http://web.fie.com/history.htm (World Wide Web Directory, ~04/1995)DOE resolved to re-engineer the way in which it interacted with its customer base by launching an aggressive electronic communication effort. The new initiative would be modeled after DOE's successful on-line used equipment program (EEGADS) originated by Larry Barker. Dr. Barker was responsible for the concept, development and operation of the used equipment program and was assigned as the program manager to ensure continued success of this expanded initiative. The objective of the new initiative was to make current information about DOE's research and education opportunities widely available to colleges and universities at no cost. Federal Information Exchange (FIE) was created to implement DOE's new customer-oriented approach to the academic community. In 1989, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR), who were interested in DOE's approach, became the first additional agencies to join FIE's new on-line information system.
Today, Federal Information Exchange's FEDIX database provides comprehensive information on a wide range of federal agency programs and opportunities to the higher education community nationwide. With ten federal agencies now partnering in the on-line service, along with 110,000 individual users (and growing at a rate of 5,000 new users per month) FEDIX has become the key entity in the U.S. bridging the research and educational programs information gap between government and academia.
Based on the early success of FEDIX, FIE developed the Minority On-Line Information Service (MOLIS) in 1990 and today it provides comprehensive research and institutional capabilities data, free of charge, on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). The extraordinary success of MOLIS (38,000 of our 110,000 overall users have accessed minority-related information) is due to the real world value of its institutional data to government and industry and its opportunities data to minority campuses. Moreover, FIE is making a special effort to assist minority colleges and universities. Its trained staff visits minority campuses throughout the academic year to (a) train faculty, administrators and students to utilize its on-line system, and to (b) gather capabilities data.
Today, after more than four years of FEDIX/MOLIS service, DOE ranks among the top three federal agencies in providing information in a timely manner to colleges and universities. Moreover in the intervening years nine other federal agencies have joined this information partnership facilitated by FIE and provide FIE's on-line system and are providing comprehensive programs/opportunities information for academia. With 110,000 users nationwide, FEDIX/MOLIS has become an extraordinary ongoing success for these ten federal agencies.
Importantly, because FEDIX/MOLIS is funded through a DOE Cooperative Agreement, it is facilitating a successful federal partnership, yielding cost savings, and providing quality customer service and widespread access to the National Information Superhighway.