Wayland, MA, USA, April 16, 2001 – OGC, Inc. (the Open GIS Consortium) announced today the start of the OGC Civil Works Technology Insertion (CTI) Project. This international project is a new type of interoperability initiative, an Insertion Project, that focuses on expanding an organization's interoperability capacity by laying the groundwork for open implementations. The CTI Project, sponsored by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), will grow interoperable web mapping technology from research into practical application to support enterprise GIS solutions for Corps Civil Works Divisions and Districts.The CTI Project will also play a key role in growing OGC's budding OGC Network (OGCN). The Network is an infrastructure that supports building, testing and sharing of interoperable data and services using OGC specifications. OGC and its members use OGCN during its testbeds and pilot projects. OGCN can to be used by any developer or organization with an interest in geospatial interoperability. OGCN services and data are available to support the open exchange of geospatial information on local, national and international spatial infrastructure development projects.The CTI Project will integrate multiple map servers with online services from OGCN. Two different commercial map servers at the Corps Mississippi Valley Division and the New Orleans District Office will be updated to conform to the OGC Web Map Server Interface Specification. Some of the information on these servers will then be incorporated into a registry of online services available on OGCN.In addition, the CTI project will leverage a variety of standards-based commercial technology developed and tested during OGC Web Mapping Testbeds and the OGC Upper-Susquehanna-Lackawanna (USL) Pilot Project. The Web Mapping Testbeds formed the basis for the existing Web Mapping Specifications while the ERDC sponsored USL Pilot tested prototype online capabilities for multi-source geospatial discovery and visualization. This process, from testbed, to pilot, to insertion project is expected to be a popular path for organizations seeking the full benefit of spatial interoperability.OGC invites technology vendors, government agencies, international organizations and other interested parties to participate in the CTI and future Insertion Projects and OGC Network activities. Please contact Mr. Jeff Harrison, OGC Interoperability Program Manager, by telephone at (703) 628-8655, or by e-mail at jharrison@opengeospatial.org for more information.The OGC Civil Works Technology Insertion Project is part of OGC's Interoperability Program, a global, collaborative, hands-on engineering and testing program. In OGC's Interoperability Initiatives, international teams of technology providers work together to solve specific geoprocessing interoperability problems posed by Initiative sponsors.OGC is an international industry consortium of over 200 companies, government agencies and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geoprocessing specifications. OpenGIS Specifications establish common interfaces that “geo-enable” the Web and mainstream IT, enabling technology developers to make complex spatial information and services accessible and useful with all kinds of applications. Visit the OGC website at: http://www.opengeospatial.org .– end –“