Volume 26 • No 06 • 2003
ISSN 0742-468X • Since 1978
On-line Since 2000
GOS is Here!
GOS is here! Excited? Frightened? Can’t wait to write home about it? Or are you thinking, “What the heck is a GOS?” GOS stands for Geospatial One-Stop Portal. It is designed to increase data access for government and the public.
The GOS portal provides data that is shareable by anyone, anywhere. Overseen by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), it is the result of an e-government initiative to make access to geospatial information from multiple sources faster and less expensive for all levels of government as well as the public.This is U.S. government web site, built by ESRI and accessible at www.geodata.gov, launched on June 30, 2003.
Why an ESRI Portal?
According to ESRI spokesperson, Karen Hurlbut, “The ESRI portal was chosen for the first-phase operational system based on usability and support factors. Built with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software and based on open standards, the site is secure and supported 24/7 with fail-over capabilities.
“The portal was designed to be open and interoperable with virtually any GIS data set or service. In crafting GOS, ESRI paid particular attention to both Web services standards and emerging GIS standards from the Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC). More than 15 viewers from a variety of software companies are supported by the site.”
About the Board
Geospatial One-Stop is a collaborative effort, governed by an Intergovernmental Board of Directors, and supported by the assistance of the following Federal Partners, agencies providing financial or in-kind contributions to the initiative.
Board members include:
OMB Circular A16 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a016/a016_rev.html) identifies membership in the FGDC, but participation in Geospatial One-Stop is available to any agency wishing to contribute to this e-government initiative.
GIS, NASCAR Style?
“This portal is a gateway to the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) and the GIS superhighway,” said Jack Dangermond, ESRI president. “Not only does GOS simplify the search for data, it also centralizes access to services and lets users visualize map services across multiple servers,
publish metadata and services, and learn about geospatial activities, standards, and other related information. This implementation was carefully designed to support
publishing and access to geospatial knowledge of any type and from any vendor, regardless of format or standard.”
According to Mark Forman, associate director for information technology and e-government at the OMB, “Geospatial data is crucial for government efforts in homeland security, environmental protection, economic development, and other important policy areas. Geodata.gov provides the tools necessary for greater intergovernmental collaboration and partnership on these key issues while
reducing duplicative spending and wasted resources.”
Types of DATA
There are three categories of geographic content available on geodata.gov: data, documents, and resources. Each category has a number of content types. Search for data if you want to download, order, or add data or map services directly to your map. Search for documents if you are interested in map files, static map images, and geographic information. Search for resources if you are seeking links to external Web sites, data clearinghouses, GIS based Web applications, and geographic activities.
Conclusion
There is a lot to see at this portal, and I encourage you to go there, use it, and contribute to it (http://www.geodata.gov/gos). While this is an important step in the evolution of GIS, it is an even more important step in the evolution of an opened government. Access to data and information is essential for a free society.
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