Working Groups

The National Executive Committee is supported by a number of interagency working groups that bring the member agencies together at the staff level to discuss specific issues. These include the following:

Executive Steering Group (ESG)

The ESG consists of senior officials representing each member of the Executive Committee. It also includes representatives from key agencies within various departments, such as the Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration. The ESG is co-chaired by the Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration.

The ESG meets more frequently than the Executive Committee. It provides a mechanism for elevating interagency issues to a senior level between Executive Committee meetings. The ESG seeks to resolve issues that do not rise to the level of the Deputy Secretaries on the Executive Committee. The ESG sets the agenda for the Executive Committee meetings and makes recommendations on those issues that are presented to the Deputy Secretaries.

GPS International Working Group (GIWG)

The Department of State established the GIWG in the 1990s as a forum for developing, coordinating, and implementing international strategies related to space-based PNT. It was moved under the umbrella of the Executive Committee in 2006.

The GIWG meets regularly to review the nation's many ongoing bilateral and multilateral cooperation activities and to discuss future opportunities for international engagement and outreach.

National Space-Based PNT Systems Engineering Forum (NPEF)

The NPEF consists of engineers and other experts from across the interagency community. It conducts assessments and makes recommendations on technical issues as tasked by the Executive Commmittee.