FGDC Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
has released the new Supplemental Guidance to OMB Circular A-16,
“Coordination of Geographic Information and Related Spatial Data
Activities.” OMB Memorandum M-11-03, “Issuance of OMB Circular
A-16 Supplemental Guidance,” from Federal Chief Information Officer
Vivek Kundra to Heads of Executive Agencies and Departments, formally
issues the Supplemental Guidance. The Guidance, released today,
is posted at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2011/m11-03.pdf
OMB Circular A-16 provides for improvements in the coordination and use
of spatial data, and describes effective and economical use and
management of spatial data assets in the digital environment for the
benefit of the Federal Government and the Nation. The
Supplemental Guidance further defines and clarifies selected elements
of Circular A-16 to facilitate a coordinated Federal geospatial asset
management capability that will improve support of mission-critical
business requirements of the Federal Government and its stakeholders.
The Guidance has a primary focus on geospatial data as a capital asset
and outlines a portfolio management process to manage geospatial data
assets.
The Memorandum from Mr. Kundra notes: “Data-management, and
particularly geospatial data-management, is one of the essential
components for addressing the management of the business of government
and for supporting the effective and economical use of tax dollars. It
is, however, susceptible to constant renewal, information quality, and
information management challenges. A portfolio-centric model cures the
single agency, stovepipe model by applying consistent policy, improved
organization, better governance, and understanding of the public to
deliver outstanding results.”
The Supplemental Guidance is the result of a dedicated effort by many
individuals, agencies, and partners within the FGDC community. I
would like to particularly recognize and thank Wendy Blake Coleman from
the Environmental Protection Agency, who chaired the Geospatial Line of
Business Lifecycle Management Workgroup, which led the development of
the Guidance. Wendy and the other members of the Workgroup showed
great commitment and perseverance in the development, review, and
approval of the Guidance. The document also benefitted from input
and feedback from other partners and stakeholders, including the
members of the National Geospatial Advisory Committee.
We look forward to working with the FGDC community to implement the
requirements of the Supplemental Guidance. The portfolio
management approaches laid out in the document will help provide a
foundation to support multiple objectives, including the
Administration’s Geospatial Platform initiative. As you know, we
are currently engaged in a stakeholder outreach process for the
Platform, and we encourage FGDC partners and stakeholders to provide
input through the Geospatial Platform IdeaScale website at: http://geoplatform.ideascale.com/
Thank you once again to all who contributed to this significant
milestone in the development of the National Spatial Data
Infrastructure.
Regards,
Ivan B. DeLoatch
Executive Director
Federal Geographic Data Committee
