Several national geospatial organizations have recently come together to create the Coalition of Geospatial Organizations. The Coalition evolved after several “Stakeholder” meetings that took place on an irregular basis since 2003.

June 2, 2008 - Several national geospatial organizations have recently come together to create the Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (COGO). The Coalition evolved after several “Stakeholder” meetings that took place on an irregular basis since 2003. In August 2007, several of these organizations met to discuss areas of mutual concern and interest. In order to promote openness and effective collaboration, it was decided that the group should become a more formal organization.

COGO was developed to provide a forum for organizations concerned with national geospatial issues that will 1) improve communications among the member organizations (and others), 2) provide educational information on relevant issues for their respective memberships, 3) align and strengthen their respective policy agendas, and 4) facilitate development of strategies to address national issues.

COGO participants have met regularly in 2008 to draft the COGO Rules of Operation and Procedure which follow the Council on Federal Procurement of Architectural and Engineering Services (COFPAES) Model of organization, whereby COGO will undertake legal or advocacy action only through unanimous agreement of all of the Member Organizations.

Current COGO Member Organization Participants are:

• American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) - Curt Sumner (Curtis.Sumner@ACSM.NET)
• American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) - Jim Plasker (jplasker@asprs.org)
• Association of American Geographers (AAG) - Doug Richardson (drichardson@aag.org)
• Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS) - Aileen Buckley (abuckley@esri.com)
• Geospatial Information Technology Association (GITA) - Bob Samborski (bsamborski@gita.org)
• GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) - Email (info@gisci.org)
• Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS) - John Palatiello (john@mapps.org)
• National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) - Fred Stringfellow (fred@ksgroup.org)
• University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) - Jack Sanders (execdir@ucgis.org)
• Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) - Wendy Nelson (wnelson@urisa.org)

Current COGO Advisory Organization Participants are:

• National Association of Counties (NACo)
• National Emergency Numbers Association (NENA)
• Western Governors Association (WGA)
• American Planning Association (APA)

In the spirit of openness and collaboration, COGO extends a Call for Interest to any organization with a desire to participate in this forum and meets the qualifications set forth in the Rules of Operation and Procedure document (PDF- www.urisa.org/files/COGORules%20of%20Operation%20and%20ProcedureApril%2021_0.pdf ).

All interested organizations should contact any of the Executive Directors of the Member Organizations listed above.

The next meeting of the COGO Member and Advisory Organizations is scheduled on Monday, August 4, 2008 from 4:00-5:30 PM at the San Diego Convention Center. The Rules of Operation and Procedure document is expected to be finalized during the August meeting at which time the organizations will determine if they will join COGO.