Mandate
To provide, through the Internet, coherent visualizations of the nation's surficial geology from the map collections of Canada's geological survey agencies. This will be done from distributed databases maintained by individual agencies that are based on a common data model, including science language, which makes the information from mapping published at different scales and to different standards both interoperable and scalable.

Principles

	Each geological map database will remain under the control of the source agency, which would be responsible for maintaining and updating it.
	The Subgroup will cooperate to ensure a stable and robust science language and glossary.
	The Subgroup will communicate regularly with geologists and information managers to ensure that this model addresses concerns and requirements.
	The data model will support both national "standards" for a common CGKN portal, and allow flexibility so that individual agencies can provide information to their own "standards" directly from their web portals.
	The data model should respect the well-established geological principles of geologic time, superposition, and correlation and conventions such as the North American Stratigraphic Code.
	The data model will accommodate both the original geological information from the source maps, and common science language and high-level classifications that would follow international standards and protocols where available.
	Source information, including original citations, must be explicitly linked to all information in the databases.

Membership
All Territorial, Provincial and Federal agencies who are actively involved in the mapping of surficial geology will be represented on the subgroup to guide the development of the data model, its science language, and to populate the geological map databases. Members must be able to effectively communicate the decisions and concerns of the Subgroup to their own organizations and to represent fairly to the Subgroup the views of their organizations. Each Agency will:

	Nominate a member for a period of one year and this individual will: a) Have a background in the Earth Sciences b) Have published at least one surficial geology map for the agency they represent c) Participate in technical teams when needed d) Be available to co-chair the subgroup if elected for this role
	Provide their representative with sufficient time and resources to participate on htis subgroup
	Recognize the contribution of the representative in their annual performance appraisal so that participation in this subgroup will not be detrimental to career progression
	Make available, where possible, additional expertise to technical teams struck by this subgroup

Charge and roles
1. Overall guidance. The Subgroup specifies the scope of activities for development and implementation of the data model. The Subgroup provides authoritative statements of the model's purpose, its intended use and users, and its relationships with other specifications such as the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI), the Open GIS Consortium (OGC), the USGS National Geologic Map Database (NGMDB), and the North American Data Model (NADM) Steering Committee

2. Coordination of technical teams. The Subgroup identifies functional goals for the data model in sufficient detail that a technical team working towards each goal can accomplish clearly specified tasks within one year. For each functional goal, the Subgroup will identify the technical need, state the immediate goals of the team, identify people who can work on the team, and facilitate, evaluate, and disseminate the work of the team. Examples of technical teams may include: conceptual data model design; scientific terminology; software tool development; and policy evolution.

3. Publicity and organizational liaison. The Subgroup works to publicize the model and its supporting products in appropriate conventions, meetings, workshops, and publications. The Subgroup provides information on its progress to related groups such as the Bedrock Subgroup (and others through the Data Infrastructure Working Group meetings), the NADM Steering Committee, and the NADM Surficial Science Language Technical Team.

4. Communication and Support. The Steering Committee facilitates public discussion and individual guidance regarding both broad issues and technical details of concern in the data model. These discussions and guidance are supported by technical information exchange at the CGKN web site. Members will actively solicit comments and guidance from the technical experts whose interests they represent to the Committee, and will respond regularly to that constituency.

Stewardship
Two co-leaders, one representing Federal agencies and the other the Provincial and Territorial agencies will lead the Subgroup. GSC management and the Committee of Provincial Geologists will appoint the co-leaders, respectively. These leaders will act as the Stewards for this data model and will:

	Lead Subgroup meetings
	Work with Subgroup members to develop meeting agendas
	Compile minutes for each Subgroup meeting
	Oversee the work of contracts let by the Subgroup
	Coordinate technical team activities
	Serve as the official point of contact between the Subgroup and the public

Funding
Each agency will be responsible for maintaining its own database, including the provision of the necessary computer systems to support it and personnel to populate it. Funding will be sought from national programs such as GeoConnections for support in developing common software and documentation, and to support travel to regular subgroup meetings (two per year). Travel support will also be required so that subgroup members can actively participate in international activities related to data model development, especially science language.

Projects
The subgroup will establish annual and longer-term (3 year) plans to estimate funding requirements from member agencies and from national programs.

Coordination
The subgroup will meet via conference call regularly (6-10 times per year), and face-to-face twice annually. The subgroup will submit its annual plan to the CGKN secretariat for approval, and will prepare a written report to the secretariat annually. At least one member of the Data Infrastructure Coordination subgroup will be a member of the surficial subgroup.

Technical teams
Technical teams are formed by the Subgroup to develop: detailed functional specifications of the data model; software tools and test-data meeting the specifications; and standard scientific terminology. The work of the technical teams will be defined specifically enough that the tasks can be accomplished within one year. This requirement is meant to allow the membership of technical teams to vary from year to year as needed by the teams and by the organizations that employ the team members. Technical team members are specialists in scientific or technological disciplines, and usually the work of the team falls within the member's professional responsibilities.

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