Every four years, the USNC publishes the U.S. National Report to summarize cartographic and GIScience activities in the country across all sectors, including academia, industry, government, and others, during the previous four years. The national reports are provided to all members of the ICA at the General Assembly and to the worldwide cartographic and GIScience community through the ICA website.
2027 U.S. National Report
The 2027 U.S. National Report which will be made available at the XXI General Assembly. This General Assembly will occur in conjunction with the 33rd International Cartographic Conference (ICC) which will take place 18–23 July 2027, in Warsaw, Poland.
The USNC warmly invites contributions to the report by anyone involved in cartography and GIScience activities in the U.S., including cartographic and mapping societies, federal government, academic programs and departments, research institutes, commercial companies, non-profit organizations, libraries, museums, and map retailers.
Submissions are editor-reviewed short papers of 500-1,500 words (approximately 1 to 3 full pages of text) with accompanying graphics (images, maps, graphs, tables, etc.) Contributions may be submitted by one or multiple authors.
Contributions may include the following, among others:
- Achievements and activities of organizations or institutions;
- Methods for the development, management, or dissemination of cartographic and GIScience data and products
- Software, web, mobile, and other apps
- Applications of cartographic and GIS techniques within domain areas
- Novel cartographic methods and technologies
- Emerging technologies in mapping and GIScience
- Curriculum development, MOOCs, and online courses or programs
- Unique interdisciplinary activities in cartography and GIScience.
Submissions
- Fill in the template to share your information. Feel free to add anything that may not be included in the template but be sure to provide the requested information at a minimum.
- As indicated in the template, include a 200- to 300-word statement that can be used to spotlight your submission.
- Include any pictures as separate 300 dpi images files. Note the captions for the images at the bottom of the template. Please clearly indicate which image file each caption relates to.
- You can include JPG, PNG, or GIF files. SVG files and Image URLs are not supported at this time. There is a 2 MB file limit. Aim to keep files under 300 KB for best performance. For some images, you need to upload these exact sizes:
- Card: 826px x 465px
- Wide: 1920px x 1080px
- Animated GIF: 768px x 576px
- Please comment in the template on any improvements that could be made to the template or the submission process. We want this to be as simple and flexible as possible, so we welcome your suggestions!
Email your submission to the U.S. National Report Editor, Jim Thatcher (jim.thatcher@oregonstate.edu). The deadline for submissions is 17 March 2026.
Submissions will be reviewed by the U.S. National Report Editor, and members of the USNC who will serve as the editorial board. Edited submissions will be returned to contributors by 17 April 2026. Final submissions must be recieved by the U.S. National Report Editor by 17 May 2026.
Important Dates
- 17 March 2027 Deadline for the initial submission of contributions to the U.S. National Report
- 17 April 2027 Edited submissions returned to authors for final edits
- 17 May 2027 Deadline for the final submission of contributions to the U.S. National Report
- 18 July 2027 U.S. National Report presented to General Assembly
Previous U.S. National Reports
2023
The 2023 U.S. National Report to the ICA is accessible as a PDF document that can be downloaded and printed off, linked to, and read online: https://cartogis.org/docs/usnc/USNationalReport2023.pdf.
The USNC volunteered to draft and test the use of a form to compile its 2023 national report in a format that is quicker and easier to read. The ICA Executive Committee will review the USNC’s results and use their findings to finalize the form for subsequent national reports.
2019
The 2019 U.S. National Report has two parts— an online report and a single peer-reviewed article by Clarke, Johnson, and Trainor (accompanied by an introductory editorial by Buckley) in Cartography and Geographic Information Science.
Buckley, A., ed. (2019) 2019 US National Report. (U.S. National Committee for the International Cartographic Association), July 2019, https://cartogis.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2019_US_National_Report.pdf.
Clarke, K. C., Johnson, J. M., & Trainor, T. (2019). Contemporary American cartographic research: a review and prospective. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 46:3, 196-209. doi: 10.1080/15230406.2019.1571441
Buckley, A. R. (2019). Editorial: 2019 US National Report to the ICA. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 46:3, 195. doi: 10.1080/15230406.2019.1574554
2015
Bevington-Attardi, B. & Rice, M. (2015). On the map: American cartography in 2015. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 42:sup1, 1–5. doi: 10.1080/15230406.2015.1060112
2011
Edsall, R. (2011). American Cartography 2011: Benchmarks and Projections, Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 38:3, 246–249. doi: 10.1559/15230406382246
2007
Leitner, M., & Skupin, A. (2007). Cartography 2007: Reflection, Status, and Prediction, Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 34:2, 73–75. doi: 10.1559/152304007781002217
2003
Harvey, F. J. (2003). Transitions in U.S. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 30:2, 95–98. doi: 10.1559/152304003100010983
1999
Brewer, C. A. (1999). The State of U.S. Cartography, Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 26:3, 165–166. doi: 10.1559/152304099782330662
1995
Slocum, T. A. (1995). Introduction, Cartography and Geographic Information Systems, 22:2, 109–114. doi: 10.1559/152304095782540474
1991
McMaster, R. B. (1991). Introduction, Cartography and Geographic Information Systems, 18:3, 149–150. doi: 10.1559/152304091783786916
1987
Loy, W. G. (1987). Preface and Acknowledgements, The American Cartographer, 14:3, 196. doi: 10.1559/152304087783875831