- Policy initiatives from the 1980s aimed to establish guidelines for geospatial data standards and multi-national cooperation through agreements like the Digital Chart of the World project and the Digital Geographic Information Working Group. - The 1987 Defence policy paper and 1994 DI(G) OPS 20-3 directive endorsed standards like DIGEST and S-57 to facilitate geospatial data exchange. - However, transformational projects like Project Parare in the 1990s that aimed to establish a digital geospatial capability faced challenges and inconsistencies, and the capability is still being developed over 30 years later.

1. BACK TO THE FUTURE:
Policy
Dr R.J. (Bob) Williams [Retired]
Cartographer
Topographic Surveyor,
Geographer & Geospatial Scientist
February 2022
Supporting slides to
presentation at
HYDROSPATIAL 2021

2. POLICY is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and
is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organization.
The transition from maps and charts to a ‘virtual world’ commenced
through formal directives [Policy] decades ago.
Strategic Policy
A Policy Information Paper, The Defence of Australia, was tabled in Parliament by the Minister for Defence Kim
C. Beazley on 19 March 1987.
A comprehensive geographic information system is vital to the development of a national defence
capability …”.
Cooperative Development of DIGITAL CHART OF THE WORLD (DCW)
Agreement Between The Government Of Australia And The Government Of The United States Of
America Concerning Cooperative Development Of The Digital Chart Of The World - AUSTRALIAN
TREATY SERIES 1990 No.23
The DCW project was a joint R&D (Research and Development) venture involving the US, Australia,
Canada and the UK, and developed internationally accepted standards for the exchange of digitally
based mapping, charting and geodetic information.
Multi-national Co-production – VaCWG and MGCP
DGIWG is the multi-national body responsible to the defence organizations of member nations for coordinated
advice and policy recommendations on geospatial standardization issues.
DGIWG is the custodian of DIGEST (Digital Geographic Information Exchange Standard). DIGEST includes
a structure known as VRF (Vector Relational Format) and a Feature and Attribute Coding Catalog (FACC).
VMap Co production Working Group (VaCWG) managed VMap Level 1 [1:250,000 equiv]
The Multi-national Geospatial Co-Production Program (MGCP) was initiated in 2003.
2001

3. POLICY is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a
statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a
governance body within an organization.
Ø DCW (Digital Chart of the World) – Research and Development Agreement with Treaty status
Ø DGIWG / DIGEST – Multi-national cooperation through formal agreement [Standards]
Ø VaCWG / MGCP – Multi-national co-production through formal arrangements [geospatial database]
Computers have been used in the map-making process since the 1960s.
From a formal Policy perspective a significant stimulus occurred in 1987.
“The Government’s Defence policy and program is comprehensively covered in the
Policy Information Paper, The Defence of Australia, which I tabled in Parliament on
19 March 1987.
… … …
Recent developments in technologies and systems relevant to geographic information
systems show promise. … …
A comprehensive geographic information system is vital to the development of a
national defence capability and consequently this book is a welcome contribution to
this area of Australia’s defence effort. I hope it will provide stimulus for further research
and discussion”.
Kim C. Beazley, November 1987
Then followed:
Government Information Paper
“The Defence of Australia”, 1987
Policy

4. DCW – Digital Chart of the World - 1990
A project to develop a Digital Chart of the World (DCW) was first proposed by the US Defense
Mapping Agency (DMA) in early 1988. The DCW project was a joint R&D (Research and Development)
venture involving the US, Australia, Canada and the UK, and developed internationally accepted standards for
the exchange of digitally based mapping, charting and geodetic information. The Australian partner in the DCW
project was the Royal Australian Survey Corps (RASVY). The project was funded through the Nunn
Amendment to the 1987 US Military Appropriations Bill, which provided for the funding of approved cooperative
R&D projects with certain NATO and non-NATO countries.
AUSTRALIAN TREATY SERIES 1990 No.23
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA AND THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CONCERNING
COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DIGITAL CHART OF THE WORLD
Studies
Statement Of Work – Feb 1989
Initial Tile Design Study - Dec 1989
Initial Elevation Data Study – Feb 1990
Initial Aeronautical Info Study – Feb 1990
Vector Product Format – March 1991
Prototypes
Digital Cities Database
Digital Nautical Chart
Digital Terrain Database
Digital Gazetteer
This project resulted in a Topologically-structured [vector] database of the World
[produced from the 1 : 1,000,000 ONC (Operational Navigation Charts).
Features were coded using DMA’s FCS (Feature Coding Scheme). …
DATABASE STRUCTURE COMPATIBLE FOR USE IN COMMERCIAL GIS
VPFVIEW
Vector [Smart] Maps
Policy

