Geospatial information technologies have moved from the domain of experts to the fingertips of anyone with internet access and a question that involves “where?” Many people use a computer, smartphone, or a car’s navigation system to find the closest ATM, gas station, or a destination. And we are now using them in the homeland security community.
In an emergency, these capabilities provide situational awareness for all types of decision makers—from private citizens who need to decide if they should board up their homes to emergency managers coordinating response activities. Good geospatial data helps us make better decisions. And now, data is required to be customized—so only the pertinent geographic area(s) and data are received, while information can be quickly added and shared with colleagues, friends and family.
Federal agencies have public websites that provide geospatial data, including the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) own Federal Emergency Management Agency. Private citizens, volunteer groups, non-profits and others also use social media to provide information on damages, shelters, resources and other guidance.
Consider the homeland security community’s response to Hurricane Isaac. Citizens, local and state governments, private sector partners and all Federal agencies were involved. Many states not directly impacted still supported our response through pre-existing emergency management assistance compacts. This enormous national effort keeps citizens safe and assists recovery.
DHS is committed to ensuring the right geospatial data is available at the right time and that advances in geospatial capabilities meet the growing needs and expectations of users.
This phenomenon is not a traditional Common Operating Picture—or COP, but is instead a User Defined Operating Picture (UDOP) or perhaps even a Mission Defined Operating Picture (MDOP). While we may refer to these under the umbrella term “COP,” the only thing they have in common is authoritative, trusted data. We may look at different views, use different software, use different base map types and scales, but we must use the same authoritative data. For example, NOAA is the authoritative source for much of the U.S. weather and flood data. While this should allow a common understanding and situational awareness of the threat, the proliferation of data available to users from many sources may pose a significant challenge in determining authoritative and trusted data sources.
DHS is taking on a number of initiatives to keep driving progress with the support of federal, state, local and tribal governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and citizens. Our success first requires validating requirements. We are now entering the fifth year of maturing the National Geospatial Concept of Operations (GeoCONOPS) to establish validated requirements, best practices and sources of authoritative data. In addition to our federal partners, the National States Geographic Information Council and the National Alliance for Public Safety GIS Foundation have provided instrumental support. Version 4.0 of the GeoCONOPS will soon be available, and online publication is expected this fall.
Second, we are working to enable our mission partners and customers by establishing a set of geospatial services that includes visualization tools, geoanalytics, and data services along with other features available via the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN). Known as the Geospatial Information Infrastructure, this provides common foundational-level information to support all emergency management lifecycle phases.
Working with the DHS National Operations Center—or NOC—we leverage the most efficient and effective of these capabilities to build the DHS COP. It provides situational awareness tools that ensure all-hazards type events and incidents, and their related information, reaches Government decision-makers in a usable and actionable format. The DHS COP, rolled out in May, has been tremendously successful. The richness of authoritative data, ease of use and, most importantly, the foundation on clear user requirements, are driving adoption. There are now nearly 3,000 DHS COP users representing 29 Federal departments and agencies, 31 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. And Government Computer News just announced they are recognizing DHS’ initiative as one of the Top Ten Federal IT projects for 2012.
Finally, DHS is dedicated to citizen-to-government and government-to-citizen sharing of geospatial data. We are just beginning to understand the power of data that can be provided by citizens and are now working with the Federal Geographic Data Committee and the Department of Interior on the implementation of the Federal Geoplatform to enable sharing of this new emerging type of data.
As you can see, this is a rapidly evolving field. How far we can take this new world of geospatial capabilities is only limited by our ingenuity.
