CO-CREATING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE EMERGING ELECTRONIC IDENTITY MANAGEMENT PLATFORM

Digital transformation of public sector entails prominence to electronic identity (e-ID) management platforms. The new, user-centric systems for e-ID management can be enhanced with Artificial intelligence (AI) and distributed ledger technology (DLT). However, such technological complexity can make these systems counter-intuitive for an ordinary user. Existing research identifies that the socio-technical arrangements for e-ID platforms are often ignored. In this study, we investigate what kind of requirements users have for an e-ID management platform in public sector. We employed principles of cocreation methodology to design and run a series of workshops in five European municipalities. Despite technological propositions of an e-ID platform, accessibility, usability, and security attributes were the most debated issues among the prospective users. The results from the co-creative requirements elicitation suggest for broadening the discussions around e-ID management platforms to encompass social and socio-technical aspects in the design and development of these systems

Impact Assessment of Disruptive Technologies on Electronic Identities (eID) for the Improvement of Digital Public Services for Citizens

Public services are increasingly being transformed into smart public services, also known as digital public services or eGovernment. In several cases, access to specific services is personal and non-transferable, thus requiring secure and trustful identification as well as management of the so called “digital identities”. In this context, it is obvious that citizens and public services in particular would benefit greatly from digital identity management technology, as new and emerging technologies have strong potential to empower existing eID systems. Yet, while opportunities enabled by these technologies are undeniable, challenges also exist, including technological and social implications, as well as barriers, risks and limitations. In addition, the establishment of standards for these ecosystems and compliance with framework conditions, including national and European regulations are essential points that must be considered. Based on these observations, the IMPULSE (Identity Management in PUblic SErvices) project, funded under the Horizon 2020 programme, was launched in early 2020. IMPULSE aims to perform a multidisciplinary evaluation of the disruptive transformation of electronic identity (eID) management in public services enabled by Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and Artificial Inteligence (AI). Overall, this paper will present the research pathway set up to answer the question of how a single adaptive eID solution can be useful to the whole city ecosystem, from the micro-citizen level to the macro-governmental perspective, by focusing on the main achievements of the IMPULSE project so far