The NASA Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) program is a
prototype implementation of the National Research Council
recommendation that, in the new Earth Science Information System
(ESIS), "the responsibility for product generation and publication and
for user services should be transferred to a federation of partners
selected through a competitive process open to all."

NASA established this site to further the objectives of the Earth
Science Information System. We intend to employ communication and
collaboration technologies to:

a) Facilitate collaboration among ESIPs by fostering communication
among the ESIPs and between ESIP teams, NASA as well as investigators
involved in related work within and outside NASA, and
b) Promote federation interaction with organizations developing
interoperability specifications, such as the Open GIS Consortium, and
W3C; with digital library technology R&D efforts, such as the
NSF/ARPA/NASA joint initiative, standards bodies such as FGDC, etc.
In addition, we will support the federation governance structure as it
evolves.
For more information, see:
http://www.esipfed.org/