National collaboration begins work
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, January 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The NIEMOpen Forensics Subcommittee successfully hosted a virtual Town Hall on December 8, 2025, marking a significant step forward in the mission to standardize forensic data exchange language. The event brought together a diverse group of participants from federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as partners from private industry, to advance the nationwide capability of sharing forensic evidence data seamlessly.
The Town Hall introduced the subcommittee’s leadership, which is chaired by the Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency (DFBA). The leadership team also includes co-chairs from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ)/National Institute of Justice (NIJ), with an ombudsman from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). These officials are spearheading the development of essential data elements required for interoperability across different forensic science services and IT systems.
During the meeting, the leadership team outlined the primary functions of the subcommittee and presented an overview of the current forensics data model. The core of the discussion focused on the critical need for a common vocabulary and a standard framework to bridge the existing communication gap within the forensic science community. In his introduction to this new initiative, Paul Wormeli, Chairman of the NIEMOopen Project Governing Committee said that “ The outcome of this work will enable the aggregation of forensic data and improved information sharing with other communities such as law enforcement and military operations.”
A central outcome of the event was a call to action for volunteers to lead specialized “tiger teams.” These teams will be dedicated to specific forensic science disciplines, working to collectively enhance the nation’s information-sharing capabilities.
About the NIEMOpen Forensics Subcommittee:
The NIEMOpen Forensics Subcommittee is a collaborative body that brings together key stakeholders to facilitate the effective sharing of data from forensic evidence across all levels of government and the private sector. By providing a common vocabulary and a standard framework for information exchange through NIEMOpen, the subcommittee enables disparate systems to communicate seamlessly, addressing a critical need in the forensic science community.
Get Involved:
To learn more about the NIEMOpen Forensics Subcommittee or to volunteer to lead a tiger team, contact hqda.niemforensics@army.mil.
About NIEMOpen
NIEMOpen is a community collaborative between federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government agencies and the private sector. NIEMOpen includes the data model with over 20,000 harmonized data elements serving 19 different domains, the naming and design rules for extending the model to include new data elements, the methodology for creating information exchange specifications, the tools created to automate the process of specifying information exchanges, and the online training to use the tools in the data model for information sharing. All of these elements of the framework are available at no cost on the NIEMOpen website. NIEMOpen operates under OASIS Open, an international standards and open-source consortium. https://niemopen.org/
Paul Wormeli
NIEMOpen Project Governance Board Chair
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