NBS Community

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In addition to the NBS support team at CDC, a nationwide network of real-world NBS users works to develop solutions to common challenges and get the most out of the system. The NBS Users Group (NUG) meets regularly and actively collaborates with the NBS team to test and give feedback on new releases and identify priorities for future system improvements.

What is the NBS Community?

The NEDSS Base System (NBS) community was developed more than a decade ago and currently has about 100 members. CDC facilitated the growth of the community to provide jurisdictions with a platform to collaborate on common issues, to discuss priorities for the future of NBS, and to provide status updates from the CDC NBS team on project activities.

What are the membership requirements?

As a community, members:

  • share best practices, tools, and lessons learned across jurisdictions;
  • share innovative local approaches to disease surveillance and reporting;
  • participate in the change control process and planning for each NBS software release;
  • work collaboratively with CDC to define high-level vision and priorities;
  • provide input to create community-defined requirements for system development;
  • participate in a weekly subject matter expert call to discuss development and best practices;
  • participate in beta testing for releases;
  • attend a bi-weekly NBS User Group (NUG) call to discuss the system as well as reach out to colleagues to brainstorm
    creative solutions to common problems in public health surveillance; and
  • access NBS Central, an online collaboration and support forum.

NBS Community activities

NBS User Group (NUG)

NUG calls provide a forum for participants to discuss the latest NBS software development, current topics, and best practices. The user group also provides a platform for jurisdictions to collaborate, discuss common issues, and share lessons learned.

  • Meets every 2 weeks
  • Includes local/state/territorial users and CDC programs

NBS Subject Matter Expert (SME) Calls

The NBS SME calls allow participants to discuss detailed NBS software release requirements and collaborate on NBS software development and best practices.

  • Meets every week
  • Includes local/state/territorial users and CDC programs

NBS Change Control Board (CCB)

The NBS CCB makes decisions about the prioritized enhancements and defects to be addressed in NBS software releases.

  • Meets monthly or when a high-priority item arises
  • Consists of three state representatives and CDC NBS leads
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