1. Proposed Policy on Endorsement or Recommendation of External Standards Presented by Julie Binder Maitra FGDC Standards Coordinator To FGDC Coordination Group May 6, 2003

2. 2 Topics Existing Federal guidance Objective of Policy Limitation of Policy Categories of standards Standards Organizations Levels of Recognition FGDC Standards Process Steps to Endorsement or Recommendation of external standards Discussion/Q&A

3. 3 Existing Federal guidance (1) DirectiveWhat it isGoal – Geospatial Standards Executive Order 12906 (April 1994) A Visionary concept to build the NSDI Directs FGDC to develop standards Directs Federal agencies to use FGDC standards in data acquisition OMB Circular A-119 Policy for federal participation and use of standards and conformance assessment Federal use of external standards – “voluntary consensus standards” Federal participation in voluntary consensus standards bodies OMB Circular A-11 Budget guidance and Capital Asset Planning Section 51-13 and Exhibit 300 – II.A.2.D direct that geospatial data comply with FGDC standards OMB Circular A-16 (Revised August 2002) Direction to Federal Agencies for geographic information and spatial data activities Incorporates EO 12906 Affirms OMB Circulars A-11 & A- 119

4. 4 Existing Federal guidance (2) Existing Federal guidance does not define a mechanism for identifying, selecting, and coordinating the use of non-Federally developed standards

5. 5 Objective of Proposed Policy To provide a mechanism for FGDC endorsement or recommendation of non- Federal standards that are related to the missions and spatial data responsibilities of Federal agencies, as outlined in OMB Circular A-16

6. 6 Limitation of Policy Nothing in this policy shall be construed as superseding the authority or obligation of an agency or organization to use a standard due to treaty, agreement, or other policy

7. 7 Categories of Standards 1Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) standards – developed wholly through the FGDC standards process. Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) – developed and published by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). AAmerican National Standards – developed by a standards body recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) IInternational Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards – developed through the ISO standards process. These standards include those developed according to ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee (JTC) 1 process. CConsortium developed specifications – those specifications (standards) developed by consortia such as the Open GIS Consortium (OGC), World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and the Object Management Group (OMG). OOther standards – those standards that do not fall in the previously defined categories.

8. 8 Standards organizations Is U.S. member body of ISO Technical Committee (TC) 211 American National Standards Institute (ANSI) INCITS Technical CommitteeL1 InterNational Committee on Information Technology Standards (INCITS) Is accredited by Is a Subcommittee of Is a voting member of Is liaison with Is an advisory member of Federal Standards Is strategic member of Accredits U.S. TAG to ISO Is a Technical Committee of NIST Consortia and Academia ANSI Accredited Standards Development Organization Open GIS Consortium OMG W3C OASIS etc. Other Standards Development Organizations ICSP FGDCStates Municipalities Chairs MOU Sets Policy For OMB Reports to Participate in standards development Standards Organizations

9. 9 Levels of Recognition Two levels of FGDC recognition Endorsement – same status as FGDC standard: mandatory for use, in accordance with Federal guidance Recommendation – the non-federal standard is recognized as a useful standard, but is not deemed to be of such broad applicability that its use should be mandatory.

10. 10 FGDC Standards Process STAGESTEPCUSTODIAN PROPOSAL1- Develop ProposalFGDC Standards Working Group (SWG) 2 - Review ProposalSWG PROJECT3 - Set Up ProjectFGDC Subcommittee or Working Group (SC/WG) DRAFT4 - Produce Working DraftSC/WG Standards Development Team 5 - Review Working DraftSC/WG REVIEW6 - Review and Evaluate Committee DraftSWG 7 - Approve Standard for Public ReviewFGDC Coordination Group (CG) 8 - Coordinate Public ReviewFGDC Secretariat 9 - Respond to Public CommentsSC/WG Standards Development Team or Editing Committee 10 - Evaluate Responsiveness to Public Comments SWG 11 - Approve Standard for EndorsementCG FINAL12 – EndorsementFGDC Steering Committee

11. 11 Steps to Endorsement or Recommendation of External Standards (1) Any FGDC member agency may propose any non- Federal standard for endorsement or recommendation by the FGDC. If a non-Federal organization is making a proposal, they must get an FGDC member Federal agency to act as the sponsor. Because any non-Federal standard proposed for consideration under this policy must be fully developed and recognized,steps 1-9 of the FGDC Standards Process are not required

12. 12 Steps to Endorsement or Recommendation of External Standards (2) Supporting Documentation: Category of standard Level of recognition sought Scope Benefits to the Federal government and FGDC members Restrictions, limitations, and other constraints Contact information for sponsor Identification or explanation of the process by which the standard was developed

13. 13 Discussion/Q&A

14. 14 Julie Binder Maitra FGDC Standards Coordinator Email: jmaitra@fgdc.gov Phone: 703 648 4627 URL: http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/standards.html