Virtual USA (vUSA), is a joint
federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
and
state collaboration on a project that would allow state and local on-line tools and technologies, such as caches of
geospatial data, to be interoperable and more useful with the goal of creating a "Virtual USA" for
emergency response purposes. The initiative was developed by the
DHS Directorate for Science and Technology
The Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is a component within the United States Department of Homeland Security. DHS-S&T serves as the research and development arm of the Department as it fulfills its national security mission.
The Science ...
(S&T), and currently operates as a pilot in eight states —
Alabama,
Georgia,
Florida,
Louisiana,
Mississippi,
Texas,
Virginia and
Tennessee — with plans to incorporate additional states.
Virtual USA is part of the DHS' Open Government plan, which is part of the
Obama administration's goal to promote a greater amount of
transparency and openness between the government and citizens.
Purpose and overview
The stated goal of Virtual USA is to aggregate existing data, from federal, state, local, tribal, and other information into a common operating picture to assist first responders during emergencies.
Virtual USA:
*Virtual USA utilizes current
information-sharing platforms to permit new and existing technologies to exchange information with one another.
*Virtual USA is based on the needs of local and state
first responders to manage data access within their own jurisdictions and to share information with relevant jurisdictions across the United States.
*Virtual USA is not limited to information exchanges between two agencies; instead, the initiative fosters information sharing among all federal, state,
local and
tribal authorities.
*Virtual USA uses open data standards and
open-source software, more states and localities are able to join this information exchange project.
*Virtual USA allows Americans in their own communities to contribute information—in real-time to support the efforts of
police,
fire and
emergency management
Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...
officials during
disasters and recovery efforts.
Statistics
*In the state of Virginia, Virtual USA has reduced response times to incidents involving
hazardous materials by 70 percent.
Similar systems
Virtual Alabama
See also
*
Joint Regional Information Exchange System {{more footnotes, date=December 2009
The Joint Regional Information Exchange System (JRIES) began in December 2002 as an all-source intelligence / information sharing system, designed initially as a grassroots pilot system to connect the Californi ...
*
Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange
The Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange Program, also known by the acronym MATRIX, was a U.S. federally funded data mining system originally developed for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement described as a tool to identify terror ...
*
Regional Information Sharing Systems Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) is an information-sharing program funded by the U.S. Federal government whose purpose is to connect databases from local and regional law enforcement so that they can use each other's data for criminal inv ...
References
External links
"Mapping an Emergency," ''S&T Snapshots,'' Department of Homeland Security (January 12, 2010)
{{DHS agencies
United States Department of Homeland Security
Information systems
Government services web portals in the United States
Open data
Open government in the United States
Emergency simulation