Academic Membership
Support education, research, and innovation by joining the OGC academic community. Collaborate on open standards, empower students, and influence the next generation of geospatial technologies.
Why Join
Join OGC to collaborate with global leaders, shape open standards, and showcase interoperable solutions that drive innovation and trust across the geospatial ecosystem.
Advance Research
Access and contribute to cutting-edge standards and open geospatial technologies for academic projects.
Educate & Inspire
Provide students with hands-on experience in real-world geospatial standards and industry practices.
Collaborate Globally
Work alongside international organizations, government, and industry to share research outcomes.
Visibility & Recognition
Showcase research achievements, faculty expertise, and student contributions on a global platform.
Membership Benefits
Tailored for universities, research institutions, and educational organizations aiming to empower students and faculty with open geospatial standards.
Working Group Participation & Voting
Join OGC Working Groups to collaborate with experts and influence future standards development.
Innovation
Programs
Participate in code sprints, testbeds, and pilots to apply academic insights in real-world settings.
Learning & Development
Benefit from access to OGC’s training, workshops, certifications, and global community of experts.
Grants & Partnerships
Publish case studies, white papers, and research findings through OGC channels.
Student Engagement
Enable students to join OGC activities, gain mentorship, and build global networks.
Visibility & Recognition
Receive certificates, directory listings, and showcase your institution’s commitment to open standards.
MEMBER COMMUNITY
Step Into Agora
Agora is where the OGC community connects and works together. It keeps members informed, connected, and involved, with easy access to resources, discussions, and collaboration spaces from anywhere, including on mobile.
Through Agora, members engage with peers across government, industry, and research, contribute to solving shared geospatial challenges, and stay close to the work shaping standards and interoperability.
Joining OGC gives you access to Agora—and to the global community behind it!
Membership for All Organization Sizes
Whether a single department, a multidisciplinary school, or a large research institution, membership scales with your organization’s size while providing the same core benefits — including access to working groups, innovation programs, certification pathways, and global visibility.
Use our Membership Fee Calculator to estimate your annual dues.
Engagement Levels (OGC Tier Framework)
Scale your participation based on your product strategy and market goals. Each tier builds on the previous one — unlocking broader governance roles, innovation access, and visibility.
Professional/ Developer
Join to Participate:
Participate in working groups, innovation programs, and access compliance discounts.
Explorer
Join to Participate:
Participate in working groups, innovation programs, and access compliance discounts.
Catalyst
Join to Influence:
All the benefits in the previous tier, and – Ability to propose new working groups, Gain technical committee membership with voting rights, and eligible for unlimited compliance packages.
Principal
Join to Lead:
All the benefits in the previous tier, and – Planning Committee membership and voting rights, Election of OGC Board of Directors, Prominent branding and promotion and unlimited compliance packages.
Strategic
Join to Invest:
All the benefits in the previous tier, and – Strategic Member Advisory Committee (SMAC) Representation, Direct a percentage of organization’s membership dues for specific OGC technical initiatives and unlimited compliance packages.
Request for full tier details and benefits in the Enquiry Form.
Compare Engagement Levels
Benefits
OGC portal licenses1
Complimentary registrations for each online OGC Events and Member Meetings
Community engagement
Can participate in working groups
Can propose a new working group
Technical Committee membership and voting rights
Planning Committee membership and voting rights
Election of OGC Board of Directors
Opportunity to engage in Quarterly C-Suite Forums
Strategic Member Advisory Committee (SMAC) Representation
Direct a percentage of organization’s membership dues for specific OGC technical initiatives
Eligible to participate in Code Sprints
Eligible for funding through OGC technical initiatives
Eligible for OGC advisory support
Eligible for Advisory Services
Eligible to sponsor branded fellowships
Brand awareness and promotion
Sponsored memberships
Professional/ Developer
1
12
- OGC Member Badge
Explorer
5
1
- Discoverable on OGC Website
- OGC brand assets
- Opportunity for exposure through OGC media channels
Catalyst
20
2
- Discoverable on OGC Website
- OGC brand assets
- Opportunity for exposure through OGC media channels
Principal
Unlimited
4
- Prominent placement on the OGC website homepage
- OGC brand assets
- Opportunity for exposure through OGC media channels
- One case study per year through shared media channels
1 Explorer organization & 2 individuals
Strategic
Unlimited
20
- Prominent placement on the OGC website homepage
- OGC brand assets
- One case study per year through OGC media channels
- Opportunity for exposure through media channels
- OGC promotion in industry/media outlets
2 Explorer organizations & 4 individuals
1University members receive extra student portal licenses: Explorers get 20, Catalysts 100, Principals 500, and Strategic members have unlimited
2One complimentary registration per year
3Extra small commercial members are eligible to receive up to $10,000 in funding per membership cycle
Talk to us About Membership
Share details about your company and objectives. We’ll follow up with eligibility, dues, and engagement opportunities.
