieve their goals. Local governments and
    the private sector also rely on such data to support essential
    functions. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which the
    federal government is coordinating the sharing of geospatial
    assets, including through oversight measures in place at the
    Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in order to identify and
    reduce redundancies in geospatial data and systems.
    -------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
    REPORTNUM:   GAO-04-703
        ACCNO:   A10615
      TITLE:     Geospatial Information: Better Coordination Needed to
    Identify and Reduce Duplicative Investments
         DATE:   06/23/2004
      SUBJECT:   Data collection
    	     Geographic information systems
    	     Information resources management
    	     Intergovernmental relations
    	     Redundancy
    	     Strategic information systems planning
    	     Strategic planning
    	     Electronic government
    	     Program coordination
    	     OMB Geospatial One-Stop Project

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    GAO-04-703

    Report to Congressional Requesters

    June 2004

    GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION

    Better Coordination Needed to Identify and Reduce Duplicative Investments

    Contents

    Tables

    Figures

    Abbreviations

    June 23, 2004Letter

    The Honorable Adam H. Putnam Chairman, Subcommittee on Technology,
    Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census Committee
    on Government Reform House of Representatives

    The Honorable Pete Sessions House of Representatives

    The federal government collects, maintains, and uses geospatial
    information-information linked to specific geographic locations-to help in
    decision making and to support many functions, including national
    security, law enforcement, health care, the environment, and natural
    resources conservation. States, counties, cities, tribal governments, and
    the private sector also use geospatial information to support essential
    functions. Among the many activities that can depend on critical analysis
    of geospatial information are conducting the decennial census, the
    maintenance of roads and other critical transportation infrastructure, and
    actions in response to natural disasters such as floods, tornadoes, and
    fires.

    Federal agencies, states, and local governments may each provide services
    at the same geographic locations and may independently collect similar
    geospatial information about those locations, thus raising the question of
    how well the nation's geospatial assets1 are coordinated. You requested
    that we determine the extent to which the federal government is
    coordinating the sharing of geospatial assets, including through oversight
    measures at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in order to
    identify and reduce redundancies in federal geospatial data and systems.
    To address this objective, we identified key federal geospatial projects
    and reviewed capital asset plans, project plans, and other project
    documentation; conducted interviews with agency and OMB officials; and
    conducted focus groups with state, local, and private-sector
    representatives. Details of our objective, scope, and methodology are
    provided in appendix I. We conducted our work from October 2003 through
    May 2004 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
    standards.

    Results in Brief

    OMB, individual federal agencies, and cross-government committees and
    initiatives such as the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and the
    Geospatial One-Stop project have each taken actions to coordinate the
    government's geospatial investments across agencies and with state and
    local governments. FGDC, Geospatial One-Stop, and other cross-government
    entities have established Internet-based information-sharing portals to
    support development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI);
    one goal of this effort is to address redundancy and incompatibility of
    geospatial information collected by many different organizations and
    stored and maintained at many different physical locations. In addition,
    FGDC has led geospatial standards-setting activities, and conducted
    various outreach activities. Individual federal agencies have also taken
    steps to coordinate specific geospatial investments in certain cases-the
    Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and the Interior (DOI), for example,
    have collaborated on a land management system. Finally, OMB has attempted
    to oversee and coordinate geospatial investments by collecting and
    analyzing relevant agency information.

    However, these efforts have not been fully successful in reducing
    redundancies in geospatial investments for several reasons:

    o A complete and up-to-date strategic plan has not been in place. The
    government's existing strategic plan for the NSDI is out of date and does
    not include specific measures for identifying and reducing redundancies.

    o Federal agencies have not always fully complied with OMB direction to
    coordinate their investments. Many agency geospatial data holdings are not
    compliant with FGDC standards or are not published through its Internet
    clearinghouse.

    o OMB's oversight methods have not identified or eliminated specific
    instances of duplication. The processes used by OMB to identify
    potentially redundant geospatial investments have not been effective,
    because the agency has not been able to collect key investment information
    from all agencies in a consistent way so that it could be used to identify
    redundancies.

    As a result of these shortcomings, federal agencies are independently
    acquiring and maintaining potentially duplicative and costly data sets and
    systems. Without better coordination, such duplication is likely to
    continue.

    We are making recommendations to the Director of OMB and to the Secretary
    of the Interior to direct the development of a national geospatial data
    strategy with outcome-related goals and objectives; a plan for how the
    goals and objectives are to be achieved; identification of key risk
    factors; and performance measures. We are also making recommendations to
    the Director of OMB to encourage better agency compliance with Circular
    A-16 by developing criteria for assessing the extent of interagency
    coordination on proposals for potential geospatial investments; and to
    strengthen oversight actions to better ensure that agencies do not invest
    in potentially redundant geospatial systems or data gathering efforts.

    We received oral comments on a draft of this report from representatives
    of OMB's Offices of Information and Regulatory Affairs and Resource
    Management and from the Assistant Secretary of the Interior-Policy,
    Management, and Budget. Both agencies generally concurred with the content
    of our report and our recommendations. In addition, the Departments of
    Defense and Health and Human Services, and the Bureau of the Census
    provided technical comments, which have been incorporated into the final
    report where appropriate.

    Background

    Geospatial information describes entities or phenomena that can be
    referenced to specific locations relative to the Earth's surface. For
    example, entities such as houses, rivers, road intersections, power
    plants, and national parks can all be identified by their locations. In
    addition, phenomena such as wildfires, the spread of the West Nile virus,
    and the thinning of trees due to acid rain, can also be identified by
    their geographic locations.

    A geographic information system (GIS) is a system of computer software,
    hardware, and data used to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, and
    graphically present a potentially wide array of geospatial information. A
    GIS combines the disciplines of geography, cartography, computer science,

    and mathematics to permit users to query and analyze the attributes2 of
    any entity or phenomenon that has been identified by its geographic
    location, providing a powerful ability to integrate different kinds of
    location-based information. A fully functional GIS includes hardware and
    software to support data input, output, storage, retrieval, display, and
    analysis. A variety of platforms support GIS processing, ranging from
    large mainframe computers and minicomputers to scientific workstations and
    personal computers. In many cases, hardware used to support other
    applications (e.g., payroll, accounting, and digital image processing) can
    also be used.

    A variety of technologies, including remote sensing systems and the Global
    Positioning System (GPS), are used to collect the geospatial data in a
    GIS.3 Remote sensing systems collect data that are either emitted or
    reflected by the Earth and the atmosphere from a distance-such as from a
    satellite, airplane, or balloon. The GPS is a constellation of orbiting
    satellites that provides navigational data to military and civilian users
    around the world. With the proper equipment, users can receive signals
    from these satellites to calculate time, location, and velocity. GPS
    equipment is now being used on aircraft, ships, and land-based vehicles,
    and mobile hand-held units provide individuals with these capabilities as
    well.

    The primary function of a GIS is to link multiple sets of geospatial data
    and display the combined information as maps with many different layers of
    information. Assuming that all of the information is at the same scale and
    has been formatted according to the same standards, users can potentially
    overlay spatial information about any number of specific topics to examine
    how the layers interrelate. Each layer of a GIS map represents a
    particular "theme" or feature, and one layer could be derived from a data
    source completely different from the others. For example, one theme could
    represent all of the streets in a specific area. Another theme could
    correspond to all of the buildings in the same area, and others could show
    vegetation or water resources. As long as standard processes and formats
    have been used to facilitate integration, each of these themes could be
    based on data originally collected and maintained by a separate
    organization. Analyzing this layered information as an integrated whole
    can significantly aid decision makers in considering complex choices, such
    as where to locate a new department of motor vehicles building to best
    serve the greatest number of citizens.

    Typical geospatial data layers (or themes) include cadastral-describing
    location, ownership, and other information about real property; digital
    orthoimagery-containing images of the Earth's surface that have the
    geometric characteristics of a map and image qualities of a photograph;
    and hydrography-describing water features such as lakes, ponds, streams
    and rivers, canals, oceans, and coastlines. Figure 1 portrays the concept
    of data themes in a GIS.

    Figure 1: GIS Layers or Themes

    Geographic Information Systems and Data Provide a Broad Range of Benefits

    State and local government agencies rely on geographic information systems
    to provide vital services to their customers. For example, local fire
    departments can use geographic information systems to determine the
    quickest and most efficient route from a firehouse to a specific location,
    taking into account changing traffic patterns that occur at various times
    of day. Highway departments use geographic information systems to identify
    intersections that have had a significant number of personal injury
    accidents to determine needs for improved traffic signaling or signage.

    The usefulness of a GIS in disaster response situations was also
    demonstrated in connection with the Space Shuttle Columbia recovery
    effort. After the loss of Columbia on February 1, 2003, debris was spread
    over at least 41 counties in Texas and Louisiana (see fig. 2). Analysis of
    GIS data was critical to the efficient recovery and documentation of that
    debris. The Texas state GIS program provided authorities with precise maps
    and search grids to guide field reconnaissance and collection crews.
    Officials in charge of the effort used maps of debris fields, combined
    with GIS data about the physical terrain, to carefully track every piece
    of debris found.

    Figure 2: Columbia Recovery Map

    A GIS can also be an invaluable tool in helping to ensure homeland
    security by facilitating preparedness, prevention, detection, and recovery
    and response to terrorist attacks. For example, according to a March 2002

    Gartner report,4 New York City's GIS system was pivotal in the rescue,
    response, and recovery efforts after the September 11, 2001, terrorist
    attacks. The city's GIS provided real-time data on the area around the
    World Trade Center, so that the mayor, governor, federal officials, and
    emergency response agencies could implement critical rescue, response, and
    recovery efforts. Specifically, daily flyovers were performed to monitor
    changes in the elevation of the site to detect weaknesses in the
    underground structure. In addition, thermal imagery was compared with
    underground infrastructure maps to determine the locations where fires
    were still smoldering and to help the New York City Fire Department and
    emergency crews in detecting potential new explosion sites from nearby
    flammable substances. Further, maps generated by geospatial information
    systems were used to transmit critical information to the public and
    emergency personnel and provided the Army and Police Department with
    critical data on other potential terrorist targets such as bridges,
    tunnels, and reservoirs.

    Another use for GIS is in the tracking and responding to natural disasters
    such as hurricanes. For example, the Federal Emergency Management Agency
    (FEMA) used its GIS capabilities and those of the National Oceanic and
    Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to generate maps to track hurricane
    Isabel in September 2003. FEMA officials generated maps that estimated
    Isabel's track, and used a hurricane wind model to produce maps of
    projected damage-prone areas in affected states. These officials also
    produced wind damage estimates for structures and infrastructures, such as
    sewage treatment plants, nursing homes, schools, and hospitals. Further,
    the officials performed various demographic analyses that estimated the
    population and number of housing units in affected counties or other
    areas. Figure 3 shows an example of a hurricane-tracking map.

