Governor Anthony Brown, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Patrick D. Gallagher.

NIST issued a press release the same day stating that the center was created to "work to strengthen U.S. economic growth by supporting automated and trustworthy e-government and e-commerce."

The press release states that the FFRDC will help the NCCoE "expand and accelerate its public-private collaborations" and focus on "boosting the security of U.S. information systems."

"FFRDCs operate in the public interest and are required to be free from organizational conflicts of interest as well as bias toward any particular company, technology or product—key attributes given the NCCoE's collaborative nature…The first three task orders under the contract will allow the NCCoE to expand its efforts in developing use cases and building blocks and provide operations management and facilities planning."

[4] National Cybersecurity Excellence Partners (NCEPs) offer technology companies the opportunity to develop long-term relationships with the NCCoE and NIST.

These representatives can also provide insight during the project build process and help validate the center's approach to developing an example solution.

[11] Other users, such as businesses working to improve their cybersecurity, have the opportunity to test the NCCoE's example solutions, evaluate their effectiveness, and provide feedback.