Mission and Strategic Plan

Mission:

To define, maintain and provide access to the National Spatial Reference System to meet our nation's economic, social, and environmental needs.

Vision:

Everyone accurately knows where they are and where other things are at all times and in all places!

Organizational Structure

  • Department: U.S. Department of Commerce
  • Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
  • NOAA Line Office: National Ocean Service (NOS)
  • NGS Leadership and Organization Chart



NGS Research Plan

The purpose of this document is to communicate NGS’ research and investment over both the short and long-term planning horizons. Providing long-term research themes allows governmental partner agencies, academic collaborators, and commercial industry insight to NGS’ plans to prepare and address the nation’s geodetic control needs for the next 10-15 years.

The NGS research plan is aligned with NOAA’s FY22-26 strategic plan vision of building a climate ready nation and recognizes the intrinsic connection between weather, water, and climate systems, linked through the hydrologic cycle, driven by ocean, land, and atmospheric processes. Such long-term research requires a multidisciplinary approach, centered around geodesy using satellite observations, rooted in open science and open source methods, and driven by stakeholder needs.



Additional Resources


Previous Plans

Previous NGS long-range and strategic plans are also available here:

Evaluating Progress

  • From 2010 onward, NGS has been sharing progress toward modernizing the NSRS at Geospatial Summits. Materials are available for events in 2017, 2015 and 2010.

  • From 2008 to 2022, NGS has been collecting airborne gravity data through the GRAVD Project. This data will be used to modernize the national vertical reference frame.

  • From 2006 to 2013, NGS began a tracking its progress toward "fully or substantially" enabling counties with accurate positioning in County Scorecards.