New partners: U.S. mapping agency retools cooperative research with industry

摘要

At the start of 2009, the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), which is best known for converting spy satellite photos into maps, launched a cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA, with BAE Systems to explore the use of online applications for producing geospatial intelligence products. NGA hopes to use these online services, known as service-oriented architectures, to give intelligence analysts more control over information processing. The online services would connect collection, processing and analysis tools and automate the creation of maps. This approach would tailor the information presented to analysts based on the needs of their work. CRADAs, created by a 1986 U.S. law, are agreements in which no money changes hands between the government and contractors. Officially, the contractors gain access to government technology and facilities. Unofficially, and maybe most importantly, they get the chance to show off their skills for future paying contracts. The government gets to steer private-sector research toward particular ends.