Report Highlights GEOINT Community Trends

Herndon, Virginia, March 5, 2015 — The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) published last week its first State of GEOINT Report. The 2015 report helps determine the current “state of GEOINT” as well as support the GEOINT Community’s interests and professional requirements.

This inaugural report began with a diverse gathering of more than 50 geospatial intelligence practitioners Oct. 7, 2014, at the Hyatt Dulles in Herndon, Va. Participants from academia, U.S. government, and large and small businesses were asked to think through a series of open-ended exercises and define which GEOINT topics, concepts, and challenges they considered “hot,” “not,” and “on the horizon.” USGIF asked participants to continue the dialogue by writing short essays to capture the essence of their discussions. These essays formed the basis of the 2015 State of GEOINT report.

"I believe the 2015 State of GEOINT report will provide the USGIF community with a vehicle to annually calibrate and take stock of the changes and trends in the international GEOINT Community,” said USGIF CEO Keith Masback. "The need for this approach is reflected in the global nature of USGIF’s members and stakeholders. Participants in the 2015 report are thought leaders in a broad range of GEOINT-related specialties, and we are pleased with the insights they developed and captured for the report.”

Articles in the report include open source technologies and Big Data as “hot” topics; stovepipes as “not hot;” and data privacy concerns and leveraging crowdsourcing as important subjects “on the horizon.” In total, the report contains 10 articles written by 17 authors.

“When we first thought about the State of GEOINT report we insisted it be put together organically,” said Dr. Darryl Murdock, USGIF’s vice president of professional development. “In doing so, we were able to keep not only the spirit but the actual words of our community of practice. Compiling the report not only gives the GEOINT Community an opportunity to tell USGIF what is happening, but creates an outlet for practitioners that isn’t as challenging as a peer reviewed article. This exercise also provides information to shape USGIF’S Universal GEOINT credentialing program, which is set to launch later this year.”

USGIF plans to host a State of GEOINT activity and produce a comprehensive State of GEOINT report each year.

Subscribers to USGIF’s quarterly print magazine, trajectory, received a copy of the report in the mail along with the Q1 2015 issue. A PDF of the 2015 State of GEOINT report is also available on the USGIF website.

About USGIF

USGIF is a nonprofit educational foundation dedicated to promoting the geospatial intelligence tradecraft and developing a stronger GEOINT Community with government, industry, academia, professional organizations, and individuals who develop and apply geospatial intelligence to address national security challenges. USGIF’s mission is to build the community, advance the tradecraft, and accelerate innovation.

For more information, please visit www.USGIF.org and follow USGIF on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Contacts:
Kristin Quinn
Publications & Communications Manager
United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation
703-793-0109, ext. 115
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