EPA wants more IT partnerships with other federal agencies

The Environmental Protection Agency is actively seeking collaborators to create technology partnerships within the federal government, a senior EPA technology official said Thursday.

In February, the EPA and the Energy Department signed a memorandum of understanding to launch a joint high-performance computing effort based at facilities in North Carolina and New Mexico. EPA officials are hoping the agreement is the first of many, according to Kimberly Nelson, the assistant administrator and chief information officer at the EPA's Office of Environmental Information.

"We are currently seeking out other agencies that want to join," Nelson said during a speech at the Federal Outlook Conference in Fairfax County, Va. She said the EPA expects to reach agreements with "three to four other agencies in the next year or two."

The pact between EPA and the Energy Department is designed to link supercomputers at the EPA's North Carolina facility and the Energy Department's Sandia National Laboratory. The increased computer capacity will allow both agencies to run faster, more efficient models, including a tool that will help states measure and meet air quality goals. Although the program is "still in its infancy," Nelson said she was pleased with its performance to date.

In February, senior federal officials praised the effort.

"Linking and leveraging these two great research resources will strengthen the scientific foundation for environmental, energy and public health issues," EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt said in February.

The IT partnership was "not required under the President's Management Agenda," Nelson said Thursday. The EPA facility in North Carolina's Research Triangle region has more capacity and space than the agency needs, so officials developed a plan "that we think will work well for both organizations."

The technology is already in place to link many e-government efforts and increase federal IT efficiency, according to Nelson. The ingrained government culture, however, is a major impediment to such cooperation, she said.

"We're still dealing with the fear that they will somehow lose control," she said.