COVER STORIES 5 is technically and economically feasible. Yet the United States cannot do it because we lack the will and a governance structure to develop and manage such a system. The first recommendation of our study was to create a panel to identify a national coordinator to begin working on the governance issue. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has responsibility for the cadastre under OMB Circular A-16, so the panel would start by determining whether BLM has enough authority and capacity to do the job. Two years after our report was published, there is still no panel looking at this issue. States Are Organized States around the country coordinate GIS activities better than the federal government. They typically have some kind of statewide council. The most effective councils coordinate activities at the state level with a strong hand but work gently with local governments. They include representatives from all stakeholder groups, including federal, state, county, municipal, and tribal governments; private-sector GIS users and providers; the academic sector; nonprofit organizations; utilities; and the general public. They have clear vision, supported by a strategic plan and a business plan. The Fifty States Initiative was designed by NSGIC and FGDC to help states become effective coordinators. This initiative is intended to connect with the data resources of the 50 states and, through them, to the 3,141 counties, over 18,000 municipalities, and more than 370 tribal governments. To this end, FGDC has funded 46 states in developing strategic and/or business plans to support the NSDI. NSGIC has developed a scorecard so each state can know how it stands on relevant criteria. The scorecard has nine criteria starting with a full-time coordinator and sustainable funding. More powerful criteria include a clearly defined authority for state-level coordination, the ability to coordinate with local government and other stakeholders, and a formal relationship with the state chief information officer (CIO). My own state recently created the Minnesota Geographic Information Office (MnGeo). The state had been struggling with fragmented operations, and its NSGIC scorecard showed it. With a grant from FGDC, it hired a private firm to help bring together stakeholders and develop a governance model that would work (see diagram on page 3). The plan called for the new MnGeo with two advisory bodies: one for state government coordination and one for statewide coordination. The state government advisory council is composed entirely of state agency GIS representatives. The statewide advisory council is composed of representatives of local government, the private sector, tribal government, nonprofit organizations, and academia. The GIO participates on both committees—as the chair of the state government council and as a nonvoting member of the statewide council. The National Solution The simple solution is to “get organized,” along the lines of what the states are doing. There are no technical problems in developing the NSDI, only organizational ones. Increased governance is necessary to make things work better. I see four parts to this new model: (1) creation of a new federal Geographic Information Office, (2) a radical empowerment of FGDC to coordinate federal GIS activities, (3) the creation of a new body representing nonfederal stakeholders, and (4) development of a congressional oversight committee to watch and guide overall activities. At the federal level, we need a structure that supports and demands coordination of geospatial data development across federal agencies. This should start with the creation of a new position—a federal GIO. The office should be part of the Office of Management and Budget. OMB develops and executes a government-wide management agenda and assists the president in preparing his budget. It already houses the new federal CIO. This is the ideal place to set federal mandates for agency operations. One of the first tasks of the new GIO should be to develop an economic argument for the NSDI. NSGIC has estimated the price of the NSDI at nearly $9 billion, with an annualized cost of about $2.5 billion. Is it worth it? If so, where are the highest payoffs? The effort should begin by defining a rigorous methodology that delivers results understandable to both economists and the educated public, including agency heads and members of Congress. The study should cover all levels of government, the private sector, and the public. NSGIC has suggested that the economic study should be delivered within 18 months after the GIO takes office. If the study shows positive benefits, support for the NSDI will logically follow. FGDC should continue to coordinate activities at the federal level, but with more muscle behind its efforts. Duplicative activities should be identified and corrected. Agencies should be held accountable for fulfilling data assignments. Gaps should be identified, prioritized on economic return, and assigned to agencies. To operate effectively, FGDC probably needs to be moved from its current home in the Department of the Interior to OMB, since that organization has the mandate to review the performance of federal agencies and make budget recommendations affecting them. Over time, I have written two contradictory articles about what it takes to make a difference in the world of sharing data. In 1995, I wrote about institutional inertia and the need for a body outside the organization, usually the chief executive or legislative body, to set the rules for organizational mandates and individual rewards. Later, in 2005, I recanted, as I recognized the value of “white knights” who are motivated to do what is right regardless of the institutional rules. I think I was right the first time—at least for something as large and complex as the NSDI. Certainly, large federal agencies need that outside oversight. A National Spatial Data Council (NSDC) is needed to coordinate nonfederal activities. This idea has been around for years. I took this name from a 1998 report of the National Academy of Public Administration, Geographic Information for the 21st Century. The NSDC, or whatever we decide to call it, should be composed of stakeholder representatives from state, local, and tribal governments; the private sector; academia; and others. The representation should look much like that of the current National Geospatial Advisory Committee to FGDC, but would have power, grantmaking ability, and access to the GIO. The federal government should be represented by FGDC as a nonvoting member. A new congressional oversight committee could do three things: set the expectations for federal agencies and the new NSDC; monitor performance, asking hard questions; and become the political champion to support the development and maintenance of the NSDI. As a nation, we have gone nearly two decades with limited progress on the NSDI. Most of that progress has been made through the goodwill and volunteer efforts of altruistic people and organizations. We are in the information age, but we’re still building stovepipes. It’s time to put some muscle and money behind the NSDI vision. About the Author Will Craig is associate director of the Center for Urban & Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota. He chaired URISA’s Research Agenda Group in the mid-1980s, proposing an agenda that had a strong focus on institutional research. He is the president of NSGIC and has been inducted into URISA’s GIS Hall of Fame. More Information For more information, contact Will Craig (e-mail: wcraig@umn.edu). AN From the Desktop to the Enterprise— LoGIStics Solutions that Pick-up and Deliver. RouteSmart Technologies understands the middle name of logistics is GIS! Over the past two decades we’ve delivered scalable, sustainable GIS-based routing solutions that operate using the Esri® technology platform. RouteSmart software is specifically designed to meet the demanding route planning needs of the newspaper, postal, public works and utility meter reading industries. To learn more call us today at 1.800.977.7284. Powered by Esri trademarks provided under license from Esri. www.routesmart.com