Dec 19, 2017 in News by DIACC

Year in Review: 3 Key Accomplishments and Insights Delivered through DIACC

 Over the past 12 months, our community of digital identity solutions and services experts and enthusiasts grew larger and stronger than ever. We’re proud to bring diverse individuals and organizations together to collaborate and advance digital identity. Our work throughout the year has focused on making strides in interoperability, innovation, and outreach for digital identification solutions.

“We’re collaborating to reach digital Canada and that goal makes digital ID even more desperately needed,” says Joni Brennan, President of the DIACC. “DIACC membership growth is a good indication of value in terms of the insights we’re delivering and who’s participating.”

As we reflect on our proudest accomplishments over the past year, we are excited to start 2018 with even more strategic understanding of what’s possible and what’s critical as we move toward an ecosystem of digital ID solutions and services that respect Canadians while unlocking the benefits of the digital economy.

2017 Key Accomplishments and Insights

  1. Driving Industry Impact

    Innovation Paper: Digital ID and Authentication for Civic Engagement

In collaboration with Placespeak, we published an Innovation Paper on Digital ID and Authentication for Civic Engagement. This case study helped raise the need for anonymous

authentication for digital citizen engagement. Anonymous authentication is the process by which a user is authenticated but, unless explicit permission is granted, the service and provider they are interacting with cannot access their identity.

The ability to confirm a person’s geographic location without identification is crucial for governments seeking reliable information to drive insightful policy development. This Innovation Paper illustrated the essential and exciting opportunities that digital identity can produce to enhance democracy in a digital world.

Key Insight:

DIACC members gain value through Innovation Papers by working with us to raise visibility on specific issues and industry use cases while linking research, trends, and member services. Together we build a more robust understanding of the implications of a truly interoperable digital identity and illuminate broader possibilities in the Canadian landscape.

Have an idea for an Innovation Paper? Share your idea!

  1. Exploring New Technology Applications

    Proof of Concept: Blockchain for Corporate Registries

The Proof of Concept: Making the Blockchain Work for Corporate Registries enabled the Province of British Columbia and IBM to collaborate to better understand blockchain technology and specifically, viability of the Hyperledger standard. The multi stakeholder team established a narrow scope and strong foundational question before convening for an intensive workshop. They asked: Can blockchain provide value in the world of corporate registries and what might it look like in practice?

They discovered that it’s difficult for corporate registries to share, access, and view data because each registry has different technologies and policies in place.Through the Proof of Concept, participants recognized that blockchain and Hyperledger can solve this issue by allowing disparate systems (in this case, registries) to speak to each other without having to change legacy systems or harmonize policies. They created an open source solution that enables provinces to evolve at their own discretion and pace, while taking advantage of the benefits of data visibility across registries.

Key Insight:

Application-focused exercises that use new technologies provide DIACC member value by amplifying resources to test viability and unlock significant learnings. The Proof of Concept has been picked up across Canada and by analysts in Europe, including KuppingerCole,who noted the scalability and applicability of this use of blockchain for registries around the world.

What Proof of Concept would you like to see in 2018? Let us know!

  1. Collaborative Co-Creation

    Digital ID Design Challenge: Electronic State of Title Certificates

The Digital Identity Design Challenge: eSTC was our first Digital Identity Design Challenge (DIDC) and it was a great success. DIACC partnered with IdentityNORTH, Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA), and Blockchain at UBC to craft a challenge specific to the real estate market. The LTSA wanted to explore how the intersection of blockchain and identity could help with access to electronic state of title certificates.

DIACC was thrilled to engage people from inside and outside of the typical digital identity community to connect knowledge and highlight new approaches. The contest piqued the interest of students and entrepreneurs from Canada, China, and Europe. Judgement criteria was set for three industry experts and the IdentityNORTH Western Forum audience to cast their votes and select a winner. In the end, Noah Bouma, a first year student at University of Calgary, won for his user-friendly, thoughtful, and framework-driven solution.

Key Insight:

The collaboration from beginning to end of the Digital ID Design Challenge delivered market research while creating new connections across industries and sectors. The DIDC delivered value to business, government, and citizen-consumers through targeted resource sharing and the benefits were reflected by the enthusiastic community participation.

Would you like to propose, mentor, or judge a DIACC DIDC? Get in touch!

 

Moving Forward Together: 2018 Leaders take the Lead

The DIACC is committed to creating even more opportunities for members to share their vision, progress, and expertise to make an impact. As the world defines the role that digital identity can play in every facet of our lives, Canada can emerge as a leader. To drive this change, we’re launching two new committee forums in 2018. The Innovation Expert Committee and Outreach Expert Committee will connect members to advance the profile of digital identity in Canadian tech innovation and digital policy development.

“Blockchain, tokenization, and other technologies are driving a new phase in digital identity innovation that asks: What do networks for identity look like, and how will they be secure, privacy-respecting, and convenient for Canadians – in terms of the technologies used and in terms of transparent governance?”  Brennan says of digital identity trends that will shape 2018. “It’s an exciting evolution in how we solve digital identity for persons, organizations, and the relationships that matter in between.”

Over the past year, our members have recognized the importance of digital identity, not only for its economic value, but for the incredible societal enrichment it can drive. At the DIACC, we amplify messages, ideas, and interoperability guidance to realize functionality, enable implementation, and leave room to innovate. By working together, we’re excited to continue generating new opportunities and insights that support Canadian principled digital identity innovation and leadership with the world.