Hawaii Geographic Information Coordinating Council
Over the past several years, there has been a growing use of GIS technology within public and private organizations in Hawaii to support spatial data collection, storage, maintenance and analyses. While most, if not all of these entities are informally connected, there is no formal organization in existence to pull these organizations together. As such, over the past several months, there has been increased discussion on the need to establish an authorized geographic information coordinating body.
Facing similar issues, a number of other states have already established councils to coordinate activities relating to the use of geographic information. Links to the selected sites below offer additional information on coordinating bodies which exist in other states.
One of the strongest supporters endorsing the formation of State councils to address geographic information issues is the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) . The FGDC was established through the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-16 for the purpose of coordinating various spatial activities including surveying and mapping efforts carried out by the Federal government. The FGDC encourages non-Federal entities to participate in their coordination efforts through the establishment of partnerships. One mechanism the FGDC uses to promote partnerships with non-Federal participants is through the distribution of Federal grants under their National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Competitive Agreements Program.
In order to take a step in the direction of establishing a council in Hawaii, the Office of Planning coordinated a multi-organization effort to develop a grant proposal in response to the NSDI Competitive Agreements Program. A grant application was submitted by OP on behalf of several organizations to apply for federal funds to be used for the purpose of initiating work in establishing a Hawaii Geographic Information Coordinating Council (HGICC). The purpose of the HGICC would be to establish a formally recognized umbrella coordinating body in the State of Hawaii which would establish policies, procedures and standards regarding the development and distribution of geographic data. Furthermore, this body would coordinate and oversee the documentation of existing databases throughout the State in order to discourage the development of redundant data sets. If the State is successful in obtaining these federal funds, one proposed activity is to develop and distribute a limited edition newsletter to educate and inform the geo-spatial data community on the plans and progress of the effort to establish the HGICC. If you are interested in being on the mailing list for this newsletter, please e-mail your name and mailing address to: Ivy Kawakami at: ikawakam@dbedt.hawaii.gov
This is a list of state GICC links and a brief summary description of their Geographic Information Councils' or Committees' structure.
