The FGDC Steering Committee sets high-level strategic direction for the FGDC as a whole.  The Executive Committee of officials from agencies with a major geospatial component in their mission and a subset of the Steering Committee, provides additional guidance to the Steering Committee.  The Coordination Group advises on the day-to day business of the FGDC. The Committee structure is composed of agency-led Subcommittees and Working Groups. The Subcommittees are organized by data themes, e.g. “Cadastral.” Working Groups play a crosscutting role, dealing with issues that span many subcommittees, e.g. “Standards.” The FGDC committees and working groups provide the basic structure for institutions and individuals to interact regarding all aspects of NSDI implementation. Collectively they establish and implement strategic guidance and specific actions that support improved collection, sharing, dissemination and use of geospatial data, contributing to the development of the NSDI. Public interest groups participate within the committee structure to ensure that their needs are included in developing the national infrastructure. Building an effective NSDI requires a well-coordinated effort among Federal, Tribal, State, local government, and academic institutions, as well as a broad array of private sector geographic, statistical, demographic, and other business information providers and users. Involving these stakeholders in the development of the NSDI addresses nationwide data needs of end-users.

The National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) is a Federal Advisory Committee sponsored by the Department of the Interior. The NGAC, which reports to the FGDC Chair, provides advice and recommendations on the management of Federal geospatial programs and provides a forum to convey views representative of non-federal stakeholders in the geospatial community.  The NGAC includes representatives from all levels of government, academia, and the private sector.