An independent panel has proposed consolidating geographic data collection efforts, currently housed in numerous federal agencies, in a single agency.
But the agencies that would lose programs are opposed to the consolidation.
The National Academy of Public Administration Tuesday released a report, "Geographic Information for the 21st Century: Building a Strategy for the Nation," which makes more than 50 recommendations for improving the management of federal geographic activities. The academy suggests creating a Geographic Data Service that would combine survey, mapping and charting activities from the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Forest Service and the Commerce Department's National Ocean Service.
Geographic information (GI) "functions performed by federal agencies and their present locations are as much an accident of history as they are a logical choice to meet today's and tomorrow's GI needs," the report says. "The panel believes it is essential to achieve 'critical mass' by bringing together most of the fundamental components that are responsible for the basic GI functions of the federal government."
However, all four agencies involved said they are against a reorganization.
"The findings and recommendations in the report show little understanding of the relationship between survey and title records with land management functions," the Bureau of Land Management said in its response to the academy report. The Forest Service said it is "opposed to the creation of a 'new' federal agency."
The report also calls for the transfer of the National Geodetic Survey from the National Ocean Service to the U.S. Geological Survey. The ocean service opposes that move, while the Geological Survey recommended that "further analysis be jointly conducted by the Department of Commerce and the Department of Interior." "The policy comments of the agencies included in the report parallel the extent to which they would lose functions," noted Roger Sperry, co-director of the panel that issued the report. Sperry said the report leaves the task of reviewing and implementing any reorganization to an Office of Management and Budget-appointed federal task force.
The report recommends creating a congressionally chartered non-profit council to oversee national policy on geographic information. The council would include representatives of all levels of government and the private sector. The council could take on the role of a standard-setting body.
The academy also suggested strengthening the interagency Federal Geospatial Data Committee, which is chaired by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, to better coordinate the federal government's geographic activities. In addition, the Government Performance and Results Act could be used to address overlap and coordination among federal agencies, the report says.
Geographic information is becoming an increasingly important economic and intelligence commodity, the academy's report notes. Rapid advances in hardware and software, the advent of the Global Positioning System, the development of remote sensing and satellite imagery, and the growth of the Internet have created a burgeoning private-sector industry. The government's interest in geographic information is also growing, because such information plays an important role in national security, assessing environmental change and improving natural disaster recovery.
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