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The National Geospatial Program.

Article Excerpt
In a bold, forward-looking step, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has realigned a number of its mapping and geospatial programs into an integrated National Geospatial Program (NGP), designed to serve the needs and interests of the geospatial community throughout the Nation. This realignment brings together components essential in building the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) and capitalizing on the power of place. The NSDI is the technology, policies, criteria, standards and people necessary to promote geospatial data sharing throughout all levels of government, the private and non-profit sectors, and academia. It provides a base or structure of practices and relationships among data producers and users which facilitates data sharing and use.

The NGP will be managed by the National Geospatial Program Office (NGPO) as a unified portfolio for the benefit of the entire geospatial community. The emphasis of the NGP will be to engage partners throughout the geospatial community in its planning and in ensuring that its unified portfolio meets the needs of those on the landscape. By connecting the components of The National Map (integrated base data), The National Atlas (interactive thematic mapping), the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC, responsible for coordination, policy, and standards), and Geospatial One-Stop (information discovery and access), and by embracing and communicating the message of the importance of the NSDI, the geospatial community and the Nation will realize the vision of current and accurate geospatial data available to contribute locally, nationally, and globally to economic growth, environmental quality and stability, and social progress.

Much has been accomplished in recent years to further the implementation of the NSDI, but there is still much to...

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