E-Commerce and Sales Tax Simplification The Oquirrh Institute studied the ramifications of e-commerce to help policy makers understand the complex issues surrounding the collection of sales tax on remote Internet purchases. The Institute developed materials and briefings used by state policy makers about the impact of e-commerce and the policy options available. Interoperability of Security Agencies at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games The 2002 Winter Olympics was the first major event held after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Earning international praise as an immensely successful security achievement, more than 50 local, state, and federal agencies were involved in securing the Games. To validate the central lessons learned, the Oquirrh Institute hosted a conference and published a report summarizing the seven most important principles learned that can be used by homeland security planners to better protect the nation. Sponsored in part by the Markle Foundation Improving Homeland Security by Increasing the Interoperability of Data Systems Governments at all levels collect immense amounts of data on a wide variety of subjects, which are used by managers and researchers, including intelligence and security services. These diverse data systems are rarely linked together to maximize available information and are often duplicated at huge cost to taxpayers. In fact, the actual number and descriptions of these databases are not even known. The Oquirrh Institute, due to its independent, neutral status, has been asked to participate in a project to identify and analyze the number and types of automated public records maintained in the U.S. Oquirrh would consider the ethical and privacy concerns of consolidating or otherwise mining this data for any purpose, ranging from improving government services to protecting national security. It should be noted that no one connected with this project would examine the content of any individual record.