Hey folks! I joined this community a while back and have meant to get more involved here. Better late than never, I suppose?
Anyhow, thought I'd give a heads-up about next week's FedGeoDay conference (April 22–23 at the Census Bureau HQ, just outside DC). FedGeoDay is all about how geospatial open-source software, open data, open mapping and open science shape federal programs.
FedGeoDay 2026 has the theme Building Ecosystems for Supporting Federal Data Stewardship. Sessions will focus on how open source and open collaboration can aid federal programs and stakeholders amid change and uncertainty for various datasets and decision-support tools. Former U.S. Chief Data Scientist Denice Ross, now at the Federation of American Scientists, will give the opening keynote, titled Delivering on the Full Potential of Federal Open Geospatial Data.
It's not too late to register! Ticket sales end April 19. Register here. If you're interested but undecided, read on for why folks in the Federal Data Forum community should attend FedGeoDay:
Our program includes:
- Plenary panels on all facets of data stewardship, curation, governance and application, along with how open-source software, spatial-data infrastructure, mapping tools, AI factor in.
- Panelists and speakers hail from Census Bureau, BLS, BEA, NASA, USGS, CODE, Data Rescue Project, Esri, Oak Ridge National Lab, Development Seed, Deloitte, GeoSolutions, xEntity, New Light Technologies, Environmental Policy Innovation Center and more!
- Workshops on issues ranging from the National Spatial Reference System, to HIFLD Open and U.S. Census Bureau population data, to GeoServer use cases. Check out Day 2 of the program.
- NEW: FedGeoDay's first-ever unconference, which will allow attendees to hold their own impromptu discussions, user/working groups, and birds of a feather sessions on Day 2. In the spirit of open source and open collaboration, this format empowers the audience to shape the dialogue and allows for frank, candid exchange of ideas without frills.
- Plenty of networking, including an off-site social on Day 1
- Catered lunch and a transit-friendly venue, a short walk from the Green Line station in Suitland, MD
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Puneet Kollipara
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