USING AN ENTERPRISE APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT OF GIS IN THE USGS

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has initiated a bureau-wide approach to managing and supporting GIS to better support USGS science programs in geology and other earth science disciplines. “Enterprise Geographic Information Management (E-GIM)” will enable the USGS to better coordinate and integrate its diverse and widely distributed GIS expertise, data resources, and applications to provide a virtual “shared” GIS environment for the entire Bureau. Benefits to USGS geological scientists and our partners and customers will include: geospatial data from multiple projects and programs across the Bureau can be easily accessed and integrated, access to an online “tool-box” of GIS applications, rapid development and use of new GIS technologies (such as for mobile GIS), and cost-efficiencies and savings in GIS training and technical support. USGS is also actively collaborating with other Department of the Interior bureaus in planning and implementing a DOI-wide approach to GIS management.