The Forum on the Advancement of Court Technology (FACT) is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2009!! We are a consortium of private sector companies and senior court representatives dedicated to strengthening the dialogue between courts and their providers of technology. FACT's mission statement is "to improve the quality of justice through communication between those who develop and provide technology and services and those who manage the courts." FACT members provide insights and propose methods to improve technology acquisition and development processes. Active membership provides opportunities for business representatives to understand justice priorities and the issues faced by court decision makers examining technology options. FACT was created in 1989 following a Courts and Private Sector Conference held the previous year. Participants called for an on-going forum to discuss issues and develop resolution strategies. FACT provides an organized approach for this important dialogue. The Forum meets periodically each year. The FACT members support a variety of national court and technology management associations. Included are the National Association for Court Management (NACM), the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), and Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA).
FACT is an ad hoc division of NACM and uses the good offices of this professional organization to facilitate operations. NACM in turn is supported by the NCSC through their Association Services unit. Consequently, the Forum is beneficiary of National Center assistance made available via NACM. As an aside, FACT leadership dialogues directly with staff and directors within the NCSC's Court Technology Division component.
FACT has a single private sector chairperson and a Steering Committee consisting of representatives from the business community, the courts and other professionals.
