FGDC Subcommittee on
Cultural and Demographic Data (SCDD)

Meeting Minutes

Minutes from the April 21, 1999 Meeting

Representatives in Attendance

• Fred Broome apologized for being unable to attend the previous meeting as he was out of town on business.

•  Fred Broome reported that the FGDC Standards Working Group held a meeting on Wednesday, April 7.  There were several topics of discussion at this meeting, one of which was the status of FGDC standards.  There are currently twelve FGDC endorsed standards, two are out for public review, and nineteen are under development.  Mr. Broome encourages the SCDD members to obtain copies of the standards and to review them.   The Status of FGDC Standards and information on obtaining copies are available on the FGDC website.  The Standards Working Group has reviewed the FGDC standards for Y2K compliance and have determined that only two need modification.  The FGDC has modified directives to include Y2K compliance for all standards as well.  An overview was given of the RINEX GPS data transfer format.  The Standards Working Group is interested in assisting to make the RINEX format a national standard.  The Ground Transportation Subcommittee has changed the name of the Framework Road Data Model to the Framework Transportation Identification Standard.  Meeting Minutes for the Standards Working Group meeting are available from the FGDC website.

• The FGDC Coordination Group held a meeting on Tuesday, April 6.  Mr. Broome briefed SCDD members on several of the topics discussed at this meeting.  The Proposal for a Spatial Climate Subcommittee was distributed for review.  Discussion of the proposal will be held during the May Coordination Group meeting.   The 1999 National Geodata Forum will be held June 7-9.  The seating is going fast, 500 is the maximum attendance.  If individuals in your agency are interested in attending this, please reserve seats.  Currently, the funding available from the FGDC for standard development is $35K, the amount of funds requested is $94K.   Members of the Coordination Group discussed the lack of funds available, however, no conclusion was reached.  There was a request for agencies to "formally invite"   Mark Schaeffer and John Moeller to speak to the agency's senior management about coordination of geospatial data efforts.  Meeting Minutes for this Coordination Group meeting are available on the FGDC website.

• Fred Broome announced that the report from the January 1999 National Science Foundation meeting are available.  The report is titled "Geographic Information Science: Critical Issues in an Emerging Cross - Disciplinary Research Domain," David Mark, SUNY Buffalo.

• Mr. Broome asked the SCDD members if there were any comments on the Working Draft - Governmental Unit Boundary Data Content Standard that was distributed at the February meeting.  No comments were given.

• Katie Ryan (National Park Service) reported on the Cultural Resources Work Group (CWRG).  Ms. Ryan announced that all volunteers are welcome to participate in the CRWG's task groups.  Details on task group responsibilities are available from the CWRG homepage.

• Kristen O'Grady (Census Bureau) reported on the SCDD homepage.  The homepage is currently being reorganized to make it more user-friendly.  Ms. O'Grady asked the SCDD members to review the SCDD homepage and provide comments on how it may be improved.  Members are invited to submit information on current projects their agency is working on that they wish to be highlighted on the SCDD website.  Please contact Kristen O'Grady with any comments or to submit any information:  (301)457-1056  kogrady@geo.census.gov.

• Chuck Croner (Centers for Disease Control) circulated the "Journal of Public Health Management and Practice."  This issue of the journal focuses on Geographic Information Systems in Public Health.  Mr. Croner announced that the sequal issue will be available in August.

• Brian Ristola (Census Bureau) gave a presentation titled, "Developing a Spatial Data File for Testing GIS Systems."  The purpose of the presentation was to address the concerns that an agency may have when needing to test a GIS system provider.  In his presentation, Mr. Ristola used a federal procurement as an example, and spoke on the necessity and complexity of benchmark testing.  For a copy of Mr. Ristola's PowerPoint presentation or corresponding notes please contact him at (301)457-1056, bristola@geo.census.gov.

• Gary Fitzpatrick gave SCDD members a tour of the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress.

The next meeting will occur during the month of September, 1999 although an exact date has not been determined.  A meeting location and time will be announced at a later date.  Check back soon!
 

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Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Last revised: Friday, 08-Dec-00 14:11:47