Geospatial Information Infrastructure for Transportation Organizations (2004)

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2 9 CHAPTER 5 Call to Action The potential for having comprehensive, timely,and usable geospatial information necessary tosupport informed decision making in trans- portation is good. However, that potential has been realized only in a limited number of cases and not on a broad, systemwide scale. This report represents a call to action to transportation agencies, primarily at the federal level, to make this happen. PAST AND CURRENT REPORTS The call for enhanced geospatial information is not new. During the last decade, nearly one document each year has recognized or evaluated the need for geospa- tial data as part of a comprehensive information deci- sion-support environment (see Box 5-1). Findings from these reports consistently maintain the theme that the comprehensive data necessary for effective decisions at a national level or to be provided to state or local deci- sion makers do not exist, except for very specific appli- cations, and that integration across data sets has not been practical. Recommendations routinely support the enhancement of the quality, interoperability, and dissemination of these data through coordinated activ- ities at the national level and through partnerships with stakeholders. But because these reports have spanned the last decade and the findings and recom- mendations represent variations on the same theme, it appears that proponents have both underestimated the complexity of the task and failed to effectively com- municate the fundamental need to the appropriate decision makers to make geospatial information not only a priority but a necessity. Partnerships exist to provide benefits for one or more parties. Identifying what benefits are for whom as well as what responsi- bilities are required of which stakeholders is an essen- tial foundation for any data-sharing arrangement. Both the benefits and the responsibilities must be balanced in an equitable manner. The work performed for this project and reports from previous studies indicate that the keys to success- fully accomplishing the goal of an effective geospatial information infrastructure are to redefine and enable the roles of the stakeholders as partners; educate and demonstrate to decision makers the benefits of a com- prehensive information infrastructure; and ensure that the technology, procedures, and best practices are made available to stakeholders to put the infrastructure in place. The recommendations from this effort are divided into three categories: • Institutional roles and responsibilities, • Capacity and commitment building, and • Geospatial information. Each category is further divided into specific areas. Each area includes one or more recommendations for consideration by all levels and areas of transportation organizations, but in particular for the federal govern- ment and more specifically the U.S. Department of Transportation and its Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The recommendations are broad and will require leadership from the federal level to have a chance of meeting the goals set forth in this report. CONCLUSION Information, and the data and technologies that support and generate it, is not without cost. However, it should be viewed as infrastructure that is just as important and necessary as bridges, ports, runways, rails, and roads. Its cost is minimal compared with the potential for “billion- dollar bonehead decisions” that could occur without adequate information. To ensure the best decisions pos- sible, the information infrastructure must be supported, or the means to make the necessary decisions will be unavailable. 3 0 GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE FOR TRANSPORTATION ORGANIZATIONS BOX 5-1 Previous Calls for Improved Geospatial Information 1991—A National Geographic Information Resource: The Spatial Foundation of the Information Based Society. Federal Geographic Data Committee. 1992—Special Report 234: Data for Decisions: Requirements for National Transportation Policy Making. Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, D.C. 1993—NCHRP Research Results Digest 191: Man- agement Guide for Implementation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in State DOTs. Trans- portation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, D.C. 1993—Toward a Coordinated Spatial Data Infra- structure for the Nation. National Research Council, Washington, D.C. 1995—Promoting the National Spatial Data Infrastructure Through Partnerships. National Research Council, Washington, D.C. 1995—A Data Foundation for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure. National Research Council, Washington, D.C. 1997—Bureau of Transportation Statistics: Priorities for the Future. C. F. Citro and J. L. Norwood (eds.), National Research Council, Washington, D.C. 2001—National Spatial Data Infrastructure Partner- ship Programs: Rethinking the Focus. National Research Council, Washington, D.C. 2003—IT Roadmap to a Geospatial Future. National Research Council, Washington, D.C. 2003—Weaving a National Map: Review of the U.S. Geological Survey Concept of the National Map. National Research Council, Washington, D.C. Brief discussions of these reports are provided in Appendix C.