National Geospatial Collaborative

NGC 2024 Board Appointments

In January, the National Geospatial Collaborative (NGC) announced its newly appointed Directors to complete the full board structure of NGC. Bill Johnson, Retired (2-year term, 2024-2025), Eric Kolb, Google Maps (2-year term, 2024-2025), Jenna Leveille, Sanborn (2-year term, 2024-2025) and Frank Winters, Retired (1-year term, 2024)  joined founding board directors Tim Johnson, NC GIO, Sheila Steffenson, 1Spatial CEO, and NGC Chair, Jonathan Duran, to complete the full board structure of NGC. During the first board meeting of 2024, the board appointed Jenna Leveille as Vice Chair, Dan Ross as Treasurer, and Susan Miller as Secretary.

Support from Overture Maps Foundation 

In March, the National Geospatial Collaborative received a $20,000 show of support from Overture Maps Foundation for collaborative efforts to advance and operationalize the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). NGC and its Board are committed to utilizing these funds effectively and efficiently and investing these funds, prioritizing both immediacy and strategic prudence, to make tangible progress toward our shared goals. We value Overture Maps Foundation’s generous support and look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with them and other stakeholders to drive momentum in NSDI advancement as well as working towards making beneficial changes for the broader geospatial community.

 2024 Strategic Plan

On March 28-29, 2024, in Arlington, VA, the National Geospatial Collaborative’s (NGC) Board of Directors held an in-person meeting focusing on creating the strategic direction for the organization. Kate Hickey, Chief Operating Officer of The Sanborn Map Company, Inc., generously offered her time and expertise to facilitate the session and guide the NGC Board through the strategic planning process. During the meeting, the NGC Board looked to gain insight into the current state of NGC, pinpoint areas of common ground and divergence, and subsequently develop the organization's vision, establish goals for the upcoming year, outline tactical steps to achieve those goals, and formulate a rubric for evaluating potential initiatives. The resulting vision statement, "To boldly pursue a more effective geospatial ecosystem," reflects NGC's commitment to:

• Pursue Nationally Significant Initiatives
• Establish and Nurture Connections Across Diverse Stakeholders and Partners
• Cultivate a Resilient NGC

NSDI Strategic Visioning Session

The National Geospatial Collaborative (NGC) and the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) supported the inaugural NSDI Strategic Visioning Session that took place on March 28-29, 2024, in Arlington, VA. This session brought together representatives from the stakeholder groups identified in the Geospatial Data Act of 2018 (GDA) for the purpose of setting a modern vision for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure.  Individuals representing federal, state, local, tribal, academic, non-profit, and private entities gathered to engage in dialogue, generate momentum, and drive essential governance changes forward collectively. NGC played an integral role financially in making sure all stakeholder groups were able to attend the discussions to accelerate NSDI implementations. 

By supporting the NSDI Strategic Visioning Session, the NGC had a distinctive opportunity to propel NSDI endeavors forward by fostering collaboration among geospatial stakeholders. This engagement aligns NGC with other entities driving momentum in NSDI advancement, while also serving as a testament to NGC’s commitment to working toward making beneficial changes for the broader geospatial community. Supporting efforts to accelerate NSDI implementations also aligns with the priorities of Overture Maps Foundation, a financial supporter of NGC, and demonstrates that NGC is promptly investing the allocated funds, prioritizing both immediacy and strategic prudence.

Go Boldly - NGC’s Inaugural LinkedIn Post

On May 1st, NGC posted its first LinkedIn blog, "Go Boldly", authored by NGC Board Director, Bill Johnson. NGC is excited to broaden its communication channels, share updates, and keep the community informed about our journey and latest developments. 

#GoBoldly

GeoGov Summit 

NGC was invited to be a supporting partner of the GeoGov Summit taking place in Herndon, VA from September 10-12, 2024. GeoGov Summit 2024 serves as an annual event to convene a high-level and forward-looking G2G and G2B forum to advance our national geospatial ecosystem for National Development. Leaders and experts from across government, industry, NGOs, academia, and research come together to identify and explore opportunities to enhance the national geospatial strategy, to collaboratively map out solutions to improve data and decision-support capability and capacity, and to improve governance/coordination of our nation’s geospatial infrastructure.