The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) recently highlighted NIEM as an example of effective governance that enables cross-jurisdictional collaboration. NASCIO has been a leader in discovering best practices for developing and sustaining state and county collaboration. This paper explains both why governance is a key ingredient and how efforts like NIEM are making it happen. Be sure to check out their paper and learn more about NIEM and other models for effective governance!

During the June 24th NIEM 3.0 Beta Tech Talk, NIEM PMO Acting Managing Director, Justin Stekervetz, called attention to the formation of the NIEM Biometrics Domain (NBD) as a noteworthy development that has taken place during the NIEM 3.0 process. The NBD would like to thank Justin for the acknowledgement and call to attention that July 2013 marks the one year anniversary of the formal establishment of the NIEM Biometric Domain. With your help, we have accomplished a tremendous amount in this inaugural year of operation.

The NIEM 3.0 Beta Tech Talk kicked off the Beta release. In case you missed it, a summary of the event can be found below.

Over 170 participants dialed into the NIEM 3.0 Beta Tech Talk on June 25. Thank you to those who joined the call! If you missed it, don’t worry.

Beta is coming soon! Are you ready to provide feedback?

Since August 2012, the NIEM community has been working on NIEM Version 3.0—the next major release of the NIEM model.

NIEM 3.0 is on schedule for completion in October 2013. Once completed, NIEM 3.0 will be the foundation for development of your future exchanges.

We recently completed the public review of the NIEM 3.0 Alpha 2 release—the first time ever the community has had the chance to provide input on an Alpha release. Thank you to those who provided feedback!

The active participation and involvement of community members is important as we continue to mature. We are hard at work reviewing and incorporating all Alpha 2 comments received in preparation for the next phase, Beta.

In preparation for the release of NIEM version 3.0, we are taking steps to update the NIEM training curriculum and we want to incorporate your feedback!

The primary goal of the curriculum update is to ensure that NIEM technical courses align with the 3.0 architecture, but we also want include community-identified business requirements.

The NTAC co-chairs are looking for a few NIEM-savvy techies to join the NTAC! The membership nomination period is open, and the deadline has been extended to Friday, May 24. This gives interested parties two additional weeks to submit nominations! The NTAC defines and governs technical and structural architecture associated with NIEM development and implementation. The committee is also responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining the technical specifications for the NIEM community.

NIEM has two national committees, the NIEM Business Architecture Committee (NBAC) and the NIEM Technical Architecture Committee (NTAC). These committees came together for a collaborative meeting in Arlington, Virginia, from April 24-26. Over 50 representatives from federal, state, local, and international entities participated in NTAC and NBAC committee-specific break-out sessions as well as collective discussions.

Can you believe it? Today, April 19, the NIEM program celebrates another birthday! Eight years ago, who would have thought we’d still be talking about our growing community.

Our growth is evident, and it does have people talking! The NIEM LinkedIn group has steadily grown since its launch in April 2009. We’re up to 2,729 members and going strong, with a steady stream of comments and ongoing discussions, mostly from community members across multiple perspectives. I enjoy reading on a daily basis the conversations on what’s important to the NIEM community.

The NIEM Technical Architecture Committee (NTAC) is looking for NIEM-savvy techies to join the committee!

What does the NTAC do?

Responsibilities include:

• Defining and governing the technical and structural architecture associated with NIEM development and implementation.
• Developing, implementing, and maintaining the technical specifications for the NIEM community.

Since August 2012, the NIEM community has been working on NIEM Version 3.0—the next major release of the NIEM model. The last time we had a major new release was 2007!  NIEM 3.0 is on schedule to launch in fall 2013!

On Tuesday March 12, the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) Biometrics domain (NBD) team briefed the National Counterterrorism Center’s Biometric Working Group (NCTC BWG) on the domain’s recent efforts. Representatives from the NCTC included the Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigations, Terrorist Screening Center, National Security Agency, Customs and Border Protection, and Department of State.

Once again, NIEM community members came together for a NIEM Town Hall. In total, 279 community members—from federal, state, local, international, and the private sector—tuned in to hear about an array of exciting topics, ranging from program and domain updates to state success stories.

Great news! A team composed of members from the NIEM Biometrics domain community has successfully drafted and submitted content for the NIEM version 3.0 release—forming the core of the new NIEM Biometrics domain. This means that in 3.0, developers will have a more robust mechanism for exchanging biometric-related data using NIEM. This submission includes fingerprint, facial, and tattoo biometric content. The Biometrics domain’s administrative team has also developed a release roadmap for other Biometrics content types, such as iris and dental.

We’re kicking off the new year with a Town Hall, and you’re invited! Please mark your calendars for Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. EST.