5. In 1993, Australia (via Director Royal Australian Survey Corps (RASVY)) was invited to
attend DGIWG (Digital Geographic Information Working Group) as an Observer
Nation. DGIWG is the multi-national body responsible to the defence organizations of
member nations for coordinated advice and policy recommendations on geospatial
standardization issues. It will meet coalition interoperability challenges by creating the
standards and procedures required to enable the provision, exchange and use of
standardized geospatial information.
DGIWG is the custodian of DIGEST (Digital Geographic Information Exchange
Standard). DIGEST includes a structure known as VRF (Vector Relational Format) and
a Feature and Attribute Coding Catalog (FACC).
2001
In addition to work regarding standards, DGIWG develops data products including:
• Terrain Analysis Dataset suitable for cross-country movement applications, line
of sight and range and bearing calculations.
• Transport and Logistics Datasets to support logistics planning and movement of
personnel and materiel and includes road networks, air facilities, maritime ports and
navigable waterways.
• Air Information Dataset to provide information on airfields, airspace structure and
other information on ICAO charts and En Route Charts, etc.
• Digital Nautical Chart containing maritime significant features essential for safe
marine navigation.
• Toponymic Dataset being a list of geographic place names and associated
support, or attribute, information.
STANDARDS & INTEROPRABILITY – MULTI-NATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION
FACC
10 categories
50 sub-categories
270 features
460 attributes
4000 attribute values
Geospatial Standards – MULTI-NATIONAL COOPERATION
Ø Digital Geographic Information Working Group
Policy

6. In November 2003, the Multinational Geospatial Co-Production Program (MGCP) was initiated. This
program contributed toward bolstering international cooperative production and coordination of high-
resolution digital vector data in high-interest regions where inadequate data currently exists. The
project represents the most current evolution of a 10-year, global vector-map level 1 (VMAP1) effort that
began in 1993 and was revamped in 2003. In the new format, the program was created to be not only more
international, but also more streamlined in terms of data analysis and user access.
Australia is a member of the Multinational Geospatial Co-production Program (MGCP), which currently
involves 32 nations and is aimed at producing geospatial data at 1:50 000 scale of the entire world. MGCP
member nations will contribute data to a central data warehouse and will, in time, have unlimited access to all of
the data in the program.
In 1996 production commenced on a general purpose product known as VMap Level 1.
The purpose of the VMap Level 1 program was to ensure military / defence readiness for
worldwide operations with a digital geographic information product in a standard format.
The objective of the Level 1 VMap program was to establish a worldwide medium
resolution (1:250,000 scale equivalent) Geographic Information System product and to
complete worldwide coverage at medium resolution. VMap Level 1 was managed by the
VMap Co production Working Group (VaCWG) - Policy Group. VMap Level 1 was to be
distributed on 234 CD-ROM. It was being co produced by US, UK, Canada, Germany,
France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Spain and Greece. Portugal and
Turkey had expressed interest in co production.
2001
Co-Production – MULTI-NATIONAL COOPERATION
Ø VaCWG and MGCP
Policy
CAUTION – By 2016 the MGCP had been down-graded to “producing 1:100 000 scale maps of the entire world.
MGCP member nations will contribute data to a central data warehouse and have unlimited access to a Map of
the World”.

