The Commerce Department’s National Technical Information Service (NTIS) is increasing its capacity to share and use Federal data with the public, through the announcement of a new Joint Venture Partnership (JVP) and the appointment of a new director.
“We are excited about this new direction for NTIS,” said Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. “Finding innovative ways to utilize the Federal government’s expansive data resources will provide great opportunities for public-private sector collaboration.”
NTIS intends to expand IT innovation within the Federal government by reviewing private partnership proposals through the JVP and using those partners to accomplish data-related projects within Federal agencies. These projects include:
- Designing, testing, analyzing, or demonstrating the application of Federal data and data services.
- Implementing the private sector’s data expertise.
- Creating products, platforms, and services that meet the needs of government agencies.
- Enhancing data discovery, usability, interoperability, standards, analytics, and forecasting, or data infrastructure and security.
These partnership goals stem from a new NTIS focus set by Pritzker in 2015, to “expand access to the department’s and the broader Federal government’s data resources, with emphasis on data concerning the nation’s economy, population, and environment.”
As a part of this partnership endeavor, NTIS announced today that it is appointing Avi Bender, formerly the chief technology officer at the U.S. Census Bureau, as the service’s director.
“Data is a major currency of the 21st century,” said Bender. “NTIS has unique legislative authority to match Federal agencies that collect, use, and disseminate valuable data sets with highly qualified private sector partners. We want to make it easier for Federal agencies to efficiently use and share their data in agile and innovative ways.”
The deadline to submit proposals for the JVP is Aug. 1, and NTIS will be holding a public information session on the JVP goals and processes on July 7.
