Funding for the compilation and editing of the Manual was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Information Resources Management. The Agency conceived of the Manual and initiated a partnership with the FGDC to jointly design, compile and produce the Manual. The Manual provides a means of satisying the EPA's internal need for a comprehensive, standardized description of Federal geographic data products. The Manual serves as a data catalog within the EPA's Spatial Data Management Plan - a data life cycle plan for acquiring, preparing, and delivering spatial data to meet the needsof the Agency.
The Manual would not be possible, of course, without the contributions of the Federal agencies that submitted descriptions of their geographic data products. Authors fom the agencies carefully drafted the descriptions of their products and worked closely with the EPA to make the Manual a success. The efforts of the authors, the agencies, their FGDC representatives, and ViGYAN staff are greatly appreciated.