JISC is launching a call under its access and identity management programme to explore questions such as ‘how can an institution know that someone is who they say they are?’ JISC aims to address issues likely to affect universities and colleges when providing access to their digital resources in two to five years’ time.

JISC invites proposals on access management

JISC is launching a call under its access and identity management programme to explore questions such as ‘how can an institution know that someone is who they say they are?’ Proposals will address issues likely to affect universities and colleges when providing access to their digital resources in two to five years' time.

Researchers interested in submitting a project proposal under the call are invited to a community briefing event on 17 September  to find out the background to the call, its objectives and the bidding process.

One major issue the call will address concerns the management of identity by individuals rather than institutions. At present institutions manage users’ identities: an institution is able to authenticate who somebody is by demanding sight of a passport or birth certificate.

However, the move towards more distance learning and widely-distributed research collaborations is leading to calls for individuals to manage their own identities. Universities and colleges will then need a way of verifying a person’s identity before allowing access to resources. 

Queries about the call can be posted on Twitter using the tag #AIMCall09

There are two strands to the call. The first, innovation, will address the following issues:

  • user-managed identities
  • how to give someone access to some data but not others. For example, a doctor treating patients may need access to the full patient data, but a researcher may need access to anonymous data only
  • how to delegate your authority to access resources to someone else. For example, a professor may want to delegate his or her authority to a research student
  • how to pass on identity information from one system to another when accessing multiple resources through one entry point. For example, a researcher may be accessing multiple databases held in different institutions from a portal
  • how to keep track and monitor access and use of resources

The second strand, ‘level of assurance’, will build small scale demonstrators to show how service providers, for example a publisher, as well as service consumers, for example a university department, can have confidence in their authentication processes.

 

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