Justice, Homeland Security want a few good pilots

The newly created National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) program, created by the Homeland Security and Justice departments, is looking for pilot projects to test standards for data sharing and interoperability, according to program co-leader, Michael Daconta.

The team expects to issue April 4 a concept of operations that outlines goals of the pilot projects, said Daconta, who also is director of metadata DHS.

The website for new program is be up and running by May 1 to publicize its work and to draw in more state, local and private sector involvement, Daconta said.

"This is a national model, not a federal model," he said. "Many state and local governments want the federal government to take a leadership position on how to do information sharing."

Daconta is leading the new Extensible Markup Language (XML) national modeling project along with Jeremy Warren, enterprise architecture specialist for the Justice Department. The project will use the Global Justice XML model developed by Justice as its baseline.

Daconta said the NIEM.gov website will help involve state and local officials and industry groups in developing additional XML standards for the national model. "The process has to be collaborative," he said.