    Figure 3: Hurricane Isabel Tracking Map

    Similarly, many other federal departments and agencies use GIS technology
    to help carry out their primary missions. Examples include the following:

    o The Department of Housing and Urban Development worked with the
    Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop an enterprise geographic
    information system, which combines information on community development
    and housing programs with other types of data, including environmental and
    transportation data. The program provides homeowners and prospective home
    buyers with ready access to detailed local information about environmental
    hazards and other information that otherwise would likely be difficult to
    obtain.

    o The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) uses GIS technology
    for a variety of public health functions, such as reporting the results of
    national health surveys. In addition, there are a variety of GIS-based
    atlases of national mortality from causes such as injury, cardiovascular
    disease, cancer, and reproductive health problems. Other GIS activities
    focus on disease surveillance and prevention of infectious diseases that
    are caused by environmental exposure. A variety of mapping tools are
    published on the Web to facilitate citizen access to public health
    resources and other information.

    o The Census Bureau maintains the Topologically Integrated Geographic
    Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) database to support its mission to
    conduct the decennial census and other censuses and surveys by spatially
    locating all habitations within the United States and reporting the
    resulting census estimates and counts. Census provides the spatial
    information (not individual addresses) in this publicly accessible
    database through its Web site at
    http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/index.html.

    o NOAA provides access to maps and other geospatial information on
    subjects such as the weather and climate, oceans and fisheries, and
    satellite imagery used for global weather monitoring at
    http://www.noaa.gov.

    o EPA maintains a variety of databases with information about the quality
    of air, water, and land in the United States. EPA's Envirofacts system
    (http://www.epa.gov/enviro/index.html) provides public access to selected
    EPA environmental data.

    Appendix II provides additional examples of federal geospatial activities.

    Coordination of Federal Geospatial Activities

    The federal government has for many years taken steps to coordinate
    geospatial activities both within and outside the federal government. In
    1953, the Bureau of the Budget5 first issued its Circular A-16,
    encouraging expeditious surveying and mapping activities across all levels
    of government and avoidance of duplicative efforts. In 1990, OMB revised
    Circular A-16 to, among other things, establish FGDC within the Department
    of the Interior, to promote the coordinated use, sharing, and
    dissemination of geospatial data nationwide.

    Building on that guidance, the President in 1994 issued Executive Order
    12906, assigning to FGDC the responsibility to coordinate the development
    of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) to address redundancy
    and incompatibility of geospatial information. The infrastructure is
    defined by FGDC as the technologies, policies, and people necessary to
    promote sharing of geospatial data throughout all levels of government,
    the private and nonprofit sectors, and the academic community. The NSDI's
    goals are to reduce duplication of effort among agencies; to improve
    quality and reduce costs related to geographic information; to make the
    benefits of geographic data more accessible to the public; and to
    establish key partnerships with states, counties, cities, tribal nations,
    academia, and the private sector to increase data availability.

    Further, in August 2002, OMB again revised Circular A-16 to reflect
    changes in geographic information management and technology and to more
    clearly define agency and FGDC roles and responsibilities. In addition to
    the responsibilities identified for FGDC, Circular A-16 outlines
    responsibilities and reporting requirements for individual federal
    agencies to help ensure that geospatial resources are used efficiently and
    contribute to building the NSDI. Among other things, the circular requires
    that agencies prepare geographic information strategies, use FGDC data
    standards, and coordinate and work in partnership with federal, state, and
    local governments and the private sector. These responsibilities are
    assigned to all agencies that collect, use, or disseminate geographic
    information or carry out spatial data activities.

    More recently, in December 2002, the E-Government Act of 2002 was signed
    into law, requiring OMB to coordinate with state, local, and tribal
    governments as well as public-private partnerships and other interested
    persons on the development of standard protocols for sharing geographic
    information to reduce redundant data collection and promote collaboration
    and the use of standards.6

    In addition to its responsibilities for geospatial information under the
    E-Government Act, OMB has specific oversight responsibilities regarding
    federal information technology (IT) systems and acquisition
    activities-including GIS-to help ensure their efficient and effective use.
    For example, the Clinger-Cohen Act of 19967 requires the Director of OMB
    to promote and be responsible for improving the acquisition, use, and
    disposal of information technology by the federal government to improve
    the productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of federal programs. These
    requirements help to advance OMB's federal IT management responsibilities
    under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,8 which has a similar but more
    general requirement that the Director of OMB oversee the use of
    information resources to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of
    government operations to serve agency missions. Appendix III provides
    brief descriptions of key federal legislation, policies, and guidance that
    apply to IT and geospatial information and systems investments.

    To help carry out its investment oversight role, OMB established
    requirements for the acquisition and management of IT resources in its
    Circular A-11. The circular establishes policies for planning, budgeting,
    acquisition, and management of federal capital assets. Specifically, it
    requires agencies to submit business cases to OMB for planned or ongoing
    major IT investments.9 These business cases require agencies to answer
    questions to help OMB determine if the investment should be funded. Agency
    business case submissions must also include (1) the type of data used by
    the IT investment, including geospatial data; (2) whether the data needed
    for the investment already exist at the federal, state, or local level,
    and plans to gain access to that data; (3) potential legal reasons why
    existing data cannot be transferred; and (4) compliance with FGDC
    standards. According to Circular A-11, agency responses to these questions
    are reviewed as part of OMB's evaluation of the overall business case.

    In addition to activities associated with Circulars A-11 and A-16, in a
    June 2003 congressional hearing, OMB's Administrator, Office of Electronic
    Government and Information Technology, stated that the strategic
    management of geospatial assets would be accomplished, in part, through
    development of a robust and mature federal enterprise architecture. In
    2001, the lack of a Federal Enterprise Architecture was cited by OMB's
    E-Government Task Force as a barrier to the success of the
    administration's e-government initiatives.10 In response, OMB began
    developing the FEA, and over the last two years it has released various
    versions of all but one of the five FEA reference models. According to
    OMB, the purpose of the FEA, among other things, is to provide a common
    frame of reference or taxonomy for agencies' individual enterprise
    architecture11 efforts and their planned and ongoing investment
    activities.

    State and Local Government and Private-Sector Geospatial Information and
    GIS Activities

    State and local governments and the private sector independently provide
    information and services apart from those provided by the federal
    government, including maintaining land records for nonfederal lands,
    property taxation, local planning, subdivision control and zoning, and
    direct delivery of many other public services. These entities use
    geographic information and GIS to facilitate and support delivery of these
    services. In fact, local governments often possess more recent and higher
    resolution geospatial data than the federal government, and in many cases
    private-sector companies collect these data under contract to local
    government agencies.

    For example, the state of New York hosts a Web site to provide citizens
    with a gateway to state government services at
    http://www.nysegov.com/map-NY.cfm. Using this Web site, citizens can
    access information about state agencies and their services, and locate
    county boundaries, services, and major state highways. New York also
    developed a clearinghouse (http://www.nysgis.state.ny.us/) to disseminate
    information about statewide GIS programs and provide information and
    services including state maps, aerial photographs, and a help desk to
    provide support for both general questions and specific questions
    regarding the use of GIS software. Many other states, such as Oregon
    (http://www.gis.state.or.us/), Virginia
    (http://www.vgin.virginia.gov/index.html), and Alaska
    (http://www.asgdc.state.ak.us/), provide similar Web sites and services.

    For local governments, GIS applications have become integral resources for
    public works, and financial, public safety, and economic developments. A
    2003 survey sponsored by Interior showed that GIS technology is recognized
    as an essential tool by many local governments. For example, Fairfax
    County in Virginia developed GIS applications to provide online products
    and services to the public that include

    o a digital map viewer to see and download property, zoning, topography,
    or contour maps;

    o an aerial orthoimagery12 photo viewer to access aerial photographs of
    specific parcels, areas of interest, or addresses;

    o a department of tax administration parcel finder to locate detailed
    information about a specific property and to view that parcel with the
    parcel viewer; and

    o a map gallery that contains many common maps produced by the Fairfax
    County GIS and Mapping Department. The maps are letter size and available
    in many formats for downloading and printing.

    The private sector also plays an important role in support of government
    GIS activities because it captures and maintains a wealth of geospatial
    data and develops GIS software. Private companies provide services such as
    aerial photography, digital topographic mapping, digital orthophotography,
    and digital elevation modeling to produce geospatial data sets that are
    designed to meet the needs of government organizations.

    Figure 4 provides a conceptual summary of the many entities-including
    federal, state, and local governments and the private sector-that may be
    involved in geospatial data collection and processing relative to a single
    geographic location or event. Figure 5 shows the multiple data sets that
    have been collected by different agencies at federal, state, and local
    levels to capture the location of a segment of roadway in Texas.

    Figure 4: Conceptual Diagram of Multiple Geospatial Data Collections and
    Processing Associated with a Single Geographic Location

    Figure 5: Multiple Street Centerline Data Sets Covering the Same Location
    in Texas

    Costs Associated with Gathering, Maintaining, and Using Geospatial Data
    Are Significant

    Costs associated with collecting and maintaining geographically referenced
    data and systems for the federal government are significant. Specific
    examples of the costs of collecting and maintaining federal geospatial
    data and information systems13 include

    o FEMA's Multi-Hazard Flood Map Modernization Program-estimated to cost $1
    billion over the next 5 years;

    o Census's TIGER database-modernization is estimated to have cost over
    $170 million between 2001 and 2004;

    o Agriculture's Geospatial Database-acquisition and development reportedly
    cost over $130 million;

    o Interior's National Map-development is estimated to cost about $88
    million through 2008;14

    o The Department of the Navy's Primary Oceanographic Prediction, and
    Oceanographic Information systems-development, modernization, and
    operation were estimated to cost about $32 million in fiscal year 2003;
    and

    o NOAA's Coastal Survey-expenditures for geospatial data are estimated to
    cost about $30 million annually.

    In addition to the costs for individual agency GIS systems and data, the
    aggregated annual cost of collecting and maintaining geospatial data for
    all NSDI-related data themes and systems is estimated to be substantial.
    According to a recent estimate by the National States Geographic
    Information Council (NSGIC), the cost to collect detailed data for five
    key data layers of the NSDI-parcel, critical infrastructure, orthoimagery,
    elevation, and roads-is about $6.6 billion. The estimate assumes that the
    data collection will be coordinated among federal, state, and local
    government agencies, and the council cautions that without effective
    coordination, the costs could be far higher.

    Although Steps Have Been Taken to Coordinate Geospatial Activities,
    Redundant Investments Remain

    OMB, individual federal agencies, and cross-government committees and
    initiatives such as the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and the
    Geospatial One-Stop project have each taken actions to coordinate the
    government's geospatial investments. FGDC and other cross-government
    entities have established Internet-based information-sharing portals to
    support development of the NSDI, led geospatial standards-setting
    activities, and conducted various outreach activities. In addition,
    individual federal agencies have taken steps to coordinate specific
    geospatial investments in certain cases-Agriculture and Interior have
    collaborated on a land management system. Finally, OMB has attempted to
    oversee and coordinate geospatial investments by collecting and analyzing
    relevant agency information.

    However, these efforts have not been fully successful in reducing
    redundancies in geospatial investments for several reasons. First, a
    complete and up-to-date strategic plan has not been in place. The
    government's existing strategic plan for the NSDI is out-of-date and does
    not include specific measures for identifying and reducing redundancies.
    Second, federal agencies have not always fully complied with OMB direction
    to coordinate their investments. Many agency geospatial data holdings are
    not compliant with FGDC standards or are not published through the
    National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse. Third, OMB's oversight methods
    have not identified or eliminated specific instances of duplication. The
    processes used by OMB to identify potentially redundant geospatial
    investments have not been effective, because the agency has not been able
    to collect key investment information from all agencies in a consistent
    way so that it could be used to identify redundancies.

