Progress and Challenges in Coordinating Geospatial Data

		FGDC Had Not Made Fully Implementing Key Activities for Coordinating Geospatial Data a Priority

While the FGDC had made progress in some areas to improve  coordination in geospatial activities, our November 2012 report identified  a number of areas in which little progress had been made. However, despite this progress, we found that FGDC had not fully  implemented key aspects of activities needed for coordinating  investments in geospatial data. Third, FGDC’s strategic plan was missing key components and had not  been kept up-to-date. As we reported in November 2012, according to FGDC officials, they had  not yet fully implemented policies and procedures for coordinating  geospatial investments because these efforts had not been made a  priority. As a result, we determined in  2012 that efforts to acquire data were uncoordinated and the federal  government acquired duplicative geospatial data. For example, a National  Geospatial Advisory Committee representative told us that, at that time, a  commercial provider was leasing the same proprietary parcel data to six  federal agencies; the Department of Housing and Urban Development,  the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of  Investigation, the Small Business Administration, the Federal Deposit  Insurance Corporation, and the Federal Reserve. Departments Had Not Fully Implemented Important Activities for Coordinating and Managing Geospatial Data

Our November 2012 report also showed that none of the three federal  departments in our review—the Departments of Commerce, the Interior,  and Transportation—had fully implemented activities needed for  effectively coordinating and managing geospatial activities within their  respective departments. We concluded in November 2012 that unless the  federal agencies were to decide that completing activities to coordinate  geospatial investments was a priority, the potential for duplication would  continue to exist. OMB Did Not Have Complete and Reliable Information to Identify Duplicative Geospatial Investments

OMB has oversight responsibilities for federal IT systems and acquisition  activities—including geographic information systems—to help ensure  their efficient and effective use. According to OMB Office of E- Government staff members, OMB relies primarily on the annual budget  process to identify potentially duplicative geospatial investments. Implementing GAO Recommendations Can Reduce Duplication and Provide Cost Savings

Our November 2012 report made numerous recommendations aimed at  improving coordination and reducing duplication of geospatial data. In addition, we recommended that the Secretaries of Commerce, the  Interior, and Transportation implement the relevant executive order  requirements and OMB guidance that apply to their departments and  agencies: designate a senior agency official with departmentwide accountability,  authority, and responsibility for geospatial information issues; prepare, maintain, publish, and implement a strategy for advancing  geographic information and related geospatial data activities  appropriate to its mission; develop a policy that requires the department to make its geospatial  metadata available on the clearinghouse; develop and implement internal procedures to ensure that the  department accesses the NSDI clearinghouse before it expends funds  to collect or produce new geospatial data to determine (1) whether the  information has already been collected by others and (2) whether  cooperative efforts to obtain the data are possible; prepare goals relating to all datasets within the relevant theme that develop and implement a plan for the nationwide population of the  relevant theme that addresses all datasets within the theme and that  includes (1) the development of partnership programs with states,  tribes, academia, the private sector, other federal agencies, and  localities that meet the needs of users; (2) human and financial  resource needs; (3) standards, metadata, and the clearinghouse  needs; and (4) a timetable for the development for the theme; and  create and implement a plan to develop and implement relevant  theme standards. In addition, the federal departments we reviewed have taken some steps  to implement our recommendations. In summary, it was slightly over a year ago that we reported that the key  players in ensuring coordination on geospatial data investments—FGDC,  federal departments and agencies, and OMB—had not fully implemented  policies and procedures for coordinating geospatial investments because  these efforts were not made a priority. As a result, efforts to acquire data  were uncoordinated and the federal government was acquiring duplicative  geospatial data. Until FGDC, federal  departments and agencies, and OMB decide that investments in  geospatial information are a priority, these investments will remain  uncoordinated, and the federal government will continue to acquire  duplicative geospatial information and waste taxpayer dollars.
Why GAO Did This Study

The federal government collects, maintains, and uses geospatial information--information linked to specific geographic locations--to support many functions, including national security and disaster response. In 2012, the Department of the Interior estimated that the federal government was investing billions of dollars on geospatial data annually, and that duplication was common.
In November 2012, GAO reported on efforts to reduce duplicative investments in geospatial data, focusing on OMB, FGDC, and three agencies: the Departments of Commerce, the Interior, and Transportation.
This statement summarizes the results of that November 2012 report on progress and challenges in coordinating geospatial information and includes updates on the implementation of recommendations made in that report.

What GAO Found

The President and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have established policies and procedures for coordinating investments in geospatial data, however, in November 2012, GAO reported that governmentwide committees and federal departments and agencies had not effectively implemented them. The committee that was established to promote the coordination of geospatial data nationwide--the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)--had developed and endorsed key standards and had established a clearinghouse of metadata. GAO found that the clearinghouse was not being used by agencies to identify planned geospatial investments to promote coordination and reduce duplication. In addition, the committee had not yet fully planned for or implemented an approach to manage geospatial data as related groups of investments to allow agencies to more effectively plan geospatial data collection efforts and minimize duplicative investments, and its strategic plan was missing key elements.
Other shortfalls have impaired progress in coordinating geospatial data. Specifically, none of the three federal departments in GAO's review had fully implemented important activities such as preparing and implementing a strategy for advancing geospatial activities within their respective departments. Moreover, the agencies in GAO's review responsible for governmentwide management of specific geospatial data had implemented some but not all key activities for coordinating the national coverage of specific geospatial data.
While OMB has oversight responsibilities for geospatial data, GAO reported in November 2012 that according to OMB staff, the agency did not have complete and reliable information to identify potentially duplicative geospatial investments. GAO also reported that FGDC, federal departments and agencies, and OMB had not yet fully implemented policies and procedures for coordinating geospatial investments because these efforts had not been a priority. As a result, efforts to acquire data were uncoordinated and the federal government acquired duplicative geospatial data. For example, a National Geospatial Advisory Committee representative stated that a commercial provider leases the same proprietary parcel data to six federal agencies. GAO concluded that unless the key entities determined that coordinating geospatial investments was a priority, the federal government would continue to acquire duplicative geospatial information and waste taxpayer dollars.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is making no new recommendations in this statement. In November 2012, GAO recommended that to improve coordination and reduce duplication, FGDC develop a national strategy for coordinating geospatial investments; federal agencies follow federal guidance for managing geospatial investments; and OMB develop a mechanism to identify and report on geospatial investments. Since that time, FGDC and several agencies have taken some steps to implement the recommendations. However, additional actions are still needed.