Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (COGO)

Coalition of Geospatial Organizations Becomes Official

August 11, 2008 - The Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (COGO) came into official being on August 4, 2008. Representatives of the eleven founding member organizations met at the ESRI Users’ Conference in San Diego and voted unanimously to approve a set of Rules of Operation and Procedure that brought COGO into existence. Several attended via conference call and WebEx.

COGO grew out of a series of stakeholder meetings among the leaders of national organizations involved in geospatial data and policy issues over the last several years. The groups realized that they had common interests and concerns and that they could increase their effectiveness by speaking with one voice wherever possible.

After voting to formalize COGO by adopting rules of operation, the group selected an inaugural slate of officers. The Chair is Cy Smith from the National States Geographic Information Council, the Chair-elect is Curt Sumner from the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, and the Secretary is George Donatello from the International Association of Assessing Officers.

"I know I speak for all organizations that have joined this coalition when I say that we are excited and optimistic about the potential to accelerate the advancement of a variety of national geospatial issues" said Oregon GIS Coordinator and NSGIC President Cy Smith. "We intend to begin immediately developing a collaborative advocacy agenda and aggressively pursuing those issues on which we can all agree. We invite other geospatial organizations and organizations with an interest in geospatial issues to join us as Member or Advisory Organizations."

The founding Member Organizations are:

• American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM)
• American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)
• Association of American Geographers (AAG)
• Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CAGIS)
• Geospatial Information Technology Association (GITA)
• GIS Certification Institute (GISCI)
• International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO)
• Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS)
• National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC)
• University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS)
• Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA)

The founding Advisory Organizations are:

• National Association of Counties (NACo)
• National Emergency Number Association (NENA)
• Western Governors Association (WGA)
• American Planning Association (APA)

The next meeting of COGO is expected to be held in Washington, DC in October in conjunction with the next meetings of the Federal Geographic Data Committee and the National Geospatial Advisory Committee.

COGO Rules of Operation and Procedure - Approved August 4, 2008

Coalition of Geospatial Organizations Announced

May, 2008 - Several national geospatial organizations have recently come together to create the Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (COGO). The Coalition evolved after several “Stakeholder” meetings that took place on an irregular basis since 2003. In August 2007, several of these organizations met to discuss areas of mutual concern and interest. In order to promote openness and effective collaboration, it was decided that the group should become a more formal organization.

COGO was developed to provide a forum for organizations concerned with national geospatial issues that will 1) improve communications among the member organizations (and others), 2) provide educational information on relevant issues for their respective memberships, 3) align and strengthen their respective policy agendas, and 4) facilitate development of strategies to address national issues.

COGO participants have met regularly in 2008 to draft the COGO Rules of Operation and Procedure which follow the Council on Federal Procurement of Architectural and Engineering Services (COFPAES) Model of organization, whereby COGO will undertake legal or advocacy action only through unanimous agreement of all of the Member Organizations.

Current COGO Member Organization Participants are:

• American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM)
- Curt Sumner
• American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)
- Jim Plasker
• Association of American Geographers (AAG)
- Doug Richardson
• Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS)
- Aileen Buckley
• Geospatial Information Technology Association (GITA)
- Bob Samborski
• GIS Certification Institute (GISCI)
- Email
•International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO)
- Lisa Daniels

•Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS)
- John Palatiello
• National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC)
- Fred Stringfellow
• University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS)
- Jack Sanders
• Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA)
- Wendy Nelson

Current COGO Advisory Organization Participants are:

• National Association of Counties (NACo)
• National Emergency Number Association (NENA)
• Western Governors Association (WGA)
• American Planning Association (APA)

In the spirit of openness and collaboration, COGO extends a Call for Interest to any organization with a desire to participate in this forum and meets the qualifications set forth in the Rules of Operation and Procedure document (PDF).

All interested organizations should contact any of the Executive Directors of the Member Organizations listed above.

The next meeting of the COGO Member and Advisory Organizations is scheduled on Monday, August 4, 2008 from 4:00-5:30 PM at the San Diego Convention Center. The Rules of Operation and Procedure document is expected to be finalized during the August meeting at which time the organizations will determine if they will join COGO.