    As a result of shortcomings in all three of these domains, federal
    agencies are independently acquiring and maintaining potentially
    duplicative and costly data sets and systems. Without better coordination,
    such duplication is likely to continue.

    FGDC and Others Have Taken Steps to Coordinate GIS Activities
    Governmentwide, but Lack a Complete and Up-to-Date Strategic Plan to Guide
    Them

    Both Executive Order 12906 and OMB Circular A-16 charge FGDC with
    responsibilities that support coordination of federal GIS investments.
    Specifically, the committee is designated the lead federal executive body
    responsible for (1) developing, implementing, and maintaining spatial data
    standards; (2) promoting and guiding coordination among federal, state,
    tribal, and local government agencies, academia, and the private sector in
    the collection, production, sharing, and use of spatial information and
    the implementation of the NSDI; (3) communicating information about the
    status of infrastructure-related activities via the Internet; and (4)
    preparing and maintaining a strategic plan for developing and implementing
    the NSDI.

    According to OMB Circular A-16, FGDC is to develop standards, with input
    from a broad range of data users and providers. Geospatial standards are
    intended to facilitate data sharing and increase interoperability among
    automated geospatial information systems. In addition, according to
    Circular A-16, the committee is to adopt national and international
    standards in lieu of federal standards, whenever possible, and restrict
    its standards-development activities to areas not covered by other
    voluntary standards-consensus bodies.

    To address these responsibilities, FGDC has created a standards working
    group that includes federal agencies, states, academia, and the private
    sector. The working group has developed, and the committee has endorsed, a
    number of different geospatial standards, including metadata15 standards,
    and are working to continue developing additional standards. The
    committee's working group also coordinates with national and international
    standards bodies to ensure that potential users support their work.

    Regarding coordination with federal and other entities and development of
    the NSDI, FGDC has taken a variety of actions. It established a committee
    structure with participation from federal agencies and key nonfederal
    organizations such as NSGIC, and the National Association of Counties, and
    established several programs to help ensure greater participation from
    federal agencies as well as other government entities. The committee
    structure is composed of (1) a steering committee that sets the high-level
    strategic direction for FGDC and (2) agency-led subcommittees and working
    groups. The subcommittees and working groups provide the basic structure
    for institutions and individuals to interact and coordinate with each
    other during the implementation of the NSDI. FGDC membership includes 19
    federal agencies, with the Secretary of the Interior and the Deputy
    Director for Management, OMB, serving as Chair and Vice-Chair,
    respectively.

    Key actions taken by FGDC to develop the NSDI include implementing a
    National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse and establishing a framework of
    data themes. The clearinghouse is a decentralized system of Internet-based
    servers that contain descriptions of available geospatial data-over
    300,000 metadata records, and information on over 2 million digital images
    are currently available through the clearinghouse. It allows individual
    agencies, consortia, or others to promote their available geospatial data.
    The framework of data themes is a collaborative effort in which commonly
    used data "layers" are developed, maintained, and integrated by public and
    private organizations within a geographic area. Local, regional, state,
    and federal organizations and private companies can use the framework as a
    way to share resources, improve communications, and increase efficiency.
    Appendix IV provides detailed descriptions of the framework data themes
    and other geospatial data layers.

    OMB Circular A-16 also calls for FGDC to communicate information, via the
    Internet, about its activities related to NSDI development; committee
    memberships; and the status of agencies' work on committees,
    subcommittees, and working groups. FGDC is also to provide a collection of
    technical publications, articles, and reports related to the NSDI. To
    address these responsibilities, FGDC has established a Web site at
    www.fgdc.gov that provides information on its organizational structure and
    agencies' activities on its committees and subcommittees-including minutes
    of meetings for each. The Web site also provides, among other information,
    technical articles, fact sheets, newsletters, and news releases.

    In addition to FGDC's programs to support developing and implementing the
    NSDI, two other efforts are under way that aim to coordinate and
    consolidate geospatial information and resources across the federal
    government-the Geospatial One-Stop initiative and the National Map
    project.

    Geospatial One-Stop. Geospatial One-Stop is intended to accelerate the
    development and implementation of the NSDI to provide federal and state
    agencies with a single point of access to map-related data, which in turn
    will enable consolidation of redundant geospatial data. OMB selected
    Geospatial One-Stop as one of its e-government initiatives,16 in part to
    support development of an inventory of national geospatial assets, and
    also to support reducing redundancies in federal geospatial assets. The
    Department of the Interior was designated as the managing partner to lead
    the project, with development support from various other federal agencies.
    As of April 2004, over 9,000 metadata records were accessible through the
    Geospatial One-Stop portal, located at www.geodata.gov. According to the
    initiative's executive director, the portal will continue to add metadata
    records by implementing a metadata "harvesting" program to actively gather
    metadata from many sources, beginning with the clearinghouse. In addition,
    the portal includes a "marketplace" that provides information on planned
    and ongoing geospatial acquisitions for use by agencies that are
    considering acquiring new data to facilitate coordination of existing and
    planned acquisitions.

    The National Map. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing and
    implementing The National Map as a database to provide core geospatial
    data about the United States and its territories, similar to the data
    traditionally provided on USGS paper topographic maps. Through this
    project, USGS maintains an archive for the historic preservation of data
    and science applications; provides products and services that include
    paper maps, digital images, data download capabilities, and scientific
    reports; and promotes geographic integration and analyses. USGS relies
    heavily on partnerships with other federal agencies as well as states,
    localities, and the private sector to maintain the accuracy and currency
    of the national core geospatial data set as represented in The National
    Map.

    According to Interior's Assistant Secretary-Policy, Management, and
    Budget, FGDC, Geospatial One-Stop, and The National Map are coordinating
    their efforts in several areas, including developing standards and
    framework data layers for the NSDI, increasing the effectiveness of the
    clearinghouse, and making information about existing and planned data
    acquisitions available through the Geospatial One-Stop Web site.

    Table 1 summarizes the NSDI, Geospatial One-Stop, and National Map
    programs.

    Table 1: Sum

                   National Spatial Data    Geospatial One-Stop      The National Map
                      Infrastructure
                The technology, policies,   An e-government
                standards, human resources, initiative sponsored A resource to enable and
                and related activities      by OMB to enhance    communicate information
    Description necessary to acquire,       government           related to geographic
                process, distribute, use,   efficiency and       science.
                maintain, and preserve      improve citizen
                geospatial data.            service.
                To ensure that geospatial   To develop a
                data from multiple sources  geospatial portal to To provide trusted,
                (federal, state, local, and make easier, faster, integrated, seamless,
                tribal governments,         and less expensive   and continually
    Purpose     academia, and the private   access to geospatial maintained geospatial
                sector) are available and   information          base data and archives,
                easily integrated to        available for all    along with related
                enhance the understanding   levels of government models and applications.
                of our physical and         and the public.
                cultural world.
                Data themes that include                         Eight base data themes,
                geodetic control,           Seventeen data       including five NSDI
    Data        orthoimagery, elevation,    categories,          framework themes, and
    collected   transportation,             representing all     related scientific
                hydrography, cadastral, and NSDI data themes.    models and applications.
                government units.
                                            Adopts, adapts, or
                                            develops standards
                Common and repeated rules,  and Internet         Encourages and promotes
                conditions, guidelines, or  protocols necessary  the use of standards for
                characteristics for data    for effective        database creation and
                and related processes. NSDI implementation of    developing and assuring
    Standards   standards are developed and the NSDI; currently  conformance to
                promulgated by FGDC using   completing work on   standards, guidelines,
                an established process with FGDC information     and characterizations of
                input from a broad range of content standards    technology.
                data users and providers.   for the NSDI
                                            framework data
                                            themes.
    Web site    www.fgdc.gov/nsdi/nsdi.html www.geo-one-stop.gov www.nationalmap.usgs.gov

    mary of the NSDI, Geospatial One-Stop, and National Map Programs

    Source: GAO.

    In addition to its other responsibilities, OMB Circular A-16 charges FGDC
    with leading the preparation of a strategic plan for the implementation of
    the NSDI. Such a plan could ensure coherence among the many geospatial
    coordination activities that are under way and provide ways to measure
    success in reducing redundancies. In 1994, FGDC issued a strategic plan
    that described actions federal agencies and others could take to develop
    the NSDI, such as establishing data themes and standards, training
    programs, and partnerships to promote coordination and data sharing. In
    April 1997, FGDC published an updated plan-with input from many
    organizations and individuals having a stake in developing the NSDI-that
    defined strategic goals and objectives to support the vision of the NSDI
    as defined in the 1994 plan. No further updates have been made.

    As the current national geospatial strategy document, FGDC's 1997 plan is
    out of date. First, it does not reflect the recent broadened use of
    geospatial data and systems by many government agencies. In conjunction
    with EPA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), for
    example, now makes geospatial information about housing available to
    potential home buyers over the Internet. This is one of several agency
    geospatial projects that did not exist in 1997. Second, significant
    governmentwide geospatial efforts-including the Geospatial One-Stop and
    the National Map projects-did not exist in 1997 and are therefore not
    reflected in the strategic plan. Finally, the 1997 plan does not take into
    account the increased importance that has been placed on homeland security
    in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Geospatial data and
    systems have a key role to play in supporting decision makers and
    emergency responders in protecting critical infrastructure and responding
    to threats.

    In addition to being out of date, the 1997 document lacks important
    elements that should be included in an effective strategic plan. According
    to the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993,17 such plans should
    include a set of outcome-related strategic goals, a description of how
    those goals are to be achieved, and an identification of risk factors that
    could significantly affect their achievement. The plans should also
    include performance goals and measures, with resources needed to achieve
    them, as well as a description of the processes to be used to measure
    progress.

    While the 1997 NSDI plan contains a vision statement and goals and
    objectives, it does not include other essential elements. For example,
    FGDC's plan does not include a set of outcome-related goals, with actions
    to achieve those goals, that would bring together the various actions
    being taken to coordinate geospatial assets and achieve the vision of the
    NSDI. Specifically, the plan does not include a description of how the
    development and implementation of geospatial standards could foster
    coordination of national geospatial investments, and what actions FGDC is
    taking to help ensure that standards are implemented to effectively
    support such coordination. The plan also does not identify how the
    programs that FGDC uses to promote coordination among federal agencies and
    other entities fit together in a cohesive approach to support and
    facilitate collaboration.

    In addition to not developing a plan that integrates each of FGDC's
    activities to ensure that the actions it takes effectively contribute to
    its vision, the strategy does not identify key risk factors that could
    significantly affect the achievement of the goals and objectives.
    Identifying such risk factors would be the first step in mitigating them,
    helping to ensure that the plan's goals and objectives are achievable.

    Finally, the current plan does not include performance goals and measures
    to help ensure that the steps being taken are resulting in the development
    of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure. Performance goals and
    measures, with processes in place to measure progress, are important
    factors to ensuring the overall effectiveness of the plan and whether the
    objectives of the plan are being met.

