Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
materials. On the security front, the DSIC workspace has developed the secu-
rity policies for caGrid. These are described in two works, a policy manual
(“caBIG Security Program Policy,” commonly called the “thin book”) and an
implementation guide based on the policy document (“caBIG caGrid Toolkit,”
or the “thick book”). The DSIC workspace works closely with the architecture
workspace and NCI security staff to ensure that caBIG policy and technology
remain aligned and that both remain aligned with federal law and best practice
in security and privacy.
17.6
ca BIG COLLABORATION STRATEGY: SUPPORT
The NCI recognized early in the program that successful use of caBIG tech-
nology and processes to enable collaboration would require a robust support
infrastructure that could work effectively with the cancer research community.
Part of that support mechanism is provided by caBIG program activities (tele-
conferences, face-to-face meetings, etc.) but other types of support were clearly
required. Even prior to the launch of the caBIG program, NCI CBIIT has
maintained an application support helpdesk to assist users.* However, to meet
the much greater needs of the caBIG community, the NCI created the caBIG
Enterprise Support Network. Comprised of a group of knowledge centers and
support service providers, it is designed to provide enterprise-level support to
a diverse collection of caBIG stakeholders.
Knowledge centers (KCs) are the primary mechanism for obtaining infor-
mation about caBIG program activities, tools, and processes. Funded by the
NCI to provide this support, there are six KCs that cover specifi c parts of
caBIG program activities (Table 17.1). Each KC is responsible for providing
phone and e-mail support for products in its area of capability and for per-
forming routine bug fi xes on that software. They are also sources of informa-
tion to the community in their areas of expertise, maintaining listservs and
wikis for those tools. The NCI funds the KCs so that some level of support is
available to anyone in the community. However, KCs generally operate during
normal business hours, and while they provide information as quickly as pos-
sible, they do not have formal service-level agreements with various elements
of the community. Further, there are support activities that it would be inap-
propriate to use federal tax dollars to support, such as highly specialized
integration activities that would only benefi t the specifi c site where the integra-
tion work is taking place. To address these issues, caBIG created the support
service provider (SSP) program. The SSPs perform work for clients under
business arrangements (generally fee for service) made between the SSP and
the client that requires the service. To become an SSP, an organization must
demonstrate that it meets a minimum set of standards in one or more of four
* CBIIT support can be reached at 1 - 301 - 451 - 4383 or toll free at 1 - 888 - 478 - 4423 (U.S. only) or by
email at ncicb@pop.nci.nih.gov .
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