Corporation for National Research Initiatives

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CNRI is a not-for-profit organization formed in 1986 to foster research and development for the National Information Infrastructure. Among CNRI's major goals is a program of research to identify and nurture infrastructural technologies and services that will unlock the potential of information and knowledge along with technology itself. CNRI promotes various collaborative activities that create productive synergies among government agencies, universities, and private organization; undertakes targeted research in technologies for digital objects rights management, and high-speed networking; and supports various educational initiatives in the public interest.

CNRI is committed to furthering the design and implementation of selected infrastructure components so that new computing- and communications-based applications can be used to greater advantage at work, at school, and at home. Experimental development and use of new technologies is often the most effective means for understanding their potential and driving their evolution. With support from federal agencies such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), CNRI engages in selected demonstration activities and projects with key institutions where the implications of prototype systems can be studied and refined, and their utility can be determined. Critical partners include the Library of Congress, the National Library of Medicine, the Association of American Publishers, and the Defense Technology Information Center.

In addition to selective development and deployment of key infrastructural technologies, CNRI initiates and nurtures collaborative and educational activities that are intended to bring together parties with potentially divergent interests to pursue common goals. To this end, CNRI organized and manages the Cross-Industry Working Team, which includes computer, information, banking, and telecommunications firms among its members. CNRI also hosts the Secretariat for the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and houses D-Lib, a program of activities to support research in digital libraries and networked information technologies.




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