    FGDC officials, in consultation with the executive director of Geospatial
    One-Stop, USGS, and participating FGDC member agencies, have initiated a
    "future directions" effort to begin the process of updating the plan.
    However, this activity is just beginning, and there is no time frame as to
    when a new strategy will be in place. Until a complete and up-to-date
    national strategic plan, with measurable goals and objectives for
    developing the NSDI, is in place, coordination will continue to be
    limited, resulting in unnecessary duplication of geospatial assets and
    activities.

    Individual Federal Agencies Have Coordinated Specific Geospatial
    Investments, but Have Not Fully Complied with OMB Guidance

    OMB Circular A-16 directs federal agencies to coordinate their investments
    to facilitate building the NSDI. The circular lists 11 specific
    responsibilities for federal agencies, including

    o preparing, maintaining, publishing, and implementing a strategy for
    advancing geographic information and related spatial data activities
    appropriate to their mission, in support of the NSDI;

    o using FGDC standards, including metadata and other appropriate
    standards, documenting spatial data with relevant metadata; and

    o making metadata available online through a registered NSDI-compatible
    clearinghouse site.

    In certain cases, federal agencies have taken steps to coordinate their
    specific geospatial activities. For example, Agriculture's U.S. Forest
    Service and Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) collaborated to
    develop the National Integrated Land System (NILS), which is intended to
    provide land managers with software tools for the collection, management,
    and sharing of survey data, cadastral data, and land records information.
    BLM and the Forest Service signed a formal interagency agreement at the
    outset of the project, coordinated project planning and management, and
    shared project funding. At an estimated cost of about $34 million, a
    single GIS-NILS-was developed that can accommodate the shared geospatial
    needs of both agencies, eliminating the need for each agency to develop a
    separate system. In another example, HUD and the Environmental Protection
    Agency (EPA) worked together to develop an enterprise GIS that combines
    information on HUD's community development and housing programs with EPA's
    environmental data, as well as other agencies' data, to provide homeowners
    and prospective home buyers with ready access to detailed local
    information about environmental hazards and other pertinent information,
    including data about roadways, population, and local landmarks.

    However, despite such examples of coordination, agencies have not always
    complied with OMB's broader geospatial coordination requirements. For
    example, only 10 of the 17 agencies that provided reports to FGDC reported
    having published geospatial strategies as required by Circular A-16. In
    addition, agencies' spatial data holdings are generally not compliant with
    FGDC standards. Specifically, the annual report shows that, of the 17
    agencies, only 4 reported that their spatial data holdings were compliant
    with FGDC standards. Ten agencies reported being partially compliant, and
    3 agencies provided answers that were unclear as to whether they were
    compliant. Finally, regarding the requirement for agencies to post their
    data to the clearinghouse,18 only 6 of the 17 agencies indicated that
    their data or metadata were published through the clearinghouse, 10
    indicated that their data were not published, and 1 indicated that some
    data were available through the clearinghouse.

    According to comments provided by agencies to FGDC in the annual report
    submissions, there are several reasons why agencies have not complied with
    their responsibilities under Circular A-16, including the lack of
    performance measures that link funding to coordination efforts. According
    to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, few incentives exist for
    cross-agency cooperation because budget allocations are linked to
    individual agency performance rather than to cooperative efforts. In
    addition, according to the USGS, agencies' activities and funding are
    driven primarily by individual agency missions and do not address
    interagency geospatial coordination. In addition to the information
    provided in the annual report, Department of Agriculture officials said
    there are no clear performance measures that link funding to interagency
    coordination.

    OMB's Oversight of Federal Geospatial Assets and Activities Has Not
    Identified Redundant Investments

    OMB has recognized that potentially redundant geospatial assets need to be
    identified and that federal geospatial systems and information efforts
    need to be coordinated. To help identify potential redundancies, OMB's
    Administrator of E-Government and Information Technology testified in June
    2003 that the agency uses three key sources of information:

    o business cases for planned or ongoing IT investments, submitted by
    agencies as part of the annual budget process;

    o comparisons of agency lines of business with the Federal Enterprise
    Architecture (FEA); and

    o annual reports compiled by FGDC and submitted to OMB.

    In addition, OMB has asked for detailed information from federal agencies
    on specific types of geospatial information and systems assets as an
    additional means of identifying and minimizing redundant IT investments.

    None of OMB's major oversight processes-the annual review process
    associated with development of the federal budget, the FEA effort, and the
    FGDC-administered Circular A-16 reporting process-have been effective
    tools to help OMB identify major redundancies in federal GIS investments.
    According to OMB officials responsible for oversight of geospatial
    activities, the agency's methods have not yet led to the identification of
    redundant investments that could be targeted for consolidation or
    elimination. The OMB officials said they believe that, with further
    refinement, these tools will be effective in the future in helping them
    identify redundancies. However, until more effective oversight measures
    are in place, duplicative and potentially costly geospatial data and
    projects are likely to continue, resulting in inefficient use of limited
    resources.

    IT Investment Business Cases Do Not Completely Describe Geospatial Data
    Assets

    In their IT business cases submitted annually as part of the budget
    process, agencies must report the types of data that will be used,
    including geospatial data. According to OMB's branch chief for information
    policy and technology, OMB reviews these business cases to determine
    whether any redundant geospatial investments are being funded.
    Specifically, the process for reviewing a business case includes comparing
    proposed investments, IT management and strategic plans, and other
    business cases, in an attempt to determine whether a proposed investment
    duplicates another agency's existing or already-approved investment.

    However, business cases submitted to OMB under Circular A-11 do not always
    include enough information to effectively identify potential geospatial
    data and systems redundancies because OMB does not require such
    information in agency business cases. For example, OMB does not require
    that agencies clearly link information about their proposed or existing
    geospatial investments to the spatial data categories (themes) established
    by Circular A-16. Geospatial systems and data are ubiquitous throughout
    federal agencies and are frequently integrated into agencies'
    mission-related systems and business processes. Business cases that focus
    on mission-related aspects of agency systems and data may not provide the
    information necessary to compare specific geospatial investments with
    other, potentially similar investments unless the data identified in the
    business cases are categorized to allow OMB to more readily compare data
    sets and identify potential redundancies.

    For example, FEMA's fiscal year 2004 business case for its Multi-Hazard
    Flood Map Modernization project indicates that topographic and base data
    are used to perform engineering analyses for estimating flood discharge,
    develop floodplain mapping, and locate areas of interest related to hazard
    areas. However, FEMA does not categorize these data according to
    standardized spatial data themes specified in Circular A-16, such as
    elevation (bathymetric or terrestrial), transportation, and hydrography.
    As a result, it is difficult to determine whether the data overlap with
    other federal data sets. Similarly, Census's fiscal year 2005 business
    case for its MAF/TIGER Enhancement project indicates that state, local,
    tribal, and private-sector spatial data are used for the realignment of
    the street centerlines and other features. However, like the Flood Map
    Modernization business case, the MAF/TIGER Enhancement business case does
    not categorize these data according to the Circular A-16 data themes,
    which would allow OMB to compare them with other agencies' holdings.
    Without categorizing the data using the standard data themes as an
    important step toward coordinating that data, information about agencies'
    planned or ongoing use of geospatial data in their business cases cannot
    be effectively assessed to determine whether it could be integrated with
    other existing or planned federal geospatial assets.

    The Federal Enterprise Architecture Is Not Yet Effective in Identifying
    Potentially Redundant Geospatial Investments

    An FEA is being constructed that, once it is further developd, may help
    identify potentially redundant geospatial investments. It will comprise a
    collection of five interrelated "reference models" designed to facilitate
    cross-agency analysis and the identification of duplicative investments,
    gaps, and opportunities for collaboration within and across federal
    agencies. According to recent GAO testimony on the status of the FEA,
    although OMB has made progress on the FEA, it remains a work in process
    and is still maturing.19 The five FEA reference models are summarized in
    table 2.

    Table 2: FEA Reference Models

    Reference model          Description                  Status
                                Describes the business
                                operations (lines of
                                business) of the federal
    Business Reference Model government independent of    Version 2.0 released
                                the agencies that perform    June 2003
                                them, including defining the
                                services provided to state
                                and local governments.
                                Identifies and classifies IT
                                service (i.e., application)
    Service Component        components that support      Version 1.0 released
    Reference Model          federal agencies and promote June 2003
                                the reuse of components
                                across agencies.
                                Describes how technology is
                                supporting the delivery of
    Technical Reference      service components,          Version 1.1 released
    Model                    including relevant standards August 2003
                                for implementing the
                                technology.
                                Provides a common set of
    Performance Reference    general performance outputs  Version 1.0 released
    Model                    and measures for agencies to September 2003
                                use to achieve business
                                goals and objectives.
                                Describes, at an aggregate
                                level, the types of data and
    Data and Information     information that support
    Reference Model          program and business line    Not yet released
                                operations, and the
                                relationships among these
                                types.

    Source: GAO.

    OMB has identified multiple purposes for the FEA. One purpose cited is to
    inform agencies' individual enterprise architectures and to facilitate
    their development by providing a common classification structure and
    vocabulary. Another stated purpose is to provide a governmentwide
    framework that can increase agencies' awareness of IT capabilities that
    other agencies have or plan to acquire, so that they can explore
    opportunities for reuse. Still another stated purpose is to help OMB
    decision makers identify opportunities for collaboration among agencies
    through the implementation of common, reusable, and interoperable
    solutions. GAO supports the FEA as a framework for achieving these ends.

    According to OMB's branch chief for information policy and technology, OMB
    reviews all new investment proposals against the federal government's
    lines of business in its Business Reference Model to identify those
    investments that appear to have some commonality. Many of the model's
    lines of business include areas in which geospatial information is of
    critical importance, including disaster management (the cleanup and
    restoration activities that take place after a disaster); environmental
    management (functions required to monitor the environment and weather,
    determine proper environmental standards, and address environmental
    hazards and contamination); and transportation (federally supported
    activities related to the safe passage, conveyance, or transportation of
    goods and people).

    The Service Component Reference Model includes specific references to
    geospatial data and systems. It is intended to identify and classify IT
    service components (i.e., applications) that support federal agencies and
    promote the reuse of components across agencies. The model includes 29
    types of services-including customer relationship management and
    visualization service, which defines capabilities that support the
    conversion of data into graphical or picture form. One component of
    visualization service is associated with mapping, geospatial, elevation,
    and GPS services. Identification of redundant investments under the
    visualization service could provide OMB with information that would be
    useful in identifying redundant geospatial systems investments.

    Finally, the Data and Information Reference Model would likely be the most
    critical FEA element in identifying potentially redundant geospatial
    investments. According to OMB, it will categorize the government's
    information along general content areas and describe data components that
    are common to many business processes or activities.

    Although the FEA includes elements that could be used to help identify
    redundant investments, it is not yet sufficiently developed to be useful
    in identifying redundant geospatial investments. While the Business and
    Service Component reference models have aspects related to geospatial
    investments, the Data and Information Reference Model may be the critical
    element for identifying agency use of geospatial data because it is
    planned to provide standard categories of data that could support
    comparing data sets among federal agencies. However, this model has not
    yet been completed and thus is not in use. Until the FEA is completed and
    OMB develops effective analytical processes to use it, it will not be able
    to contribute to identifying potentially redundant geospatial investments.

