OGC and T-REX partner to bring Geospatial Innovation and Standards to St. Louis

Under the MoU, OGC will connect with T-REX Geospatial startups to conduct GeoInt-focused research, development, training, and Innovation activities.

18 October 2021: The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and the Technology Entrepreneurship Center (T-REX) in St. Louis, MO, have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance the state of GEOINT tradecraft and technology.

T-REX operates the Geospatial Innovation Center (“Geosaurus”) on the 4th floor of its facility in downtown St. Louis, MO. T-REX’s Geospatial Innovation Center is an inclusive community space for St. Louis' high-tech, high-growth geospatial community. The innovation center has three primary objectives: workforce development; creating connections; and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.

This MoU intends to strengthen and broaden the significant positive collaboration that already exists between OGC and T-REX. Under the MoU, OGC will be granted space within Geosaurus that will be used to conduct research and development, OGC Standards Workshops, OGC Innovation Activities, connect with T-REX Geospatial start-ups, and more. OGC’s presence in Geosaurus will encourage the use of OGC Standards, Best Practices, and OGC’s Innovation Program by start-ups located in this important geospatial region. 

Joint bi-annual seminars, symposia, conferences, workshops, and collaborative R&D initiatives conducted with T-REX and their incubated companies will help drive the missions of both organizations. Additionally, members of T-REX’s incubation program will be eligible for a 10% discount on the cost of OGC Membership.

“We are very happy to formalize an already great collaboration between OGC and T-REX,” said OGC CEO Dr. Nadine Alameh. “I see this as another step towards supporting and empowering the startup community. It’s another good example of how OGC is an effective incubator for startups to engage, collaborate, and partner with other geospatial technology organizations, including in this case, those involved in the Geoint community - which has been a strong supporter of OGC since our very beginnings.”

“This partnership will allow the T-REX geospatial community to engage, collaborate, and partner with international expertise to develop technology that is interoperable and reusable across multiple verticals,” said Mark Tatgenhorst, T-REX Geospatial Program Director. “It is critical that these companies have a working knowledge of geospatial standards and their implementation to be successful. More importantly, they’ll have a voice in future geospatial standards development. We couldn’t be more excited about what this partnership means for this region.”

About T-REX

T-REX is a 501(c)3 nonprofit technology innovation center dedicated to strengthening the economic vitality of St. Louis, MO, USA. With an emphasis on strategic initiatives that foster inclusive economic growth through technological ingenuity, T-REX houses more than 100 companies within its 160,000 square-foot facility on Washington Avenue in Downtown St. Louis. In 2020, T-REX opened the Nation’s first Geospatial Innovation Center on its fourth floor. This unprecedented and rapidly growing industry cluster is putting St. Louis on the map as the global center for geospatial and location-based technologies. Since T-REX’s inception in 2011, T-REXers have created more than 4,000 St. Louis jobs and are responsible for more than $620.9 million in annual economic output.

Learn more at downtowntrex.org.

About OGC

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is a collective problem-solving community of experts from more than 500 businesses, government agencies, research organizations, and universities driven to make geospatial (location) information and services FAIR - Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.

The global OGC Community engages in a mix of activities related to location-based technologies: developing consensus-based open standards and best-practice; collaborating on agile innovation initiatives; engaging in community meetings, events, and workshops; and more.

OGC's unique standards development process moves at the pace of innovation, with constant input from technology forecasting, practical prototyping, real-world testing, and community engagement.

OGC bridges disparate sectors, domains, and technology trends, and encourages the cross-pollination of ideas between different communities of practice to improve decision-making at all levels. OGC is committed to creating an inclusive and sustainable future.

Visit ogc.org for more info on our work.