In August 2007 the ICA General Assembly of Delegates, held in Moscow, approved of the following Terms of Reference for the Commission for the period 2007-2011:

• To investigate the impact of technological innovations  (printing    methods, topographical surveying, aerial photography, satellite imagery and geographical information systems) on cartography during the last two centuries;
• To document the recent history of GI science in general and computer-aided mapping and Geographical Information Systems in particular;
• To examine the changing role of maps worldwide as cartographical (and not only   as historical) documents in history during the 19th and 20th centuries;
• To examine the significance of the cartographical work undertaken during the 19th and 20th centuries by the traditional colonial powers and all countries which extended their sovereignty over territory  beyond their borders;
• To compile a list of useful sources on the history of cartography since 1800 which do not as yet appear in published catalogues or electronic databases;
• To maintain a dedicated website to act as a database for interested researchers;
• To hold annual meetings/conferences to discuss and monitor research work undertaken; To publish research findings in accredited journals and on the Commission website.