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July 2014
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
Chapter 2 — Procurement of Commercial Geo-
spatial Mapping Products (CGMP)
I. Definition of CGMP
For the purpose of these
Guidelines,
CGMP refers to geospatial
map data that are readily available from commercial providers
and described as “commercially available off-the-shelf” or COTS
(the procurement of geospatial hardware and/or software is not
part of these
Guidelines
). CGMP are created by a provider at
its own expense (referred to as a “Vendor” in the Federal Acqui-
sition Regulations) and are not subject to modification by the
provider for the procuring agency / customer. Product support
such as installation, data reformatting, training, maintenance,
and periodic updates of the licensed data may be included in
the procurement of CGMP provided that such support is limited
to fulfilling the warranty and/or specification as defined in the
user license, and does not involve the alteration of the original
licensed CGMP for a specific end user application.
II. Characteristics of CGMP
ASPRS considers that CGMP must demonstrate a majority of
the following attributes:
•
Represent a level of standardization as defined by the
provider
•
Have the ability to meet a published specification or a
stated industry standard
•
Provide an end-user warranty
•
Provide the end-user with a non-exclusive license or
other form of shared ownership
•
Pricing has been established through a published cat-
alog
•
License includes clearly defined terms and conditions
including authorized and unauthorized uses
•
The provider defines the geospatial product specifica-
tions and as such, the final product is not subject to
change by the provider for a specific agency / customer
end use.
III. CGMP Addressed by these Guidelines
These
Guidelines
are specifically intended to apply to the COTS
CGMP that have been produced from remotely-sensed imagery
and/or other sources and types of geospatial data. The primary
focus of this document is on the photogrammetry, remote sens-
ing and image-based CGMP that constitute an area of expertise
of ASPRS and its membership. Processes for the procurement of
COTS are documented by the Department of Defense and the
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).
“Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS),” as defined by the De-
partment of Defense (“Commercial Item Acquisition: Consid-
erations and Lessons Learned,” June 26, 2000, pg. 3)
.
osd.mil/dpap/Docs/cotsreport.pdf, is as follows:
“A commercial off–the-shelf (COTS) item is one that is sold,
leased, or licensed to the general public; offered by a Vendor
trying to profit from it; supported and evolved by the Vendor
who retains the intellectual property rights; available in mul-
tiple, identical copies used without modification of the inter-
nals.”
FAR section 2.101 defines Commercially available off-the-
shelf (COTS) item as “(1) Any item of supply (including con-
struction material) that is – (i) A commercial item as defined in
paragraph (1) of the definition in this section); [any item, other
than real property that is of a type customarily used by the
general public or by non-governmental entities for purposes
other than governmental purposes, and has been sold, leased,
or licensed to the general public or has been offered for sale,
lease, or license to the general public]; (ii) Sold in substantial
quantities in the commercial marketplace; and (iii) Offered to
the Government, under a contract or subcontract at any tier,
without modification, in the same form in which it is sold in the
commercial marketplace; and (2) Does not include bulk cargo.”
A “commercial item” as defined in the Federal Acquisition
Regulation (FAR), Part 2.101, has the following general char-
acteristics:
•
It has been sold, leased, or licensed to the general pub-
lic.
•
It is generally available in the commercial marketplace.
•
It may include installation, maintenance, repair, train-
ing and other services supporting the commercial item.
•
It is sold based on published catalog or list prices avail-
able to the gener
al public.
For additional FAR text from Section 2.101 see Appendix 2
to these
Guidelines
.
IV. Examples of CGMP
This section provides examples of some types of CGMP that
are currently available in the marketplace. CGMP are COTS
products available to a specification defined by the provider
(vendor) typically developed to meet the need in the market
place. CGMP include, but are not limited to:
•
3-D Models –
A three dimensional representation of a
real object made from remotely sensed technology for
applications such as community planning and develop-
ment, disaster preparedness, facility management tacti-
cal planning, virtual visits, and more.
•
RGB and Infrared (IR) Images –
Imagery collected
using remote sensing technology in the visible light
spectrum (red-green-blue) or infrared, used to recognize
environmental trends in the area, such as vegetation
mapping, commercial development planning and land-
scape management, watershed management, forestry
management, and environmental impact assessment.
•
Nadir/Vertical Photographs
– Images in which the
image center is vertically beneath the camera center at
the time of exposure. Vertical photographs are usually