    FGDC-Administered Agency Reporting Does Not Provide Adequate Information
    for Identifying Redundant Geospatial Investments

    OMB Circular A-16 requires agencies to report annually to OMB on their
    achievements in advancing geographic information and related spatial data
    activities appropriate to their missions and in support of the NSDI. To
    support this requirement, FGDC has developed a structure for agencies to
    use to report such information in a consistent format and for aggregating
    individual agencies' information. Using the agency reports, the committee
    prepares an annual report to OMB purportedly identifying the scope and
    depth of spatial data activities across agencies.

    For the fiscal year 2003 report, agencies were asked to respond to a
    number of specific questions about their geospatial activities, including
    (1) whether a detailed strategy had been developed for integrating
    geographic information and spatial data into their business processes, (2)
    how they ensure that data are not already available prior to collecting
    new geospatial data, and (3) whether geospatial data are a component of
    the agency's enterprise architecture. However, additional information that
    is critical to identifying redundancies was not required. For example,
    agencies were not requested to provide information on their specific GIS
    investments or the geospatial data sets they collected and maintained.
    According to the FGDC staff director, the annual reports are not meant to
    provide an inventory of federal geospatial assets. As a result, they
    cannot provide OMB with sufficient information to identify redundancies in
    federal geospatial investments.

    Further, because not all agencies provide reports to FGDC, the information
    that OMB has available to identify redundancies is incomplete. Eight of
    the FGDC partner agencies, including the Departments of Energy, Justice,
    and Homeland Security, and the National Science Foundation, did not
    provide reports for fiscal year 2003. In addition, nonpartner agencies,
    including the Departments of Education, Labor, Veterans Affairs and the
    Treasury, did not provide reports, although all agencies that collect,
    use, or disseminate geospatial information, regardless of whether they are
    FGDC partners, are required to do so. According to OMB's program examiner
    for the Department of the Interior, OMB does not know in detail how well
    agencies are complying with the reporting requirements in Circular A-16.
    Until the information reported by agencies is consistent and complete, OMB
    may not be able to effectively use what information they do have to
    identify potential geospatial redundancies.

    OMB's Supplemental Data Requests Have Not Provided Sufficient Information
    to Identify Potentially Redundant Investments

    In addition to the three tools OMB uses to identify potentially redundant
    geospatial investments, it has also issued special requests to agencies to
    report on their geospatial investments to help support its oversight
    function for geospatial information, as required by OMB Circular A-16. For
    example, as part of the 2004 budget cycle, OMB initiated a pilot project
    to collect detailed cost information on one geospatial data
    theme-elevation data. Despite specifying criteria for identifying
    elevation data, the pilot encountered problems.

    FGDC developed criteria for this pilot process, but OMB did not follow it.
    Budget examiners at OMB modified the criteria to take into account the
    agencies' widely varying missions, and broadened the criteria for
    individual agencies to make it easier for them to identify elevation data
    in the same way they tracked the data internally. As a result, elevation
    data were not reported consistently and could not be compared across
    agencies.

    A data collection effort associated with the fiscal year 2005 budget
    process raised the same questions as the 2004 effort about its
    effectiveness to support OMB's oversight responsibilities. As part of the
    fiscal year 2005 budget cycle, OMB again requested supplemental
    information from federal agencies to identify which agencies are
    collecting geospatial data, for what purposes, and covering which
    geographic areas; federal expenditures related to data collection and the
    extent of leveraging of those expenditures; the extent of sharing of and
    public access to federal geospatial data; and the use of standards.
    Specifically, OMB asked agencies that spend $500,000 or more on any
    geospatial data to report information on all types of geospatial data,
    with a focus on the seven types of framework data identified by FGDC.
    However, because the earlier problems have not been addressed, the 2005
    supplemental data request is also unlikely to provide useful information
    for OMB to identify redundant federal geospatial investments.

    Federal Agencies Continue to Collect and Maintain Duplicative Data and
    Systems

    Without a complete and up-to-date strategy for coordination or effective
    investment oversight by OMB, federal agencies continue to acquire and
    maintain duplicative data and systems. According to the initial business
    case for the Geospatial One-Stop initiative, about 50 percent of the
    federal government's geospatial data investment is duplicative. Such
    duplication is widely recognized. Officials from federal and state
    agencies and OMB have all stated that unnecessarily redundant geospatial
    data and systems exist throughout the federal government. The Staff
    Director of FGDC agreed that redundancies continue to exist throughout the
    federal government and that more work needs to be done to specifically
    identify them. DHS's Geospatial Information Officer also acknowledged
    redundancies in geospatial data acquisitions at his agency, and said that
    DHS is working to create an enterprisewide approach to managing geospatial
    data in order to reduce redundancies. Similarly, state representatives to
    the National States Geographic Information Council have identified cases
    in which they have observed multiple federal agencies funding the
    acquisition of similar data to meet individual agency needs.

    We found that USGS, FEMA, and the Department of Defense (DOD) each
    maintain separate elevation data sets: USGS's National Elevation Dataset,
    FEMA's flood hazard mapping elevation data program, and DOD's elevation
    data regarding Defense installations. FEMA officials indicated that they
    obtained much of their data from state and local partners or purchased
    them from the private sector because data from those sources better fit
    their accuracy and resolution requirements than elevation data available
    from USGS. Similarly, according to one Army official, available USGS
    elevation data sets generally do not include military installations, and
    even when such data are available for specific installations, they are
    typically not accurate enough for DOD's purposes. As a result, DOD
    collects its own elevation data for its installations. In this example, if
    USGS elevation data-collection projects were coordinated with FEMA and DOD
    to help ensure that the needs of as many federal agencies as possible were
    met through the project, potentially costly and redundant data-collection
    activities could be avoided. According to the USGS Associate Director for
    Geography, USGS is currently working to develop relationships with FEMA
    and DOD, along with other federal agencies, to determine where these
    agencies' data-collection activities overlap.

    In another example, officials at the Department of Agriculture and the
    National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) both said they have
    purchased data sets containing street-centerline data from commercial
    sources, even though the Census Bureau maintains such data in its TIGER
    database. According to these officials, they purchased the data
    commercially because they had concerns about the accuracy of the TIGER
    data. The Census Bureau is currently working to enhance its TIGER data in
    preparation for the 2010 census, and a major objective of the project is
    to improve the accuracy of its street location data. However, despite
    Agriculture and NGA's use of street location data, Census did not include
    either agency in the TIGER enhancement project plan's list of agencies
    that will be affected by the initiative. Without better coordination,
    agencies such as Agriculture and NGA are likely to continue to need to
    purchase redundant commercial data sets in the future.

    Further, in a recent report on coastal mapping and charting, the National
    Research Council cited numerous examples of redundant activity in coastal
    mapping, including aerial imaging, shoreline mapping, and habitat
    mapping.20 The council noted that redundancy in data collection is of most
    concern, as it is by far the most expensive of geospatial activities, and
    concluded that agencies do not have an efficient means of determining
    whether an area of interest has been previously mapped. Without
    better-coordinated activities, federal agencies are likely to continue to
    duplicate data collection.

    Conclusions

    The longstanding problem of effectively coordinating federal geospatial
    investments to reduce unnecessary redundancies and their concomitant costs
    has not yet been resolved. A number of activities have been initiated with
    the aim of better coordinating geospatial investments, including the
    OMB-required activities of FGDC, as well as the Geospatial One-Stop
    initiative and other projects such as The National Map. In addition,
    individual agencies have collaborated on specific geospatial projects, and
    OMB has adopted several processes for identifying redundant geospatial
    investments.

    However, these efforts have not been very successful in reducing
    redundancies in geospatial investments. A complete and up-to-date
    strategic plan to coordinate the government's various geospatial
    activities is lacking, and federal agencies have not fully complied with
    OMB's Circular A-16 guidance. Similarly, OMB's processes for identifying
    duplicative federal geospatial investments have not proven effective.

    Until a comprehensive national strategy is in place, the current state of
    ineffective coordination is likely to remain, and the vision of the NSDI
    will likely not be fully realized. In addition, without effective
    oversight by OMB, agencies might not have adequate incentives to fully
    coordinate their geospatial activities, and OMB will not be able to
    identify potentially duplicative geospatial investments. Until these
    shortcomings are addressed, cost savings from eliminating duplicative
    geospatial investments will not materialize.

    Recommendations for Executive Action

    In order to encourage more coordination of geospatial assets, reduce
    needless redundancies, and decrease costs, we recommend that the Director
    of OMB and the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the FGDC,
    establish milestones for the development of an updated national geospatial
    data strategic plan, ensuring that the plan includes

    o outcome-related strategic goals and objectives;

    o a plan for how the goals and objectives are to be achieved;

    o identification of key risk factors that could significantly affect the
    achievement of the general goals and objectives and a mitigation plan for
    those risk factors; and

    o performance goals and measures that will be used to ensure that the
    goals and objectives of the NSDI are being met.

    To encourage better agency compliance with Circular A-16, we also
    recommend that the Director of OMB develop criteria for assessing the
    extent of interagency coordination on proposals for potential geospatial
    investments. Based on these criteria, funding for potential geospatial
    investments should be delayed or denied when coordination is not
    adequately addressed in agencies' proposals.

    Finally, we recommend that the Director of OMB strengthen the agency's
    oversight actions to more effectively coordinate federal geospatial data
    and systems acquisitions and thereby reduce potentially redundant
    investments. Specifically, OMB should

    o require that information about planned geospatial data acquisitions
    provided in agencies' business cases include specific categorizations of
    all geospatial data according to the standardized data themes defined by
    FGDC and described in OMB Circular A-16; and

    o require that all federal agencies submit annual reports to FGDC on their
    GIS investments, including geospatial systems and data sets already in
    place.

    Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

    We received oral comments on a draft of this report from representatives
    of OMB's Offices of Information and Regulatory Affairs and Resource
    Management and from the Assistant Secretary of the Interior-Policy,
    Management, and Budget. The officials from both agencies generally agreed
    with the content of our draft report and our recommendations and provided
    technical comments, which have been incorporated where appropriate. In
    addition, the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services and the
    Bureau of the Census also provided oral technical comments, which have
    been incorporated where appropriate.

    Concerning our recommendation that OMB strengthen its oversight to more
    effectively coordinate federal geospatial data and systems acquisitions,
    the OMB representatives stated that they are planning to institute a new
    process to collect more complete information on agencies' geospatial
    investments by requiring agencies to report all such investments through
    the Geospatial One-Stop Web portal. OMB representatives told us that
    reporting requirements for agencies would be detailed in a new directive
    that OMB expects to issue by the end of summer 2004.

    The Department of the Interior's Assistant Secretary of the
    Interior-Policy, Management, and Budget noted that our report emphasizes
    geospatial investments rather than the broader and more comprehensive
    geospatial strategies outlined in OMB Circular A-16, and pointed out that
    encouraging the growth of a national spatial data infrastructure-versus
    tracking geospatial investments and minimizing duplication-required
    different approaches. In the department's view, activities by FGDC and the
    Geospatial One-Stop initiative to develop an infrastructure for
    information sharing have established business practices that can result in
    sound investments. We agree with the department that these are valuable
    activities that can promote sound investments. Moreover, a detailed
    strategic plan, coupled with improved oversight and agency compliance with
    coordination guidance, remain critical steps to achieving the objective of
    reducing duplication in federal geospatial investments.

