Looking Toward the GEOINT Community’s Future

The GEOINT Revolution is here and USGIF is all in

Data-Analytics-2016

USGIF CEO Keith Masback speaks at USGIF’s Data Analytics Forum in April 2016.

USGIF has championed the message of the GEOINT Revolution for about 18 months now. The idea sprung out of our 2015 State of GEOINT discussions, flowed through a number of presentations I made to various audiences in and around our Community, was debated a bit at the GEOINT 2015 Symposium, and was more completely articulated in the Q4 2015 issue of trajectory.

We’ve been overwhelmed by the response to the article and to the underlying thesis. Already among the most frequently accessed articles on trajectorymagazine.com, the message of the GEOINT Revolution is clearly resonating. It’s being referenced in other publications, on social media, and in government and industry briefings and documents. As we intended, it has led to reflection and discourse, and thus seemed to be the perfect theme for GEOINT 2016. Building on the 2015 idea that we are collectively opening the aperture regarding our concept of GEOINT, and to an ever-broadening community of GEOINTers, it’s appropriate to spend our time in Orlando really digging into the idea, and most importantly, sorting out what’s next for the GEOINT Community.

There’s little doubt the revolution is underway, and there is a certain sense of urgency—certainly in our traditional areas of intelligence, defense, and homeland security—to get out ahead of the revolution in order to take maximum advantage of it for national security. In the broader GEOINT Community, there is genuine excitement fostering remarkable innovation and creativity.

USGIF is all in. Our Board of Directors has made it clear we should aggressively follow our educational mandate, continue to be the recognized convening authority for GEOINT in its largest sense, and continue providing thought leadership. We will germinate discussions and publish in print, online, and on social media. We will hold events such as our recent Data Analytics Forum, engage speakers like Parag Khanna at our events, and aggressively partner with other organizations to seek synergy as we purposefully expand into burgeoning GEOINT business areas.

The content in this issue of trajectory is yet again emblematic of that commitment. We explore the current state and future of positioning, navigation, and timing. We present uniquely in-depth interviews with two visionary leaders in our Community: Cathy Johnston and Stephanie O’Sullivan. We update you on myriad ongoing USGIF activities, including GEOINT professional certification, as a testament to our commitment to the GEOINT Revolution.

Your commitment, in the form of elevating USGIF’s sustaining membership to more than 260 organizations, and our individual membership to more than 1,000, is loud and clear. There’s never been a more exciting time to be in our business—nor a more pressing demand to get our business right.

GEOINT and Public Safety

The importance of GEOINT beyond military applications

10 Years

Reflections on the past decade and the role of USGIF