The National Institute of Standards and Technology announced plans to establish the first Federally Funded Research and Development Center to help the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence fulfill industry needs.The FFRDC will be run by a non-profit organization that will have access to government and supplier data so that it can assemble resources and scientific and engineering talent for the public and private sectors, NIST said Monday.
“The FFRDC model is the most effective way the center can work with private companies to accelerate industry’s adoption of integrated tools and technologies to protect IT assets,†said Patrick Gallagher, undersecretary of commerce for standards and technology and NIST director.
Centers can take several structures to balance the ownership between the contractor and government.
For the NCCoE, federal employees will manage the FFRDC to support its research and development of integrated technical solutions to cybersecurity challenges, management of FFRDC collaborative efforts and operations of the NCCoE facility.
The NCCoE is a collaboration among experts from industry, government and academia to help enterprises secure their infrastructure.
In the fall of 2013, the NIST will seek proposals to manage the FFRDC.