    We are sending copies of this report to the Chairman and Ranking Minority
    Member, House Committee on Government Reform, and the Ranking Minority
    Member, Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental
    Relations and the Census. In addition, we are providing copies to the
    Director of OMB and the Secretary of the Interior, and the report is
    available at no charge on the GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov.

    Should you have any questions about this report, please contact me at
    (202) 512-6240 or John de Ferrari, Assistant Director, at (202) 512-6335.
    We can also be reached by e-mail at koontzl@gao.gov and
    deferrarij@gao.gov, respectively. Other key contributors to this report
    were Michael Holland, Steven Law, and Elizabeth Roach.

    Linda D. Koontz Director, Information Management Issues

    Objective, Scope, and MethodologyAppendix I

    Our objective was to determine the extent to which the federal government
    is coordinating the sharing of geospatial assets, including through
    oversight measures in place at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB),
    in order to identify and reduce redundancies in federal geospatial data
    and systems.

    To address this objective, we reviewed relevant federal guidance and
    legislation, including The E-Government Act of 2002; The Clinger-Cohen Act
    of 1996; The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; Executive Order 12906:
    Coordinating Geographic Data Acquisition and Access; OMB Circular A-11:
    Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget; OMB Circular A-16:
    Coordination of Geographic Information and Related Spatial Data
    Activities; and OMB Circular A-130: Management of Federal Information
    Resources. Appendix III provides additional information about each. We
    also reviewed agency IT business cases, known as Exhibit 300s, submitted
    as part of the annual budget process. In addition, we evaluated the
    Federal Enterprise Architecture reference models and various FGDC
    documents and interviewed officials from the following federal agencies in
    the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area:

    o Department of Agriculture;

    o Department of Commerce, including the Census Bureau and the National
    Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;

    o Department of Defense, including the National Geospatial-Intelligence
    Agency;

    o Department of Health and Human Services;

    o Department of Homeland Security, including the Federal Emergency
    Management Agency;

    o Department of the Interior, including the Bureau of Land Management and
    the U.S. Geological Survey;

    o Environmental Protection Agency; and

    o Office of Management and Budget.

    We interviewed program officials representing key federal geospatial
    projects, including the Federal Geographic Data Committee, Geospatial
    One-Stop, The National Map, and the TIGER Modernization project. For these
    projects, we reviewed key documents such as capital asset plans, project
    plans, and other project documentation.

    To better understand federal efforts to coordinate with state and local
    governments and the private sector, we interviewed state and local
    government and private sector officials at several conferences, including
    the ESRI Federal User Conference and the National Association of Counties
    Legislative Conference. In addition, we conducted focus groups at three
    national conferences in March 2004: (1) The National League of Cities
    Congressional City Conference; (2) the Management Association for Private
    Photogrammetric Surveyors Federal Programs Conference; and (3) the
    National States Geographic Information Council Midyear Conference. At
    these focus groups we asked state and local government and private sector
    officials for their views on what the federal government was doing to
    coordinate its geospatial activities with them and what could be done to
    improve the coordination of federal geospatial activities. A total of 34
    state and local government and private sector officials attended these
    focus groups.

    In addition, to determine the extent of state and local participation in
    the National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse and the Geospatial One-Stop
    portal, we obtained information from FGDC officials about the metadata
    records contained in the clearinghouse and conducted analyses of the data
    referenced in the Geospatial One-Stop portal.

    We conducted our work from October 2003 through May 2004 in accordance
    with generally accepted government auditing standards.

    Selected Agencies' Geospatial ActivitiesAppendix II

    Many federal agencies have established geospatial activities to help them
    achieve their specific goals and objectives. Table 3 highlights selected
    federal geospatial activities at certain agencies. The table is not
    intended to be a comprehensive list of agency geospatial activities.

    Table 3: Selected Geospatial Activities at Federal Agencies

    Agency                            Activities
                                         The Forest Service uses GIS to provide
                                         information on vegetation, water, fire,
                                         and soil for specified forests. The
                                         agency also develops digital orthophoto
                                         quad images and maintains a
    Department of Agriculture         clearinghouse with geospatial metadata.
    (USDA)/Forest Service             In addition, the Forest Service is
                                         working with Interior's Bureau of Land
                                         Management to develop the National
                                         Integrated Land System, to support the
                                         management of cadastral records and land
                                         parcel information.
                                         NCGC Internet Mapping offers Web access
                                         to view samples of hydrography, digital
                                         orthophotography, digital topographic
    USDA/National Cartography and     data, and other integrated data layers.
    Geospatial Center (NCGC)          In addition, NCGC supports an Aerial
                                         Photography Field Office with a library
                                         of over 10 million images dating from
                                         1955 to the present.
                                         The NRCS Geospatial Data Gateway
                                         provides easy and consistent access to
    USDA/Natural Resources            natural resource data by geographic area
    Conservation Service (NRCS)       such as county or state. Users can
                                         search for data by theme, such as
                                         digital orthoimagery, digital elevation
                                         models, or soils.
                                         The FSA is implementing software that
                                         will be important in the maintenance of
    USDA/Farm Service Agency (FSA)    the Common Land Unit (CLU), which will
                                         track all farming activity across the
                                         country. The CLU should be completed
                                         nationwide in fiscal year 2005.
                                         The Census Bureau developed the
                                         Topologically Integrated Geographic
                                         Encoding and Referencing (TIGER)
                                         database, which automates the mapping
                                         and related geographic activities
                                         required to support the decennial census
                                         and the bureau's sample survey programs.
                                         Census is also working on the Master
                                         Address File/TIGER (MAF/TIGER) Accuracy
                                         Improvement Project, which seeks to
                                         improve accuracy in TIGER by acquiring
    Department of Commerce            and using, as a first priority among
    (DOC)/Census Bureau               data sources, digital files prepared and
                                         provided by state, local, and tribal
                                         governments. In addition, Census
                                         maintains the TIGER Enhancement
                                         Database, which includes metadata about
                                         state and local geospatial data. Census
                                         also conducts the Boundary and
                                         Annexation Survey to update the
                                         information it has about the legal
                                         boundaries, names, governmental status,
                                         and types of municipalities in the
                                         United States.
                                         NOAA makes extensive use of GIS
                                         technology to store the large quantity
                                         of data it collects. For example, the
                                         Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
                                         and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center
                                         collect data about the physical and
                                         biological characteristics of the Bering
                                         Sea and the Gulf of Alaska, which are
                                         then stored in a GIS. In addition,
    DOC/National Oceanic and          NOAA's Coastal Services Center develops
    Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) products and services through project
                                         partnerships that address specific
                                         technical needs and capacities of the
                                         coastal management community. These
                                         projects typically focus on data access
                                         and distribution, Internet mapping, and
                                         spatial data analysis and visualization
                                         as a means of addressing coastal
                                         hazards, smart growth, marine protected
                                         areas, or coastal permitting issues.
    Department of Defense             NGA provides timely, accurate, global
    (DOD)/National Geospatial         aeronautical, topographical, and
    Intelligence Agency (NGA)         maritime geospatial information in
                                         support of national security objectives.
    Agency                            Activities
                                         The Army Corps of Engineers collects
                                         hydrographic data along the Inland
                                         Waterway to ensure that navigation
                                         channels are dredged to authorized
                                         depths; aerial photography and elevation
                                         data of authorized projects to support a
    DOD/Army Corps of Engineers       variety of planning- and
                                         construction-related activities, and
                                         uses geospatial technologies as part of
                                         its water control, real estate, planning
                                         and reconnaissance studies, emergency
                                         management, regulatory, environmental
                                         restoration, engineering and
                                         reconstruction missions.
                                         The Navy's Oceanographic Information
                                         System collects, analyzes, processes,
                                         manages, produces, and distributes
                                         classified and unclassified
    DOD/Navy                          oceanographic data and products. In
                                         addition, the system functions as the
                                         initial collection and processing entity
                                         for mapping and charting geodesy data
                                         and information.
                                         The Los Alamos National Laboratory's
                                         GISLab supplies geospatial information
                                         for internal and external users of
    Department of Energy (DOE)/Los    geospatial data. Current projects
    Alamos National Laboratory        include fire-related spatial data,
                                         floodplain mapping and hydrological
                                         modeling, field mapping for forest
                                         management, and mesoscale climate change
                                         modeling.
                                         The National Renewable Energy Laboratory
                                         site provides dynamically generated maps
                                         of renewable energy resources that
                                         determine which energy technologies are
    DOE/National Renewable Energy     viable solutions in the United States.
    Laboratory                        These maps include GIS Clean Cities Map,
                                         Wind Map, Transportation Technologies
                                         Map, Map of Indian Lands, Solar Maps,
                                         and Federal Energy Management Program
                                         Maps.
                                         The Agency for Toxic Substances and
    Department of Health and Human    Disease Registry manages a geospatial
    Services (HHS)/Agency for Toxic   data warehouse that contains base map,
    Substances and Disease Registry   sociodemographic, emergency response,
                                         environmental, hazard, and health
                                         resource data.
                                         The Centers for Disease Control and
                                         Prevention engages in a variety of GIS
                                         activities that serve disease
                                         surveillance and prevention themes. The
                                         National Center for Injury Prevention
                                         and Control publishes Web-based maps on
                                         injury statistics and mortality atlases;
                                         the National Center for Chronic Disease
                                         Prevention and Heath Promotion uses GIS
                                         to analyze and publish geospatial data,
    HHS/Centers for Disease Control   such as mapping risk factor data and the
    and Prevention                    prevalence of fluoridated water systems,
                                         cardiovascular mortality atlases, etc.;
                                         and the National Center for
                                         Environmental Health (NCEH) has recently
                                         deployed the Environmental Public Health
                                         Geography Network, a system designed to
                                         publish and share geospatial data,
                                         metadata and maps. NCEH also deployed
                                         the Spatial Epidemiology and Emergency
                                         Management System, a Web-based system to
                                         provide easy and rapid access to and
                                         mapping of geospatial data.
                                         The National Cancer Institute maintains
                                         the Cancer Mortality Maps & Graph Web
    HHS/National Institutes of        Site, which provides information on
    Health/National Cancer Institute  geographic patterns and time trends of
                                         cancer death rates from 1950 to 1994 for
                                         more than 40 types of cancer.
                                         Various DHS components are frequent
                                         users of geospatial information,
    Department of Homeland Security   including the Federal Emergency
    (DHS)                             Management Agency (FEMA), the Bureau of
                                         Transportation Security, the Coast
                                         Guard, and the Secret Service.
                                         FEMA provides a full range of GIS
                                         services to all FEMA program offices,
                                         including storm tracking and damage
                                         prediction maps, remote sensing maps,
                                         maps of federally declared counties in
                                         an affected state, basic census
                                         demographics about an affected area by
                                         county and census block, street
                                         locations, and summaries of
    DHS/Federal Emergency Management  teleregistered and service center
    Agency (FEMA)                     applicants, housing inspection numbers,
                                         Help-line calls, disaster unemployment
                                         claims, Small Business Administration
                                         applicants, etc. In addition, FEMA's
                                         Flood Map Modernization Program will
                                         update FEMA's current stock of flood
                                         maps in order to produce more accurate
                                         and accessible digital flood maps and
                                         make those maps accessible via the
                                         Internet.
    Agency                            Activities
                                         BLM uses GIS to store and analyze public
                                         land and administrative jurisdiction
    Department of the Interior        information. In addition, BLM is working
    (DOI)/Bureau of Land Management   with the Forest Service to develop the
    (BLM)                             National Integrated Land System (NILS)
                                         to provide business solutions for the
                                         management of cadastral records and land
                                         parcel information in a GIS environment.
                                         The Fish and Wildlife Service uses GIS
                                         technology to: maintain wetlands data,
                                         as referenced in OMB Circular A-16, and
                                         share that data through a cooperative
                                         agreement with The National Map; create
                                         and share a variety of information on
    DOI/Fish and Wildlife Service     endangered species, fisheries and
    (FWS)                             habitat conservation, and national
                                         wildlife refuges; make metadata
                                         available on the NSDI through a
                                         cooperative agreement with USGS; and
                                         share an interactive mapping application
                                         with basic information on Fish and
                                         Wildlife Service offices through
                                         Geospatial One-Stop.
                                         The National Park Service uses
                                         geospatial data to enhance preservation
                                         of park resources with scientific
                                         spatial analysis and modeling, enhance
    DOI/National Park Service         visitor experiences with GPS tools and
                                         tips; provide an Interactive Map Center
                                         to deliver base maps and park brochure
                                         maps for geographic reference and
                                         navigation to and within parks; and
                                         provide search and rescue maps.
                                         USGS's Cooperative Topographic Mapping
                                         program works with partners in other
                                         federal agencies; in state, county, and
                                         local governments, and in the private
                                         sector to ensure that accurate, current,
                                         and complete data that locate and
                                         describe the Earth's features are
                                         available and that products such as the
                                         USGS topographic series maps are kept up
                                         to date. The Geographic Analysis and
                                         Monitoring program conducts research to
                                         understand the rates, causes, and
                                         consequences of landscape change over
                                         time and uses that research to model
                                         change processes for predicting future
                                         conditions. The Land Remote Sensing
                                         program, working with NASA, NOAA,
                                         commercial satellite companies, state
                                         and local governments, and international
    DOI/U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) programs, collects, maintains, and
                                         distributes millions of images acquired
                                         from satellite and aircraft sensors. In
                                         addition, USGS provides a site that
                                         serves as a node of the NSDI for finding
                                         and accessing USGS spatial data related
                                         to hydrography. In addition, USGS is
                                         developing and implementing The National
                                         Map as a database to provide core
                                         geospatial data about the United States
                                         and its territories similar to the data
                                         provided on USGS paper topographic maps.
                                         Through this project, USGS maintains an
                                         archive for the historic preservation of
                                         data and science applications; provides
                                         products and services that include paper
                                         maps, digital images, data download
                                         capabilities, and scientific reports;
                                         and promotes geographic integration and
                                         analyses.
    Department of Justice/Justice
    Programs Office for Victims of    Uses GIS to map crime victim services.
    Crime
                                         The Bureau of Transportation Statistics
                                         maintains the National Transportation
                                         Atlas Data Shapefile Download Center,
    Department of Transportation      which is a set of transportation-related
    (DOT)/Bureau of Transportation    geospatial data for the United States,
    Statistics (BTS)                  including transportation networks,
                                         transportation facilities, and other
                                         spatial data used as geographic
                                         reference.
                                         The Volpe National Transportation
                                         Systems Center uses GIS to identify data
    DOT/Volpe National Transportation such as county boundaries, roadways, and
    Systems Center                    railroads, measure ambient noise levels,
                                         and search for locations such as
                                         historic beacon sites and environmental
                                         data.
                                         EPA uses a variety of geospatial data in
                                         order to support its mission to protect
                                         human health and the environment.
                                         Specific examples of activities
                                         supported by geospatial information
                                         include: conducting analyses to help
                                         manage urban/suburban growth, responding
                                         to oil spills and other emergency
                                         situations, identifying sources of
                                         pollution for source water protection,
    Environmental Protection Agency   tracking toxic substances, cleaning up
    (EPA)                             and monitoring Superfund sites,
                                         detecting and evaluating landscape
                                         patterns and changes, analyzing the
                                         relationship between health and
                                         environmental contaminants, and
                                         monitoring water quality. EPA also
                                         maintains the Environmental Information
                                         Management System (EIMS), the EPA node
                                         on the Federal Geographic Data Committee
                                         Clearinghouse. Users can obtain metadata
                                         about EPA Geospatial data through EIMS.
    Agency                            Activities
                                         The Enterprise Geographic Information
                                         System combines information on HUD's
                                         community development and housing
                                         programs with EPA's environmental data,
                                         and other agencies' data, to provide
    Department of Housing and Urban   location, type, and performance of
    Development (HUD) and the         HUD-funded activities in every
    Environmental Protection Agency   neighborhood across the country and
                                         select EPA information on brownfields,
                                         hazardous wastes, air pollution, and
                                         wastewater discharges. It also provides
                                         information on population,
                                         transportation and roadways, and local
                                         landmarks.
                                         NASA's Global Change Master Directory
                                         enables users to locate and obtain
                                         access to Earth science data sets and
    National Aeronautics and Space    services relevant to the global change
    Administration (NASA)             and Earth science research. The database
                                         holds more than 15,000 descriptions of
                                         Earth science data sets and services
                                         covering all aspects of Earth and
                                         environmental sciences.
                                         The TVA provides an interactive map of
    Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)  the entire TVA power system, a network
                                         of reservoirs and power plants.

