August 11, 2008 - The Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (COGO) came into official being on August 4, 2008. Representatives of the eleven founding member organizations met at the ESRI Users’ Conference in San Diego and voted unanimously to approve a set of Rules of Operation and Procedure that brought COGO into existence. Several attended via conference call and WebEx.

COGO grew out of a series of stakeholder meetings among the leaders of national organizations involved in geospatial data and policy issues over the last several years. The groups realized that they had common interests and concerns and that they could increase their effectiveness by speaking with one voice wherever possible.

After voting to formalize COGO by adopting rules of operation, the group selected an inaugural slate of officers. The Chair is Cy Smith from the National States Geographic Information Council, the Chair-elect is Curt Sumner from the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, and the Secretary is George Donatello from the International Association of Assessing Officers.

"I know I speak for all organizations that have joined this coalition when I say that we are excited and optimistic about the potential to accelerate the advancement of a variety of national geospatial issues" said Oregon GIS Coordinator and NSGIC President Cy Smith. "We intend to begin immediately developing a collaborative advocacy agenda and aggressively pursuing those issues on which we can all agree. We invite other geospatial organizations and organizations with an interest in geospatial issues to join us as Member or Advisory Organizations."

The founding Member Organizations are:

• American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM)
• American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)
• Association of American Geographers (AAG)
• Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CAGIS)
• Geospatial Information Technology Association (GITA)
• GIS Certification Institute (GISCI)
• International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO)
• Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS)
• National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC)
• University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS)
• Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA)

The founding Advisory Organizations are:

• National Association of Counties (NACo)
• National Emergency Number Association (NENA)
• Western Governors Association (WGA)
• American Planning Association (APA)

The next meeting of COGO is expected to be held in Washington, DC in October in conjunction with the next meetings of the Federal Geographic Data Committee and the National Geospatial Advisory Committee.

For more information about COGO, visit http://www.urisa.org/cogo.