functional standards

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, our government not only needed to improve its counterterrorism intelligence, but also share information better, faster, and smarter. We found that our national security relies on our ability to share the right information, with the right people, at the right time – and we must “enlist all of our intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland security capabilities,” as the National Security Strategy states.

This winter has seen great work and progress for the standards community. Our office has been working hard to reach out to our partners in government, industry, and the non-profit community to discuss and advance standards in government, acquisition, and more.

Back in March, GSA’s Office of Government-wide Policy and I challenged industry to provide recommendations for enhancing the government’s acquisition policy and increasing interoperability through standards.

Our partners in national security – the state, local, and tribal public safety community – face common challenges around information sharing technology, funding, and policy. With more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide, information sharing can be fragmented and stovepiped. To attack that fragmentation and transform the model for information sharing, we must work together to share strategies and services, and plan for standards-based acquisitions locally, statewide, regionally, and nationally.

Earlier this month, I testified before the House Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications on behalf of the National Fusion Center Association (NFCA).

In the Office of Government-wide Policy (OGP) of GSA, we have been working closely with Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment Kshemendra Paul and industry partners through American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC), a non-profit, public/private partnership focused on IT in government.

Last week, I visited Washington State where I spoke and met with some folks at Microsoft’s Worldwide Justice and Public Safety Symposium. I focused on some key points related to building information interoperability that I would like to share here.

What is information interoperability?

Two weeks ago, leaders from the information sharing community gathered at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) for the Information Sharing: Adapting and Improving an Expanded ISE conference. Kshemendra Paul, Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment (ISE), participated in the first panel discussion of the day, Information Sharing and the Future of the ISE, along with Tim Doran, Senior Director, Information Sharing and Safeguarding Policy, National Security Staff, and David Shedd, Deputy Director, Defense Intelligence Agency.

A few weeks ago, I joined Canadian government representatives in promoting NIEM adoption (www.niem.gov | www.niem.ca) to their law enforcement and public safety communities. NIEM is a model for information sharing technical standards, and it has had strong adoption here in the U.S. among our law enforcement, public safety, justice, and homeland security communities.

We found this discussion of online credentials on SecureIDNews interesting - Defining Digital Identities: Part One of Five - these are the same topics we are examining in our work in the federal government.