    Source: GAO.

    Key Federal Laws, Policies, and Guidance Affecting Geospatial Information
    and SystemsAppendix III

    The E-Government Act of 2002, Section 216: Common Protocols for Geographic
    Information Systems. The purposes of this section are to (1) reduce
    redundant data collection and information and (2) promote collaboration
    and use of standards for government geographic information. It requires
    the Director of OMB to oversee (1) an interagency initiative to develop
    common geospatial protocols; (2) the coordination with state, local, and
    tribal governments, public private partnerships, and other interested
    persons of effective and efficient ways to align geographic information
    and develop common protocols; and (3) the adoption of common standards.

    The Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996. The Clinger-Cohen Act directs the OMB
    Director to promote and improve the acquisition, use, and disposal of
    information technology by the federal government to improve the
    productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of federal programs, including
    through dissemination of public information and the reduction of
    information collection burdens on the pubic.

    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This legislation directs the OMB
    Director to oversee the use of information resources to improve the
    efficiency and effectiveness of government operations to serve agency
    missions, including burden reduction and service delivery to the public.
    This includes developing, coordinating, and overseeing the implementation
    of federal information resources management policies, principles,
    standards, and guidelines.

    Executive Order 12906: Coordinating Geographic Data Acquisition and
    Access. The National Spatial Data Infrastructure. This order, originally
    issued in 1994 and revised in 2003, establishes FGDC as the interagency
    coordinating body for the development of the NSDI and directs FGDC to
    involve state, local, and tribal governments in the development and
    implementation of the NSDI. The executive order also establishes a
    National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse, directs FGDC to develop standards
    for implementing the NSDI, and requires that federal agencies collecting
    or producing geospatial data shall ensure that data will be collected in a
    manner that meets all relevant standards adopted through the FGDC process.
    In addition, the executive order requires the Interior Secretary to
    develop strategies for maximizing cooperative participatory efforts with
    state, local, and tribal governments, the private sector, and other
    nonfederal organizations to share costs and improve efficiencies of
    acquiring geospatial data.

    OMB Circular A-11: Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget.
    Part 7, Planning Budgeting, Acquisition, and Management of Capital Assets.
    This circular establishes policy for planning, budgeting, acquisition, and
    management of federal capital assets and instructs agencies on budget
    justification and reporting requirements for major IT investments. It
    requires agencies to submit business cases to OMB for planned or ongoing
    major IT investments1 and to answer questions to help OMB determine if the
    investment should be funded.

    OMB Circular A-16: Coordination of Geographic Information and Related
    Spatial Data Activities. This circular calls for a coordinated approach to
    developing the NSDI, establishes FGDC and identifies its roles and
    responsibilities, and assigns agency roles and responsibilities for
    development of the NSDI. The document states that "implementation of this
    Circular is essential to help federal agencies eliminate duplication,
    avoid redundant expenditures, reduce resources spent on unfunded mandates,
    accelerate the development of electronic government to meet the needs and
    expectations of citizens and agency programmatic mandates, and improve the
    efficiency and effectiveness of public management."

    OMB Circular A-130: Management of Federal Information Resources. This
    circular requires agencies to ensure that improvements to existing
    information systems and the development of planned information systems do
    not unnecessarily duplicate IT capabilities within the same agency, at
    other agencies, or in the private sector. The OMB Director is designated
    to provide overall leadership and coordination of federal information
    resources management within the executive branch

