partnered with the Open Source Software Institute (OSSI) as part of
an NTA Open Source Program. The NTA Open Source Program is dedicated
to the development and implementation of open source technology for
use within the U. S. Government.”We applaud NTA for taking a leadership role in defining a clear strategy for open source technologies within the government,” said OSSI chairman, John Weathersby. “Open source currently plays a major role within many Federal and other public service IT systems. We look forward to working with NTA and other agencies to help them, and ultimately all taxpayers, realize the benefits of implementing open source solutions.”
According to the NTA, OSSI brings insights into how to leverage open source activities effectively as well as being a guide to the NTA within the open source community. OSSI will perform the role of Advisor and Advocate for the NTA Open Source Program. OSSI Advisory Board duties will be performed by the NTA Open Source Program Manager.
The National Technology Alliance is a United States Government program, established in 1987, for which the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) now serves as Executive Agent. The mission of the NTA is to influence commercial and dual-use technology development with an emphasis on meeting national security and defense needs. The NTA’s purpose is to discover, initiate, or accelerate commercially available solutions to meet U.S. Government technology needs. In doing so, the NTA carries out basic and applied research, prototyping, demonstrations, evaluations, and development of technology solutions through partnerships with industry and academic institutions.
The Open-Source Software Institute (http://www.oss-institute.org) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the development and implementation of open-source software solutions within U.S. Federal, state and municipal government agencies and academic entities.
NIMA (http://www.nima.mil) is a national intelligence and combat support agency whose mission is to provide timely, relevant and accurate Geospatial Intelligence in support of our national security. Geospatial Intelligence is the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., NIMA has major facilities in the Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, and St. Louis, Mo., areas with NIMA support teams worldwide.
