CONNECT Vendor Symposium

By Lauren Thompson
Director, Federal Health Architecture

The CONNECT team hosted a vendor symposium on April 30 and May 1 at the Social Security Administration in Baltimore. The purpose of the event was to gain an understanding from industry about their experiences and suggestions as we transition CONNECT to an open-source contribution model employing a custodian.  

On the first day, representatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Federal Health Architecture spoke with approximately 40 vendors about CONNECT, about the planned transition, the open source community and the potential Custodial Agent Scope of Work.  Many of the attendees had experience with CONNECT, open source development or the management of a program using a custodial agent.  The Q&A session that followed brought to light a number of points to consider as CONNECT moves to an open source contribution model.

On day two, vendors addressed a panel of federal employees, providing information on their capabilities, and recommendations on the transition path and business model.   They provided suggestions on best practices that should be considered to enable full engagement of the CONNECT community and promote a community-driven open source contribution model that would facilitate optimal participation from the public and private sectors. 

Were you unable to attend the event, but have input for us on this topic? Please feel free to leave us a comment below, or email us your suggestions at CONNECT@hhs.gov.