The FASTeTEN project held a workshop on September 17 as part of the ’Raising the Game’ event, a seminar held in the town of Rotherham, Yorkshire, England, which focused on the role of identity management as a prerequisite for the evolution of new services, and the broader part that this could play in the European Union’s information society strategy, and how it might help Europe emerge from the current economic crisis.

A summary of the FASTeTEN Project Workshop has kindly been provided by the event organisers:

Aim

The overall aim of the event was to raise the profile of Identity Management and the significance placed upon this in the Communication from the Commission, ’Raising the Game’. It was argued that it would be difficult to envisage new applications emerging without a requirement to have identity management in place. The aim of the FAST Workshop was to encourage the participants to envisage a use for the FAST platform in their day-to-day activities. Participants had backgrounds ranging right across the public administration sector and from a wide breadth of disciplines within local and regional government. Attendees included representatives from a number of regional public services, local authorities, academic institutions, and European participants, such as representatives of the European Commission and e-Forum.

Groups of two people were each asked to come up with five applications utilising identity management and capable of being enhanced by utilising the FAST platform. Subsequently, these groups became four people and they were asked to select five applications from the ten they had brought forward. The outcome was that a reducing set of applications were reported and catalogued. Subsequently, an exercise took place whereby all the applications were put into categories. Below is the outcome of this working session illustrating a few examples of using the FAST service in South Yorkshire, suggested by practitioners themselves, grouped in the categories which evolved through discussions.

Applications using personal and sensitive information:

 Transferring Blood Transfusion service records.
 Police evidence files and witness statements.
 Trans-European Data Transfer -specifically that required for European Electoral Registration purposes.
 Information needed in multi-agency community support services
 Key medical data such as allergies and language needs from doctors to Hospitals for emergency admissions
 Public protection communications-school communications, vulnerable adults communications.

Government to Business Applications:

 Invoicing as part of the public procurement process
 Procurement contracts
 Commercial contracts to an ISO Standard
 PIN numbers for banking renewal

Applications:

 Applications for jobs
 Applications for school admissions

Eligibility and Legal Status:

 Criminal Records Bureau checking process and access to records.

Licensing:

 Certification and accreditation
 Eligibility for “Blue badges” - parking for disabled
 Eligibility for free school meals
 Copyright/Licensing/IPR transmissions

Conclusions

In closing the event, it was put to the participants that furthering ’identity management’ capabilities should become one of the key focal activities of the EASY Connects partnership in the next work programme and this was widely encouraged and supported.

A fuller summary, presentations from the event, and background information, can be found at http://www.raisingthegame.co.uk