The overarching mission of the Department of Energy (DOE) is to discover the solutions to power and secure America's future. The five strategic themes which serve as a roadmap to achieving this mission are energy security, nuclear security, scientific discovery, environmental responsibility, and management excellence. Each of DOE’s strategic themes is supported by geospatial science resources – people, processes, data and technology that collect, analyze, and communicate information that are spatially referenced. The Department is advancing geospatial science as an enterprise services segment architecture within its Enterprise Architecture Transition Plan because it is cross-cutting and there are existing opportunities to leverage work through intra- and inter-agency coordination.

Historically DOE's application of geospatial science has been performed and funded tactically, with a focus on meeting short-term project requirements without consistent Department-wide management and investment oversight. The challenges facing DOE’s geospatial science segment are:

• Limited collaboration across the DOE complex
• Lack of strategic coordination of geospatial science research and development
• Lack of institutionally guided and managed financial resources for key activities
• Limited awareness and outreach to build an understanding of the potential for geospatial science

To address these challenges, DOE established the Geospatial Science Program (GSP) as the business owner to provide governance and oversight of DOE geospatial science and contribute to inter-agency coordination. The GSP is chaired with voting representation from the Office of Environmental Management, Office of Science, and the National Nuclear Security Administration; and technical, operational, administrative and financial support from the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). The GSP guides the efficient use of geospatial science resources across DOE in order to realize and maximize programmatic benefits with the implementation of priority programs. The GSP participates in the inter-agency Geospatial Line of Business to ensure that DOE’s requirements and strengths are incorporated, and that DOE can take advantage of any Common Solutions as they emerge.

The Department has identified key mission, business, technology, and legislative drivers applicable to the geospatial science segment. Most notable are the need for a broader strategic approach to addressing long-term, cross-departmental requirements, and improved management of geospatial science data as a primary business asset. The Department has performed a comprehensive review of activities and investments. It has expressed a vision with intended outcomes for a successful implementation that leverages current resources (people, processes, data, and technology) and builds upon the many innovative and effective business and IT initiatives in which DOE has already invested. The target state encompasses outcomes that cross mission and business lines as well as those that are unique to one or more individual offices and programs.

The GSP is managing segment architecture development and operating with a multi-year perspective that continues to improve the vision for geospatial science within DOE. The geospatial science segment will continue to advance by identifying and implementing projects to move toward the vision, overseeing cross-cutting and inter-agency opportunities, and leveraging the enterprise architecture framework. This effort is laying the groundwork for improved mission support and investment decision-making for geospatial science and technology across DOE.

Click here for Geospatial Science Segment Architecture (pdf).

Last Reviewed: 3/26/2008