The Digital Government Exchange (DGX) Digital Identity Working Group (DIWG) was established to share experiences and opportunities for the use of digital identity initiatives, with a focus on the response to and recovery from the impacts of COVID-19 on governments and people. It also provides an opportunity to collaborate and drive progress on mutual recognition and interoperability of digital identities between member countries.

The DIWG was established in 2020 by representatives of the broader DGX international group. The current membership for this group was established in February 2021. The working group is chaired by the Australian Government’s Digital Transformation Agency (DTA), with members from Australia, Canada, Finland, Israel, New Zealand, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the World Bank (as an observer). It is representative of many of the leading digital governments with digital identity initiatives globally. The working group aims to develop pathways to enable mutually recognised and/or interoperable digital identities and infrastructure, to enhance trade opportunities in the context of a Free Trade Agreement or similar bi- or multi-lateral agreement. It also recognises that similar pathways may be part of solutions to facilitate economic recovery from COVID-19, for example to support the opening of domestic and international borders.

Approach

The objectives of the working group have been structured around three focus areas; to understand how digital identity is being used and the models that might enable mutual recognition and/or interoperability, to share respective governments’ experiences with digital identity including in the COVID-19 response, and to understand what is required to enable mutual recognition and/or interoperability between DIWG member countries. These objectives recognise that the opportunity for mutual recognition and interoperability between DIWG member countries may have broader application across non-member countries and non-government digital identities and infrastructure. The working group recognises the opportunity to explore the various centralised, decentralised and self-sovereign identity models of digital identity as well as the capabilities that identities enable, such as digital wallets and certificates. These are captured through the use cases and experiences of DIWG member countries. The findings of each of these objectives, outlined in Table 1 below, form the basis of the approach and structure of this report.

Quelle / Link: Digital Identity in response to COVID-19