Coalition of Geospatial Organizations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

October 21, 2024

Geospatial Leaders in the U.S. Assign New Grades on the Nation’s Spatial Data Infrastructure

The Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (COGO) is pleased to release its third Assessment from its ongoing review of the U.S. National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). This Assessment serves as a periodic evaluation of the condition of the nation’s geospatial data infrastructure, which, like other forms of public works, is essential for our economy, health, safety, and activities of daily life.

This 2024 report leveraged the expertise from teams of subject matter experts from the public and private sectors with knowledge in each of the eight national Framework data themes: addresses, cadastral, elevation, geodetic control, governmental units, hydrography, orthoimagery, and transportation. Each team assessed the developments and advances within their respective themes since the 2018 Report Card and engaged with the Federal Geographic Data Committee for guidance and feedback as they determined new individual scores. The cumulative score for the NSDI data themes is B, indicating an improvement since the last evaluation. The NSDI as a whole also received its own grade, a C-, reflecting a lack of significant improvement over the last six years relative to the other aspects of the NSDI, which include technologies, policies, organizations, and people. The NSDI is intended to be an interconnected system that supports the nation’s broad and significant need for spatial data.

Shelby Johnson, State Geographic Information Officer of Arkansas and a former COGO Chair, notes, “Our country relies on these systems and data every day. It helps us in so many ways. It makes us more efficient and prosperous. The challenge is maintaining the themes where we are doing well, then finding the will and the means to improve on the rest. Our hope is this Assessment will assist government agencies in collaboratively completing and maintaining the NSDI. We still have a long way to go.”

The organizations comprising COGO are leaders in the geospatial field. Collectively they represent over 170,000 individual members and speak with a unified voice on national geospatial policy initiatives. COGO’s previous NSDI Report Cards were a wake-up call for Congress to take action in this important area, and contributed in part to the Geospatial Data Act of 2018. This new assessment follows the same arc and is intended to encourage continued and critical improvements in our national geospatial infrastructure.

The full 2024 Report Card on the U.S. National Spatial Data Infrastructure and its Executive Summary can be found at the COGO website.

American Association of Geographers (AAG)

American Association for Geodetic Surveying (AAGS)

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)

Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS)

Geographic Information Systems Certification Institute (GISCI)

International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO)

Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS)

National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS)

National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC)

United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF)

University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS)

Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA)

END RELEASE

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