The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites interested parties to attend the kick-off meeting of the Biometric Interoperability, Performance, and Assurance Working Group on September 12, 2000 at NIST in Gaithersburg, Maryland from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. The Biometric Interoperability, Performance, and Assurance Working Group will operate under the umbrella of the US Biometric Consortium (BC). The goal of this Working Group is to provide a forum for its members to address issues related to biometrics interoperability, performance metrics, user's requirements, and biometrics assurance. The Working Group is being formed to facilitate and encourage, under the Biometric Consortium, further exchange of information and collaborative efforts between users and private industry in all things biometric. It intends to support further advancement of technical efficient and compatible biometrics technology solutions on a national and international basis by addressing required issues and efforts other than current development already undertaken by other national or international organizations (e.g., formal standards, industrial consortium developments, on-going testing developments, etc.). NIST will make available the Working Group membership agreement at the US Biometric Consortium Web page: http://www.biometrics.org