JISC

Central to JISC and Becta’s plans for developing and implementing next-generation access management systems for UK education and research is the UK Access Management Federation

Access Management highlights
UK Access Management Federation launched
JISC Transition Programme Outreach team formed to support institutions adopting Federated Access Management (FAM)
Institutional preparedness study investigates the sector's readiness for FAM
Animation launched to introduce the concept of FAM
100 institutions and service providers join the Federation

The UK Access Management Federation was launched late last year. The need for more secure and simplified access to e-resources of all kinds, the support of complex e-learning and e-research collaborations and the need to allow institutions to take greater control over access to resources have led JISC and Becta to devote significant funds to investigate and implement new technologies.

The Federation, operated by JANET(UK) on behalf of JISC and Becta, is made up of 'identity providers', such as Local Authorities (LAs), Regional Broadband Consortia (RBC), universities and colleges, and 'service providers', such as publishers of online resources. Federated access management establishes a way of exchanging information between individuals and providers of digital resources, which protects the security of both the individual and the resource concerned. LAs, RBCs, universities and colleges are being invited to join the federation, which will bring the UK education and research sectors a step closer to achieving single sign-on to network and online resources.

Adoption of federated access management technologies by education institutions requires, however, investment, strategic consideration of relevant options and certain changes to procedures and practices. In January JISC therefore set up the Transition Programme Outreach team to support institutions in their adoption and implementation of federated access management technologies. The team began its work by commissioning an institutional preparedness study (PDF) to gather intelligence about the sector’s readiness for federated access management and to inform its activities.

Activities to support the community and to explain the benefits of federated access management have included the development of case studies, a highly-praised animation, workshops, briefing papers, newsletters, podcasts and blogs.

Listen to the podcast with Ale de Vries of Elsevier ScienceDirect talking about the Federation

 By the end of the academic year, 100 institutions and service providers had joined the Federation, including colleges, universities, local authorities, Regional Broadband Consortia and ‘service providers,' suggesting that, while JISC’s plans for next-generation access management for UK education and research are ambitious, the transition programme has begun its work strongly, providing a firm foundation for continued progress in an important year to come.

Listen to the podcast about the benefits of federated access management