NGA releases data discovery RFI

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), in support of the NGA Source Office, is seeking information relevant to modernizing evaluation processes for foundation GEOINT topographic data products. Responses are due by 10:00 a.m. Central on November 20.

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to probe industry to identify interested sources and to gain information on practices and capabilities that could increase efficiencies for NGA’s Data Discovery requirements.

The objective of this RFI is to identify existing techniques and methods to create detailed assessments of relevant topo holdings dynamically. Currently, foundation data is created with input from both people and technology (manual extractions, artificial intelligence, web scraping, etc.) to meet the required data standards and specifications. We are looking for a methodology to assess the performance of the data from NGA holdings against customer requirements. Some products are static while others are updated dynamically. This approach will enable NGA to compare and baseline the range of products to measure the “goodness of fit” for incoming mission requirements.

To compare current topographic products, at minimum, the following dimensions must be considered: 1. Basic details to include specification, format, features, attributes and metadata

  1. Correctness of dataset to include level of detail, geometry, attribution content, etc.
  2. Completeness of dataset geometry, attribution, and metadata
  3. Estimation of the amount of change that has occurred since dataset creation

NGA requires a suite of metrics that will measure key performance parameters including the innovative capability to assess and present the distinctions and schema nuances in a meaningful way. Metrics should apply broadly to datasets, with schema specific measures on an as-needed basis only. Innovative capability assessment, the creation of innovative evaluation technique, should be included as an approach to handle novel technologies and techniques for the creation of foundation data.

Further, NGA is interested to learn about innovative future-oriented architectural design to integrate and incorporate these topographic assessment tools into the NGA workflow, ensuring interoperability. The basic requirements are the ability to access data in the spaces they live, conduct assessments of the data products, and develop a database with Application Programming Interfaces (API) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for access by existing NGA systems and users.

Full information is available here.

Source: SAM