<s>
Virtual	B-Application
USA	I-Application
(	O
vUSA	O
)	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
joint	O
federal	O
and	O
state	O
collaboration	O
on	O
a	O
project	O
that	O
would	O
allow	O
state	O
and	O
local	O
on-line	O
tools	O
and	O
technologies	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
caches	O
of	O
geospatial	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
,	O
to	O
be	O
interoperable	O
and	O
more	O
useful	O
with	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
creating	O
a	O
"	O
Virtual	B-Application
USA	I-Application
"	O
for	O
emergency	O
response	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
initiative	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
DHS	O
Directorate	O
for	O
Science	O
and	O
Technology	O
(	O
S&T	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
currently	O
operates	O
as	O
a	O
pilot	O
in	O
eight	O
states	O
—	O
Alabama	B-Application
,	O
Georgia	O
,	O
Florida	O
,	O
Louisiana	O
,	O
Mississippi	O
,	O
Texas	O
,	O
Virginia	B-Application
and	O
Tennessee	O
—	O
with	O
plans	O
to	O
incorporate	O
additional	O
states	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
USA	I-Application
is	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
DHS	O
 '	O
Open	O
Government	O
plan	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Obama	O
administration	O
's	O
goal	O
to	O
promote	O
a	O
greater	O
amount	O
of	O
transparency	O
and	O
openness	O
between	O
the	O
government	O
and	O
citizens	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
stated	O
goal	O
of	O
Virtual	B-Application
USA	I-Application
is	O
to	O
aggregate	O
existing	O
data	O
,	O
from	O
federal	O
,	O
state	O
,	O
local	O
,	O
tribal	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
information	O
into	O
a	O
common	O
operating	O
picture	O
to	O
assist	O
first	O
responders	O
during	O
emergencies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
USA	I-Application
:	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
USA	I-Application
utilizes	O
current	O
information-sharing	O
platforms	O
to	O
permit	O
new	O
and	O
existing	O
technologies	O
to	O
exchange	O
information	O
with	O
one	O
another	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
USA	I-Application
is	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
needs	O
of	O
local	O
and	O
state	O
first	O
responders	O
to	O
manage	O
data	O
access	O
within	O
their	O
own	O
jurisdictions	O
and	O
to	O
share	O
information	O
with	O
relevant	O
jurisdictions	O
across	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
USA	I-Application
is	O
not	O
limited	O
to	O
information	O
exchanges	O
between	O
two	O
agencies	O
;	O
instead	O
,	O
the	O
initiative	O
fosters	O
information	O
sharing	O
among	O
all	O
federal	O
,	O
state	O
,	O
local	O
and	O
tribal	O
authorities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
USA	I-Application
uses	O
open	O
data	O
standards	O
and	O
open-source	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
more	O
states	O
and	O
localities	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
join	O
this	O
information	O
exchange	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
USA	I-Application
allows	O
Americans	O
in	O
their	O
own	O
communities	O
to	O
contribute	O
information	O
—	O
in	O
real-time	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
efforts	O
of	O
police	O
,	O
fire	O
and	O
emergency	O
management	O
officials	O
during	O
disasters	O
and	O
recovery	O
efforts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
state	O
of	O
Virginia	B-Application
,	O
Virtual	B-Application
USA	I-Application
has	O
reduced	O
response	O
times	O
to	O
incidents	O
involving	O
hazardous	O
materials	O
by	O
70	O
percent	O
.	O
</s>