7. DI(G) OPS 20-3 (Digital Geographic Information Exchange Standards and Data Product Standards)
Issue 1 was published by the Department of Defence on 6 May 1994. The original version included three
fundamental concepts:
v Exchange of digital geographic information between defence organizations and systems should be
DIGEST compliant;
v Exchange of digital geographic information for hydrographic purposes should conform to IHO
(International Hydrographic Organisation) requirements; and
v Exchange of digital geographic information with civilian organizations should conform to ASDTS
(Australian Spatial Data Transfer Standard).
Civilian organizations in Australia did not embrace ASDTS and so this directive was deleted on
subsequent issues
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION EXCHANGE STANDARDS
Standards endorsed by Defence for the exchange of digital geographic information are:
a. Digital Geographic Information Exchange Standard (DIGEST) for data exchange within Defence
and with Australia's allies;
b. Special Publication No 57—IHO Transfer Standard for Digital Hydrographic Data (S–57) for
exchange of digital hydrographic data for navigation.
DIGEST is a generic data exchange standard intended to facilitate the exchange of militarily significant
geographic information. It is sponsored by the Digital Geographic Information Working Group (DGIWG), an
international organisation of Defence agencies (mostly North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) nations). The
Australian Defence Force is an associate member of DGIWG and is represented by the Director of Strategic Military
Geographic Information (DSMGI). DIGEST is the endorsed standard for exchanging digital geographic data in Defence.
S–57 is an exchange standard sponsored by the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO). The
Hydrographer represents Australia in the IHO forum. While DIGEST does include some hydrographic themes, S–57 is
intended for data supporting nautical charting, navigation, and safety at sea. S–57 is applicable for use by Defence in
order to conform with national and international conventions and laws regarding ship navigation and safety at sea.
Geographic Information Standards 1994
Ø DI(G) OPS 20-3
Policy

8. Transport and Logistics Dataset (TLD) Level 2:
• Will support tactical level planning activities
• Will support network analysis for road, railway and inland
waterway transport networks
• Will include the location of facilities for rest, refueling and
maintenance activities
• Will include a gazetteer function to allow place names to be
associated with transport networks
GB 005 Airport Airfield / Airstrip
DIGEST Product Specification
Ø Transport & Logistics Dataset (TLD) - 1995
Policy

9. 2016
Alison Rose, Assistant Secretary
GEOINT Foundation and Support.
Ms Rose has a Bachelor of Science
(Resource and Environment
Management), majoring in pedology,
geographic information systems and
remote sensing .
LOCATE16 – April 2016
Ø “From data silos to integrated content: delivering richer
and more accessible GEOINT”
Keynote
“Australia is a member of the Multinational
Geospatial Co-production Program (MGCP), which
currently involves 32 nations and is aimed at
producing 1:100 000 scale maps of the entire
world. MGCP member nations will contribute data to
a central data warehouse and will, in time, have
unlimited access to a Map of the World”.
Ms Rose referred to a
Multinational Geospatial Co-production Program
Key points: * Data silos,* Integrated content, * GEOINT delivery
So what went wrong with JP2064 Phase 2 which included a DATA CENTRE identified to
specifically address the topic of a geospatial information infrastructure?
Ms Rose’s illustration regarding ‘stovepipes’
was little different to the illustration in a
presentation to ASIBA (Australian Spatial
Information Business Association) 14 years
earlier in 2002
JP2064 Phase 2 - Geospatial Information
Infrastructure and Services (GII&S)

10. ‘Policy’ initiatives have ranged form Agreements to Instructions
Ø BUT Capability Development evolution has been inconsistent
Policy
The Hydrographic community has been able to evolve its digital products although not as quickly or as
advanced as it could have been.
For example, “By the mid 80s, the North Sea Hydrographic Commission (NHSC) began work on defining what
was initially called an Electronic Chart and Display System and was later amended to include the all-important
word 'information', giving rise to the now familiar term Electronic Chart Display and Information System or ECDIS”
https://www.hydro-international.com/content/article/the-iho-s-role-in-the-development-of-ecdis
AusENC are encrypted using the IHO S-63 data
protection scheme. They can be used in IMO
compatible Electronic Chart Display and
Information Systems (ECDIS), or in smaller and
simpler compatible Electronic Chart Systems
(ECS) which can decrypt IHO S-63 data.
The Topographic community has not been so fortunate.
In May 1991, the Government introduced a Commercial Support Program (CSP) to promote the transfer of non-core support activities from
Defence to industry, emphasising that the CSP must be understood as part of wider initiatives to strengthen civil-military relations, which would
foster Australia’s strategic defence interests and its policy of self-reliance. The Royal Australian Survey Corps’Army Survey Regiment located at
Bortuna Villa, Bendigo was identified to undergo two separate commercial support reviews: one logistic (Tier One), the other technical (Tier
Two). The In-House Option was selected as the Preferred Commercial Option and the contract awarded in April 1994.
The implementation of the second CSP would prove to be “painful” … A Defence decision in November 1994 to introduce PROJECT PARARE
in two phases dramatically narrowed options. Phase One would establish the Army Topographical Support Establishment (ATSE) staffed by
defence civilians to conduct digital topographic tasks of Australian sovereign territory. It was decided that a study would be conducted to
determine the ADF’s total digital requirement including examination of core strategic non-sovereign tasks and another major capability
submission would precede the implementation of Phase Two.
The Royal Australian Survey Corps was disestablished in 1996 - Projects and initiatives would be poorly managed

