On March 15, the Federal Geographic Data Committee announced the recipients of their 2006 National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Cooperative Agreement Program (CAP) grants. Wisconsin received a $47,600 “Fifty States Initiative” award to examine the implementation of a statewide GIS coordinating council.
The grant proposal, submitted by GIO David Mockert with assistance from the Land Information Officers Network (LION), State Cartographer’s Office (SCO), and Wisconsin Land Information Association (WLIA) aims to fill the void left when the Wisconsin Land Information Board was dissolved in July 2005.
The purpose of the Wisconsin council, as proposed, is to serve as a forum for identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing critical GIS issues, and recommending a course of action for accomplishing the goals recommended by the council. As its mission, the council will:
• Implement the statewide GIS strategic plan developed by WLIA through their 2005 NSDI CAP grant
• Facilitate the adoption and maintenance of the state agency enterprise GIS business plan
• Recommend, as appropriate, OGC, FGDC, ANSI, and ISO standards
• Facilitate the development and maintenance of framework and critical infrastructure data
• Work to expand the scope and functionality of WiscLINC, the state’s clearinghouse node connected to the NDSI-clearinghouse network
• Establish data sharing agreements with local, state, regional, tribal, and federal agencies
• Explore strategies for direct participation in the Geospatial One-Stop and the National Map
Funding from the grant will be used to research other successful state coordinating councils, draft a charter for the council, and hold outreach meetings to collect feedback and educate the Wisconsin geospatial community on the initiative.
For more information, contact David Mockert at (608) 261-5042 or david.mockert@wisconsin.gov.
More information: Office of the GIO
More information: 2006 Wisconsin NSDI CAP Proposal