Whether it is to
promote the development of a nationwide “Smart Grid” for electricity,
optimize cyber security in federal information technology systems, or
develop an effective and interoperable health IT system, technical
standards play a major role, and federal agencies must work effectively
with private-sector partners to ensure these efforts succeed. Toward
these ends, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Director Patrick Gallagher and Department of Justice Deputy Assistant
Attorney General Philip Weiser will co-chair a new Subcommittee on
Standards that has been established at the White House Office of Science
and Technology Policy (OSTP).
Part of the OSTP National Science and
Technology Council Committee on Technology, this interagency group will
provide high-level leadership so federal agencies are strategically
focused and actively engaged on critical standards-related issues. In
turn, the improved coordination is intended to ensure that agencies can
work in a responsive and timely fashion with the private sector so that
effective standards are developed and put into practice to meet national
needs. The group will reinforce the ability of the federal government
to work in partnership with the private sector to address the standards
needed to solve national problems.
This subcommittee will also work closely with
the Interagency Committee on Standards Policy (ICSP), which is chaired
by Belinda Collins of NIST. The Subcommittee on Standards will provide
direction and guidance to the ICSP, and will rely on the ICSP to
coordinate interagency implementation of standards policy, assess
progress, and develop potential policy options or guidance with the goal
of removing barriers to effective standards development or use.
For more information, see the blog post by U.S.
Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra at www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/03/24/providing-leadership-standards-address-national-challenges.
