Executive Summary
This National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) strategic plan for 2025-2035 is a national plan involving the broad participation of Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments and the private sector, including private industry, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations. It establishes a vision for the NSDI that will enable it to address the evolving challenges and opportunities in the realm of geospatial data collection or acquisition, management, and use. Recognizing the critical role of location as identified through geospatial information for evidence-based decision-making, economic growth, and societal advancement, the NSDI is envisioned as being a seamlessly interconnected national geospatial ecosystem, connected to a larger global geospatial ecosystem, that delivers actionable insights to address local, regional, national, and global challenges across the terrestrial, maritime, and space domains. Successfully addressing these challenges, which span the gamut of environmental, social, and economic concerns, will require inclusive national governance and will best be achieved by filling data gaps, leveraging new and impactful technologies, and developing the workforce.
This NSDI strategic plan is guided by three overarching goals: Governance, Data and Technology, and People. Under the Governance goal, the plan emphasizes the need for nationwide participation, resourcing, and accountability in NSDI decision-making, alongside effective national-level oversight and management mechanisms. This includes refining policy and legal frameworks to support data management, sharing, and use, and identifying and meeting financial resource needs for successful implementation.
Under the Data and Technology goal, the plan focuses on modernizing infrastructure and leveraging advanced technology to improve data usability, quality, accessibility, and interoperability. Achieving this goal involves evaluating, improving, and maintaining an integrated national geospatial data foundation; embracing such technological innovations as artificial intelligence (AI), including machine learning; and ensuring adherence to national and international standards.
The people goal underscores the importance of building a skilled and inclusive geospatial workforce that is equipped to advance and leverage the full potential of the NSDI by applying transdisciplinary skills. Achieving this goal includes fostering multisector partnerships, promoting continuous learning within the geospatial community, and actively promoting the use and understanding of geospatial data and technologies.
Looking ahead, the NSDI strategic plan identifies key trends likely to shape the future geospatial landscape, including AI; big data analytics; advancements in technology; open data initiatives; legal, privacy, policy, and security considerations; human-centered design principles; interoperability standards; and collaboration.
The strategic plan also highlights a diverse range of use cases across various sectors and disciplines where the NSDI plays a crucial role, including disaster response and management, smart cities development, precision agriculture, healthcare planning and response, autonomous transportation, supply chain optimization, digital twins, scientific monitoring, infrastructure management, natural resource management, and business intelligence and market analysis.
By embracing the capabilities of Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments and the private sector (including private industry, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations), the NSDI can realize its potential to drive progress and innovation for the betterment of society. To achieve the vision outlined in the NSDI strategic plan, concerted efforts and collaboration across sectors are essential. Upon fulfillment of the goals outlined in this strategic plan, all sectors will be responsible for developing and resourcing NSDI implementation actions, including coordinating through the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and across sectors to achieve the shared vision of the NSDI.
