2016 State of GEOINT Report
Myriad views from more than 50 contributing authors representing almost 40 organizations

2016 State of GEOINT: What is the current “State of GEOINT?” The answers are essential for professional agility in an era of accelerated GEOINT innovation. USGIF presents its second annual State of GEOINT Report to help answer these questions and support GEOINT Community interests and professional requirements.
The 2016 State of GEOINT Report includes myriad views from more than 50 contributing authors representing almost 40 organizations. To create this report, USGIF started by polling its membership and accredited collegiate programs to ask which topics were of interest for possible inclusion in this year’s publication. An extensive list of topics was generated from the informal survey. On Oct. 6, 2015, USGIF hosted an open, in-person, facilitated gathering where many of the pre-selected topics were debated and additional topics were introduced into the conversation. Teams of authors self-formed and the writing process began in earnest.
This report’s final selections highlight a number of pressing issues for our global GEOINT Community: the loud trumpeting of the arrival of small satellites as a recognized, disruptive and viable collection platform; the proliferation of open-source data; the direct and visible impact of volunteered geographic information; the need to revamp training to match the use of new and open sources; and the immediate and ever-pressing need for improved government procurement. The demand for GEOINT training and education also are strong themes woven throughout this report.
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