Disasters Interoperability Concept Development Study

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Disasters Interoperability Concept Development Study has now completed, and the final Engineering Report has been published.

The OGC Development of Disaster Spatial Data Infrastructures for Disaster Resilience Enginnering Report [pdf] presents the results of a concept development study on Disasters Interoperability, sponsored by US Geological Survey (USGS) and Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and executed by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). The focus of this study was to understand how to best support the development of, or combination of SDI(s) for the use in disasters, to advance the understanding of stakeholder issues, and serve stakeholders’ needs. The study included stakeholder engagements, workshops and open Request for Information (RFI) that gathered external international positions and opinions on the optimal setup and design of an SDI for disasters. The outflow of this report will guide a series of interoperability pilots to address priority challenges identified by the community in this study. The report follows the format and document of the OGC Arctic Spatial Data Pilot; Phase 1 Report: Spatial Data Sharing for the Arctic.

The information contained below shall remain here for posterity.

Workshop Planning Document

OGC held the Disasters Concept Development Study Workshop on July 24-25, 2018 at NOAA Auditorium, Silver Spring, Maryland. The Disasters workshop was organized by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), the US Geological Survey (USGS), and other Government agencies.

Workshop Background

According to NOAA, in 2017 in the United States there were 16 major natural disasters with costs that exceeded 306 billion dollars, shattering previous annual records.

Can we save more lives and reduce damages by providing better discovery and access to data that will improve mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery of disasters?

The ability to effectively share, use, and re-use geospatial information and applications across and between governments and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in support of disaster response and resilience is dependent upon having a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) already in-place when disaster strikes.

 Purpose

The purpose of this workshop was to guide future OGC Innovation Program Activities by:

1. Engaging executive level participants to understand the most important challenges

2. Bringing together diverse sponsors to understand challenges that may translate into requirements for pilots that will kickoff in October 2018

3. Engaging different stakeholders in disasters

4. Helping participants better understand activities occurring at OGC and other key organizations 

5. Engaging operational and technical stakeholders to gather and share information on the current state for using geospatial data and services during natural disasters, including:

 a. Understanding what data, applications, tools, and services stakeholders need

 b. Understanding what data, applications, tools, and services are available

 c. Understanding discoverability, accessibility, and usability challenges

 d. Understanding interoperability challenges and integration opportunities

 e. Identifying gaps in data, applications, tools, and service

 The Disasters Concept Development Study Overview

The OGC’s Disasters Interoperability Concept Development Study (CDS) is currently coming to a close. The final report will describe the current state of data and product exchange technologies as used in disaster planning, response, and recovery. The information gained in the CDS will aid in developing a series of future pilots that will in turn advance the state of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) that support disaster risk reduction across the globe.

Geospatial information has been proven effective in supporting both the understanding of and response to disasters. The supported activities include identifying at-risk areas by building scientific models and analyzing historical data, to assessing damage and coordinating response teams using near real-time imagery and data in the wake of a crisis, and myriad other applications in-between.

However, the ability to effectively share, use, and re-use geospatial information and applications across and between governments and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in support of disaster response and resilience is dependent upon having the required partnerships, policies, standards, architecture, and technologies already in-place when disaster strikes. Further, building reusable analytic pathways, geospatial information, applications, and partnerships across multiple disasters – those that are geographically separate but in the same regional area – requires a sustained commitment. Conversely, maintaining such a commitment would enable stakeholders to further mature and strengthen their efforts towards resilience, preparedness, response, and mitigation.

The Disasters Interoperability CDS was organized by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and the US Geological Survey (USGS), with the objectives of collating, documenting, and making freely available the knowledge and best practices required for geospatial information sharing in times of crisis.

In order to achieve these objectives, the CDS brought together diverse stakeholders from the global disasters community to assess the current state of data exchange technologies (e.g. data, tools, APIs).

This OGC Innovation Program initiative will lay the groundwork for multiple OGC Pilot Projects over the next 5 years. These pilots will, in turn, advance the ability of SDIs to support disaster risk reduction.

By combining the information gained in this CDS with future OGC Testbeds and Pilot Projects, the OGC and its members will demonstrate the richness, benefits, and value of using international standards to provide geospatial data in support of disaster planning, response, and recovery.

This study and subsequent initiatives will show how data standards help stakeholders and decision makers gain new and beneficial perspectives into social, economic, and environmental issues related to disasters by providing access to an online network of resources that improve the sharing, use, and integration of information tied to geographic locations across the globe.

The purpose of the Request for Information (RFI) was to gain a better understanding of the full potential of a Disaster SDI that could serve local, national, regional, and international stakeholders. Information gathered and publicly reported by the initiative will expose opportunities to improve spatial data infrastructures for publishing, discovering, assessing, accessing, integrating, aggregating, and analyzing geospatial data. RFI responses are being discussed with an expanded set of sponsoring organizations, who are reviewing information interoperability and integration requirements for a Disaster SDI Pilot planned for later this year.

For more information on the Disasters Interoperability Concept Development Study, please visit www.opengeospatial.org/projects/initiatives/disasterscds or contact Terry Idol tidol@opengeospatial.org.

To learn more about OGC’s role in Emergency Response and Disaster Management, visit: www.opengeospatial.org/domain/eranddm.

OGC also runs an Emergency & Disaster Management Domain Working Group. To learn more about that DWG, visit: www.opengeospatial.org/projects/groups/edmdwg.