Senator Schmitt Meets with Geospatial Industry Leaders, Lays Out Plan to Bring Geospatial Talent to St. Louis

ST. LOUIS – Earlier today, Senator Eric Schmitt hosted a roundtable with industry leaders in geospatial technologies and unveiled his plan to attract more talent to St. Louis and transform St. Louis into the geospatial hub of the country:

“Geospatial technologies are so critical to many different industries, both civilian and military. Its applications to defense technologies, GPS mapping, and many other uses can’t be overstated. St. Louis already has the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which is building a new campus and working to revitalize a St. Louis neighborhood, private investment through the Taylor Geospatial Institute, and other private and public geospatial assets. There’s no reason to believe that St. Louis can’t become the geospatial hub of the country, and I’m working to accomplish that exact goal,” said Senator Schmitt. 

Background

• The geospatial roundtable included representatives from a wide array of companies, universities, and governmental agencies, including:
  • Arch Grants
  • BAE Systems/GXP
  • Boeing Intelligence & Analytics
  • Chameleon Integrated Services
  • Enabled Intelligence
  • ESRI
  • Gateway Global
  • GEO261
  • Greater St. Louis Inc.
  • Leidos
  • NGA
  • Object Computing Inc.
  • Office of MO Military Advocate
  • Omni Federal 
  • Post Building
  • Reinventing Geospatial, Inc.
  • S2 Analytical Solutions
  • Scale AI
  • Starwood Group/Post Building
  • Taylor Geospatial Institute
  • T-Kartor USA
  • T-Rex
  • UMSL 
  • USGIF
  • Washington University
  • Westway Enterprises

• At the roundtable, Senator Schmitt announced the National Geospatial Innovation Hub Advancement Act, which would be administered through NGA West and play a direct role in developing a skilled geospatial workforce that can be leveraged in both the public and private sector. The provision is currently authorized for five years. The Taylor Geospatial Institute, along with other St. Louis research universities, would be the primary recipients of funding, which would be used to develop a more robust workforce for geospatial in the St. Louis area.
• The committee-passed Defense Appropriations bill contains $5 million for the National Geospatial Innovation Hub Advancement Act. This funding was accomplished through the normal appropriations process. 
• To authorize this program, Senator Schmitt was able to get an amendment in the committee-passed version of the NDAA that would create a geospatial hub in St. Louis.
• Goals of the Act:
  • to expand, align, and accelerate the education, training, and certification of a geospatial workforce;
  • to support a global research hub for geospatial science and technology;
  • to foster partnerships with secondary and postsecondary educational institutions, industry leaders, and local governments to support the workforce development; 
  • to increase employment opportunities and economic growth in regions that are in proximity to National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency locations in the United States through enhanced geospatial capabilities; and
  • to support Department of Defense operations and infrastructure with a skilled geospatial workforce.
• How would this program be implemented?
  • DOD would work with higher education institutions to develop curriculum and training modules tailored to geospatial technology skills
  • DOD would engage with industry to ensure the training meets current and future needs of the industry
• How does this impact the military?
  • NGA scientists and analysts use imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess, and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. To carry out this work, NGA has historically hired individuals in five core areas: geodesy and geophysics, photogrammetry, remote sensing, cartographic science, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geospatial analysis.  While these five fields have also been at the core of the commercial geospatial sector in the United States over the past two decades, however, university programs, which provide foundation geospatial knowledge and skills, are constantly changing, as are the skill sets of graduates.

See pictures from the roundtable here (can be used in coverage with attribution to Office of United States Senator Eric Schmitt): https://senate-eric-schmitt.box.com/s/oqhqn6rsopov6vpq6qwjn0oa1h6kwn36