Kitware And SAIC-Frederick, Inc. Provide Support For National Cancer Informatics Program Open Development Initiative

The project will move a collection of existing government-funded software projects to an open-source environment.

Clifton Park, NY (PRWEB) February 12, 2013 -- Kitware, a leader in open-source software development, today announces the award of a subcontract with SAIC-Frederick, Inc. (SAIC-F) to migrate a collection of National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored software projects to an open-source environment in Github.

With 14 years of experience in cultivating open-source software projects and associated communities, Kitware will play an advisory role in this project and provide NCI and SAIC-F personnel with knowledge, tools, and skills for successfully managing the migration process and implementing strategies for community growth and support.

End results from this six-month project will include a set of well-defined standard operating procedures detailing the process of migrating projects from subversion (SVN) repositories hosted at NCI to a National Cancer Informatics Program (NCIP) space hosted in Github. In-house teams at NCI and SAIC-F will be trained with skills and methodologies for fostering these communities, and applying open-source practices to existing projects funded by NCI and other supporting organizations.

“We are thrilled that Government agencies are embracing open-source practices, and are starting to appreciate how important community building is while software is being developed,” said Dr. Luis Ibáñez, Technical Leader at Kitware and Community Development Advisor for this project. “Self-directed communities attract individuals who want to do the work merely because they are interested in a project, and the feelings of autonomy, mastery, and purpose they get from contributing. Bringing these projects to an open-source environment, where communities can become self-sufficient, is a great way of serving the public interest.”

For more information on Kitware’s open-source development and community growth practices and how they can be applied to your project, please contact [email protected].

About Kitware
Kitware is an open-source solutions provider for research facilities, government institutions, and corporations worldwide. Founded in 1998, Kitware specializes in research and development in the areas of visualization, medical imaging, computer vision, quality software process, data management, and informatics. Kitware is headquartered in Clifton Park, NY, with offices in Carrboro, NC, Santa Fe, NM, and Lyon, France. More information can be found at http://www.kitware.com.

About SAIC-Frederick, Inc.
SAIC-Frederick, a wholly owned subsidiary of SAIC, operates the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

This project described in this release has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, under Contract No. HHSN261200800001E. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.