Welcome to the First Edition!

Welcome to the first edition of the Identity Ecosystem Steering Group (IDESG) Newsletter. In the future we will highlight exciting work happening in the Plenary and Committees of the Steering Group. We will also alert you to upcoming events, both in-person and remote. You will learn about the many opportunities for you to participate in building the Identity Ecosystem and how you can benefit from the implementation of the NSTIC principles. 

Second IDESG Plenary Makes Progress

In spite of the hurdles caused by Hurricane Sandy, the IDESG was able to hold its second plenary meeting on November 26 and 27 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington DC. Our deep gratitude goes to the Smart Card Alliance who made the meeting possible by providing space for the conference.
 
The productive agenda began with a mapping exercise, the plenary then moved into breakout groups by committees. The next morning the meeting ended with a large group discussion on charter alignment and organizational vision.
 
Bob Blakley, Plenary Chair, lauded the success of the meeting. �We achieved two critical objectives at the Washington meeting.  First, we approved the ballot for the last two pieces of our governance picture: the Membership Agreement and IPR Policy.  The ballot on these documents opened on Monday. And second, we discussed what the Identity Ecosystem should look like when we�re done defining it.�
 

Mapping Exercise

The first session was a mapping exercise to discover how different members of the Plenary viewed the end-state of the Identity Ecosystem. Both the in-person and remote audience were tasked to create a vision of a working Identity Ecosystem with key features such as use cases, enabling mechanisms, technologies, laws, and standards. Each small group used mapping tools to draw their vision and then shared it with other small groups.

• View maps and reports made by the breakout groups.

Bob Blakley, summarized the top ten requirements reported out by all the participating groups. Here is his condensed report:

Top Ten Requirements for the Identity Ecosystem

1. There must be business models which satisfy all stakeholders
2. There must be rules to address stakeholder liability concerns and consumer protection
3. The ecosystem must improve the user experience of identity and lower barriers to entry
4. There must be accreditation, certification, and audit standards
5. The ecosystem must be more user-centric
6. Users must have a choice to opt out
7. There must be effective federation across IDPs and Relying Parties
8. The ecosystem must eliminate passwords
9. We must entice Relying Parties to join the ecosystem
10. The ecosystem must support role-based identity

Downloads

• Initial spreadsheet built by Bob Blakley based on the group breakout reports
• All Breakout Reports

Charter Alignment and Organization Vision

After breakout sessions by committees, the plenary reconvened the second day to discuss charter alignment and their organizational vision in light of the previous day�s sessions. A representative from each committee spoke to discuss their proposed charters and answered questions from the audience.

• View transcripts and remote chat log of these proceedings
• View Photos of Charter Alignment Map

Brett McDowell, Management Council Chair provided this insight. "I was pleased that so many people were able to participate in person and remotely under the challenging circumstances surrounding the rescheduling of this event due to Hurricane Sandy.  Several Management Council Delegates told me the meeting surpassed their expectations, especially in terms of productivity.  I agree that we have turned the corner from governance discussions and debates to visualizing and designing the Identity Ecosystem we will soon begin to articulate in earnest."
 

Membership Agreement and IPR Policy Ballot Opens Monday

The Special Committee on Governance agreed on Friday, November 30, to deliver and recommend a Membership Agreement and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy to the Plenary for decision by electronic ballot. Both are required by the recently approved IDESG Rules of Association. Once approved, members will need to review and sign as soon as possible.

 
Brett McDowell from PayPal and Chair of the Management Council pointed out, �The last gate between us and getting our work done is the ratification and execution of the IDESG Membership Agreement by each and every one of you.  Please participate in the online vote to adopt that agreement, and even more importantly, move that agreement through your legal process quickly so we can begin the drafting work of IDESG under clean, clear intellectual property rules that will enable us to advance a truly open Identity Ecosystem."
 
The ballot opened on Monday, December 3 at 12:00 noon Eastern Time and will close on December 17 at 12:00 noon Eastern Time. Eligible voters will receive instructions by email for casting their vote.

A webinar reviewing the Membership Agreement and IPR Policy is scheduled for Thursday, December 6 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Please register at https://bit.ly/VrBeFt