The Data Reference Model (DRM) is an XML-based system that standardizes data entered by US federal agencies, allowing for easy sharing and retrieval. It is part of the Federal Enterprise Architecture and includes a Community of Interest (COI) for sharing data with non-governmental bodies. The DRM promotes easy retrieval through standardized data descriptions, categorizations, and access mechanisms. Shared data can be used in business or inter-agency collaborations, and the DRM has been adopted by the Department of Defense and other civilian and intelligence communities.
The Data Reference Model (DRM) is written in Extensible Markup Language (XML) in order to create easy sharing of data between incompatible computer systems between US federal agencies. It was created to comply with a section of the 2002 E-Government Act, which requires standardization of all data entered by government agencies. It has been established that the data is described, organized and classified in such a way as to make it easy to retrieve the information entered by any agency. This eliminates the need for each agency to maintain its own separate database containing multiple duplicates of data stored in other agencies’ databases. It also allows managers the flexibility to view the data needed for decision making, generated from the specifics of search queries.
The Federal Enterprise Architecture that hosts the Data Reference Model has four other reference models in use. All of these reference models are built on a common operational framework, sharing common syntax and vocabulary to facilitate information sharing. There are three major areas of standardization in DRM that promote easy retrieval: data descriptions, data categorizations with their accompanying contexts, and access and exchange mechanisms for data sharing. These standards help reduce the possibility of ineffective searches, so that a wealth of quality information can answer any question. This categorization model also allows for reliable cross-agency data analysis.
Community of Interest (COI) is a security term in information technology and in federal DRM data is collected from a COI and fed into the combined data warehouse by international, federal, state and local governments for sharing. COIs can also be non-governmental bodies, institutions or foundations, both public and private. These security teams, using DRM standards, can share their knowledge with and receive information from other federal agencies. When a new COI is added to the DRM system, there are system tools they can use to enter descriptions, context and categories of data, so all agencies can understand and include the new data for future queries.
Shared data, in this data reference model methodology, is data that may have relevance and importance to any activity performed outside the responsibilities of a particular agency. In business or inter-agency collaborations, this instant access with easy-to-use standards enables rapid communications and implementations of government business issues. The US Department of Defense has its own DRM framework, which was developed prior to the inclusion of a DRM in the Federal Enterprise Architecture as one of five reference models. Other civilian and intelligence communities have also opened up access to data sharing across agency lines using the data reference model.
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