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This past April, President Bush authorized a national policy establishing guidance
for the federal government's use of commercial remote-sensing space capabilities.
The fundamental goal of this policy is to advance and protect U.S. national
interests by maintaining the nation's leadership in satellite activities and
enhancing the American remote sensing industry. A robust U.S. satellite industry
can augment government capabilities, contribute to civilian agency missions
and enhance the international competitiveness of U.S. industry.
While the policy applies to all government remote-sensing needs, it specifically
recognizes that civilian agencies have wide-ranging interests in commercial
remote-sensing systems, data, products and services. It directs civilian agencies
to "submit a plan for establishing an effective long-term partnership between
U.S. civilian agencies and U.S. industry that supports the goals of this policy."
These goals include advancing and protecting national security and foreign policy
interests by maintaining the nation's leadership in satellite activities.
Although U.S. civilian agencies have historically made some use of commercial
remote sensing space observations, no integrated approach has been developed
to optimize an acquisition strategy for civilian agency use. With the new policy,
civilian agencies are receiving a co-equal role with the military and intelligence
communities in ensuring direct civilian agency participation.
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A robust U.S. satellite
industry can augment government capabilities, contribute to civilian agency
missions and enhance the international competitiveness of U.S. industry.
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Under the policy, the secretaries of Commerce and the Interior and the administrator
of NASA must develop an implementation plan to consider civilian agency requirements
for, and improve access to, commercial remote-sensing products and services.
An interagency working group was convened to develop the plan, with oversight
provided by a review board comprised of Charles Groat, director of the U.S.
Geological Survey; Gregory Withee, assistant administrator for the National
Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration; and Ghassem Asrar, associate administrator for the Earth Science
Enterprise, NASA.
The working group used previous studies to summarize a range of the agencies'
crosscutting applications to reflect the current value of remote sensing; it
also identified potential opportunities that would benefit from more aggressive
and coordinated data acquisition processes. Common areas of interest are found
in agriculture, emergency management, environmental monitoring, homeland security,
mapping, natural resources management, transportation, and weather and climate.
The working group gave primary consideration to the following: civilian requirements
for imagery and geospatial information that can be effectively provided by commercial
remote sensing space capabilities; allocation of resources to meet those requirements;
mechanisms for interagency coordination to meet requirements, including coordination
with the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), traditionally the military's
mapping branch; and feasibility of designating a single agency as a civilian
procurement agent.
Although this plan is designed to benefit civil agencies for purchasing or otherwise
obtaining commercial space-based products, it does not preclude an agency from
contracting directly with a commercial data provider to satisfy its needs. Also,
as civilian agencies rely on remote-sensing data from sources such as airborne
sensors and value-added processors, the plan does not compromise the agency's
freedom to consider such remote-sensing data sources.
With guidance from its review board, the working group recommended a governance
model for interagency coordination that focuses on civilian agency needs while
sharing execution across multiple agencies. This "civil-focus, shared-execution"
model represents a framework whereby individual agencies agree to collect and
share their requirements for remote-sensing products to support collective interests.
These requirements will be consolidated (where appropriate) into a single procurement
strategy, strengthening negotiation of prices and licensing considerations that
support shared-use opportunities. The acquired products will be stored in a
common library for access and re-use by other civilian agency users.
This governance model also takes advantage of resources and infrastructure of
several civilian agencies to ensure successful execution of these processes,
where the agencies agree to share responsibilities; individual agency assets
can thus benefit all. For example, one agency may be well-positioned to provide
contractual services for data acquisition, or to assist in maintaining a library
of acquired products to support secondary users. The agencies will also collaborate
with NIMA to gain maximum benefit of their expertise and infrastructure. Although
the data requirements of the each civilian agency may be substantially different
(either in geographic location and scope, or in product characteristics) from
those of NIMA, the mechanisms used for acquisition and subsequent product preservation
and distribution can provide valuable experience and opportunity for collaboration.
Implementation of this model requires extensive coordination at several levels.
The working group recommends a committee of department-level executives from
the agencies to meet annually to provide high-level oversight and review progress.
The group also recommends that a steering committee composed of agency managers
provides more frequent guidance on key processes and priorities. Finally, the
group recommends the formation of a standing interagency working group composed
of senior agency managers and technical experts to coordinate frequently with
agency personnel engaged in operational activities.
The civil agencies are excited about the opportunity to apply this policy to
the benefitof their users, while appreciating the difficulties that lie ahead.
A robust requirements process, a consolidated procurement strategy and product
licenses that allow shared use are realistic goals that will require unprecedented
cooperation and coordination among the civilian agencies and with NIMA. The
release of this policy provides an opportunity to realize those benefits.
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