11. PROJECT PARARE was named in 1988 from the Royal Australian
Survey Corps motto, videre parare est, and planning began in
1989.
It was hard for many “to grasp the revolutionary new way of
thinking about topographic information in which their primary
goal, the printed map, became just one of many products from a
topographic database that would provide a vastly increased
military capability for the Australian Defence Force.
PROJECT PARARE was to be a digital system that could produce
a variety of products from a spatially related topographic
database. Maps and charts, reports, photo products, statistics
and topologically structured spatial data would provide the
topographical base reference layers for a military geographic
information system. The topographic information provided would
assist with terrain analysis, command and control systems,
weapons systems, and war gaming”.
Valerie Lovejoy’s
Mapmakers of Fortuna
A History of the Army Survey
Regiment
Ex-Fortuna Association,
Bendigo, 2003
ISBN 0 646 42120 4
Ø A transformational project at a time of major organisational change
Project Parare – [Army JP42 – Joint Project] 1988-1996
PARARE would be split and re-split and downsized and delayed until the Project was terminated.
It was replaced by JP 2064 – Geospatial Information and Services. That project would also be subject to
changes, often at the advice of people with limited qualifications.
THIRTY YEARS ON THE ‘TRANSFORMATIONAL CAPABILITY IS YET TO HAPPEN

12. So, how is this ‘non-hydrographic’ information and capability development
relevant to ‘HYDROSPATIAL’?
JP indicates, from a Defence perspective, a Joint Project meaning that the project has, or can have,
application in the Land, Air and Sea environments.
For example, the Digital Chart of the World
Included”:
Studies
Statement Of Work – Feb 1989
Initial Tile Design Study - Dec 1989
Initial Elevation Data Study – Feb 1990
Initial Aeronautical Info Study – Feb 1990
Vector Product Format – March 1991
Prototypes
Digital Cities Database
Digital Nautical Chart
Digital Terrain Database
Digital Gazetteer
Terrain Analysis Dataset suitable for cross-country movement applications, line of sight and
range and bearing calculations.
Transport and Logistics Datasets to support logistics planning and movement of personnel and
materiel and includes road networks, air facilities, maritime ports and navigable waterways.
Air Information Dataset to provide information on airfields, airspace structure and other
information on ICAO charts and En Route Charts, etc.
Digital Nautical Chart containing maritime significant features essential for safe marine
navigation.
Toponymic Dataset being a list of geographic place names and associated support, or attribute,
information.
DIGEST prototype
data products were
developed for:
SLIDE 4
SLIDE 5
These datasets would cover the littoral zone as proposed by Hydrospatial
Unfortunately, these datasets have never been produced!

13. Photo taken in December 1979 of
[then] SSGT Bob Williams
Military symbols produced using
PLOT10 software
[Then] SSGT Bob Williams – First supervisor of the
Royal Australian Survey Corps’ Input Sub-system of
Automap 1 at ‘Fortuna’, Bendigo -1976
Dr Bob Williams an observer at DGIWG
meting held in Madrid, Spain 1993. He
was the first Australian participant.
Robert (Bob) Williams
One of Australia’s Military Mapmakers