    OMB Circular A-16 Data Themes, Descriptions, and Lead Agencies Appendix IV

    Table 4: OMB Circular A-16 Data Themes, Descriptions, and Lead Agencies

                                                          Lead          Framework
    Data theme        Description                      department or themeb
                                                          agencya
                         Baseline represents the line
                         from which maritime zones and
    Baseline          limits are measured. Examples of DOC/NOAA,
    (maritime)        these limits include the         DOI/MMSc      No
                         territorial sea, the contiguous
                         zone, and exclusive economic
                         zone.
                         This data set includes data
                         pertaining to or descriptive of
                         (nonhuman) biological resources
                         and their distributions and
                         habitats, including data at the
    Biological        suborganismal (genetics,         DOI/USGS      No
    resources         physiology, anatomy, etc.),
                         organismal (subspecies, species,
                         systematics), and ecological
                         (populations, communities,
                         ecosystems, biomes, etc.)
                         levels.
                         Includes federal sites or
                         entities with a geospatial
                         location deliberately
                         established for designated
    Buildings and     activities; a facility database  GSAc          No
    facilities        might describe a factory,
                         military base, college,
                         hospital, power plant, fishery,
                         national park, office building,
                         space command center, or prison.
                         Describes the geographic extent
                         of past, current, and future
    Cadastral         right, title, and interest in    DOI/BLM       Yes
                         real property, and the framework
                         to support the description of
                         that geographic extent.
                         Offshore Cadastre is the land
    Cadastral         management system used on the
    (offshore)        Outer Continental Shelf. It      DOI/MMS       Yes
                         extends from the baseline to the
                         extent of U.S. jurisdiction.
                         Climate data describe the
                         spatial and temporal
                         characteristics of the Earth's
                         atmosphere/hydrosphere/land
                         surface system. These data
    Climate           represent both model-generated   USDA/NRCS,    No
                         and observed environmental       DOC/NOAA
                         information, which can be
                         summarized to describe surface,
                         near surface and atmospheric
                         conditions over a range of
                         scales.
                         These geospatially referenced
                         data describe the
                         characteristics of people, the
                         nature of the structures in
                         which they live and work; the
                         economic and other activities
    Cultural and      they pursue; the facilities they
    demographic       use to support their health,     DOC/USCBc     No
    statistics        recreational, and other needs;
                         the environmental consequences
                         of their presence; and the
                         boundaries, names, and numeric
                         codes of geographic entities
                         used to report the information
                         collected.
                         The cultural resources theme
                         includes historic places such as
                         districts, sites, buildings, and
    Cultural          structures of significance in
    resources         history, architecture,           DOI/NPS       No
                         engineering, or culture.
                         Cultural resources also
                         encompass prehistoric features
                         as well as historic landscapes.
                         Georeferenced images of the
    Digital           Earth's surface, where image
    orthoimagery      object displacement has been     DOI/USGS      Yes
                         removed for sensor distortions,
                         orientation, and terrain relief.
                         The Earth Cover theme uses a
                         hierarchical classification
                         system based on observable form
                         and structure, instead of
                         function or use. This system
                         transitions from generalized to
                         more specific and detailed class
                         divisions, and provides a
    Earth cover       framework within which multiple  DOI/USGS      No
                         land cover and land use
                         classification systems can be
                         cross-referenced. This system is
                         applicable everywhere on the
                         surface of the Earth. This theme
                         differs from the vegetation and
                         wetlands themes, which provide
                         additional detail.
                                                          Lead          Framework
    Data theme        Description                      department or themeb
                                                          agencya
    Elevation         Highly accurate bathymetric      DOC/NOAA,
    bathymetric       (i.e., the measurement of water  DOD/USACEc    Yes
                         depths) sounding information.
                         Georeferenced digital
    Elevation         representations of terrestrial
    terrestrial       surfaces, natural or manmade,    DOI/USGS      Yes
                         that describe vertical position
                         above or below a datum surface.
                         Federal land ownership status
                         includes information describing
    Federal land      all title, estate, or interest   DOI/BLM       No
    ownership status  of the federal government in a
                         parcel of real and mineral
                         property.
                         The National Flood Insurance
                         Program has prepared flood
                         hazard data for approximately
                         18,000 communities. The primary
    Flood hazards     information prepared for these   DHS/FEMA      No
                         communities is for the 1 percent
                         annual chance (100-year) flood
                         and includes documentation of
                         the boundaries and elevations of
                         that flood.
                         Geodetic control provides a
    Geodedic control  common reference system for      DOC/NOAA      Yes
                         establishing coordinates for all
                         geographic data.
                         This data set contains data or
                         information on geographic place
                         names deemed official for
                         federal use by the U.S. Board on
                         Geographic Names as pursuant to
                         Public Law 80-242. Geographic
                         names information includes both
                         the official place name
    Geographic names  (current, historical, and        DOI/USGS      No
                         aliases) and direct (i.e.,
                         geographic coordinates) and
                         indirect (i.e., state and county
                         where place is located)
                         geospatial identifiers. This
                         information is categorized as
                         populated places, schools,
                         reservoirs, parks, streams,
                         valleys, and ridges.
                         The geologic spatial data theme
                         includes all geologic mapping
                         information and related
                         geoscience spatial data
                         (including associated
    Geologic          geophysical, geochemical,        DOI/USGS      No
                         geochronologic, and
                         paleontologic data) that can
                         contribute to the National
                         Geologic Map Database as
                         pursuant to Public Law 106-148.
                         These data describe, by a
                         consistent set of rules and
                         semantic definitions, the
                         official boundary of federal,
    Governmental      state, local, and tribal         DOC/USCB      Yes
    units             governments as reported to the
                         Census Bureau by responsible
                         officials of each government for
                         purposes of reporting the
                         nation's official statistics.
                         Geographic data on homeownership
                         rates, including many attributes
                         such as HUD revitalization
    Housing           zones, location of various forms HUD           No
                         of housing assistance,
                         first-time home buyers,
                         underserved areas, and race.
                         Includes surface water features
    Hydrography       such as lakes, ponds, streams    DOI/USGS      Yes
                         and rivers, canals, oceans, and
                         coastlines.
                         Includes both textual
                         information to describe, and GIS
                         digital cartographic data to
    International     depict, both land and maritime   Department of
    boundaries        international boundaries, other  State         No
                         lines of separation, limits,
                         zones, enclaves/exclaves, and
                         special areas between states and
                         dependencies.
                         Describes the occurrence of
                         events (including incidences,
                         offenses, and arrests)
                         geospatially located, related to
    Law enforcement   ordinance and statutory          Department of
    statistics        violations and the individuals   Justice       No
                         involved in those occurrences.
                         Also included are data related
                         to deployment of law enforcement
                         resources and performance
                         measures.
                         Marine boundaries depict
    Marine boundaries offshore waters and seabeds over DOC/NOAA,     No
                         which the United States has      DOI/MMS
                         sovereignty and jurisdiction.
                                                          Lead          Framework
    Data theme        Description                      department or themeb
                                                          agencya
                         Includes minerals occurring in
                         submerged lands. Examples of
    Offshore minerals marine minerals include oil,     DOI/MMS       No
                         gas, sulfur, gold, sand and
                         gravel, and manganese.
                         Includes lands covered by water
                         at any stage of the tide-as
                         distinguished from tidelands,
    Outer Continental which are attached to the
    Shelf submerged   mainland or an island and cover  DOI/MMS       No
    lands             and uncover with the tide.
                         Tidelands presuppose a
                         high-water line as the upper
                         boundary, whereas submerged
                         lands do not.
                         Public health themes relate to
                         the protection, improvement and
                         promotion of the health and
                         safety of all people. For
                         example, public health databases
                         include spatial data on deaths
    Public health     and births, infectious and       HHS           No
                         notifiable diseases, incident
                         cancer cases, behavioral risk
                         factor and tuberculosis
                         surveillance, hazardous
                         substance releases and health
                         effects, hospital statistics,
                         and other similar data.
    Public land       The records that describe all
    conveyance        past, current, and future        DOI/BLM       No
    (patent) records  rights, titles, and interest in
                         real property.
                         Represents the intersection of
                         the land with the water surface.
    Shoreline         The shoreline shown on NOAA      DOC/NOAA      No
                         charts represents the line of
                         contact between the land and a
                         selected water elevation.
                         Consists of georeferenced map
                         data, describing the spatial
                         distribution of the various
                         soils that cover the Earth's
                         surface, and attribute data,
                         describing the proportionate
                         extent of the various soils as
                         well as the physical and
    Soils             chemical characteristics of      USDA/NRCS     No
                         those soils. The physical and
                         chemical properties are based on
                         observed and measured values, as
                         well as model-generated values.
                         Also included are
                         model-generated assessments of
                         the suitability or limitations
                         of the soils to various land
                         uses.
                         Transportation data are used to
                         model the geographic locations,
                         interconnectedness, and
                         characteristics of the
                         transportation system within the
    Transportation    United States. The               DOT/BTS       Yes
                         transportation system includes
                         both physical and nonphysical
                         components representing all
                         modes of travel that allow the
                         movement of goods and people
                         between locations.
                         The Navigation Channel Framework
                         consists of highly accurate
                         dimensions (geographic
                         coordinates for channel sides,
                         centerlines, wideners, turning
    Transportation    basins, and river mile markers)
    (marine)          for every federal navigation     DOD/USACE     Yes
                         channel maintained by the Army
                         Corps of Engineers. The
                         navigation framework will
                         provide the basis for the marine
                         transportation theme of the
                         geospatial data framework.
                         Describes a collection of plants
    Vegetation        or plant communities with        USDA/USFSc    No
                         distinguishable characteristics
                         that occupy an area of interest.
                         This data theme encodes
                         hydrologic watershed boundaries
    Watershed         into topographically defined     DOI/USGS,
    boundaries        sets of drainage areas,          USDA/NRCS     No
                         organized in a nested hierarchy
                         by size and based on a standard
                         hydrologic unit coding system.
                         Provides the classification,
    Wetlands          location, and extent of wetlands DOI/FWS       No
                         and deepwater habitats.

    Source: OMB Circular A-16.

    aCertain federal agencies have lead responsibilities for coordinating the
    national coverage and stewardship of specific spatial data themes.
    According to OMB Circular A-16, lead federal agencies are responsible for
    (1) providing leadership and facilitating the development and
    implementation of needed FGDC standards, (2) providing leadership and
    facilitating the development and implementation of a plan for nationwide
    population of each data theme, and (3) preparing goals that support the
    NSDI strategy.

    bAccording to OMB Circular A-16, framework themes are data themes that
    provide the core, most commonly used set of base geospatial data.

    cGeneral Services Administration (GSA); Minerals Management Service (MMS);
    U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE); U.S. Census Bureau (USCB); and U.S.
    Forest Service (USFS).

    Glossary

    Attribute

    A characteristic of an object or feature on a map.

    Base map

    A map that shows the horizontal position of features on which additional
    information may be placed.

    Bathymetry

    The measurement and study of water depths.

    Cadastral

    Pertaining to extent, value, and ownership of land.

    Cartography

    The science and art of making maps and charts.

    Digital elevation model

    A digital file containing an array of regularly spaced elevations.

    Digital orthoimagery

    Georeferenced images of the Earth's surface, where image object
    displacement has been removed for sensor distortions, orientation, and
    terrain relief.

    Ellipsoid

    A geometric surface whose plane sections are either ellipses or circles.

    Geodesy

    The science of the measurement and mathematical depiction of the size and
    shape of the Earth and its gravitational field.

    Geodetic control

    A set of surveyed features with their locations referenced to particular
    survey monuments by latitude, longitude, and height above the ellipsoid.

    Geospatial data

    Information that pertains to the geographic location and character of
    natural or constructed features and boundaries on the Earth.

    Geographic information system

    A system of computer hardware, software, and data that collects, manages,
    manipulates, analyzes, and displays a potentially wide array of
    information associated with geographic locations.

    Global Positioning System

    A constellation of orbiting satellites that provides navigation data to
    military and civilian users around the world.

    Hydrography

    The science dealing with the physical features of oceans, lakes, rivers,
    and other surface waters often conducted in support of marine navigation
    and nautical charting.

    Metadata

    Data containing descriptive information about other data.

    National Spatial Data Infrastructure

    A national structure of policies, standards, technologies, and human
    resources that supports and facilitates the management and use of
    geographic information.

    Orthophotograph

    An image reproduction prepared from a perspective photograph in which the
    displacement of features due to sensor tilt and terrain relief has been
    removed.

    Photogrammetry

    The science of obtaining reliable measurements or information from images.

    Raster data

    A row of descriptive elements, such as pixels, represented as a regular
    two-dimensional arrangement of data values at discrete points, normally
    arrayed line by line across a given surface or area.

    Remote sensing

    Imaging or recording of physical phenomenon, at a distance, by detecting
    emitted or reflected energy.

    Remote sensing systems

    Remote sensing systems collect these data from a distance-such as from a
    satellite or an aerial platform-that are either emitted or reflected by
    the Earth and the atmospheres.

    Rectification

    The process of removing displacement in a photograph caused by the tilt of
    the recording device or variations in terrain relief.

    Spatial data

    Geographically referenced features that are described by geographic
    positions and attributes in an analog or computer-readable (digital) form.

    Topography

    The form of the physical features of a land surface or sea bottom; also
    called relief.

    Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing

    A database maintained by the Census Bureau that automates the mapping and
    related geographic activities required to support the decennial census and
    the bureau's sample survey programs.

    (310391)
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