The question of interoperability in respect of identity and identity management systems is one of growing concern. On the one hand there are many situations where being able to cross-match identity information about citizens and consumers would be of enormous benefit to them. On the other hand, without the appropriate control in the hands of the data subjects, interoperability could be another weapon in the hands of the surveillance society, unwelcome in a world where privacy is still valued. This report prepares the ground for a continuing study into interoperability in this area. It proposes a three-level framework for assessment and study bringing together perspectives as diverse as technical, legal and socio-cultural. A review of current and recent projects and literature on the topic is presented, with ratings for papers for their concerns in respect of the three different perspectives. The work has produced a bibliographic database of the most relevant literature available on the FIDIS web site. There follows a number of case-study type contributions on different applications of identity management systems including credentials systems, driving licences, European passports and government to consumer applications. A review of the interoperability issues in identity management in Ambient Intelligence contexts concludes that this matter will be an important one for determining how this technology will be shaped in the information society that is emerging.

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This report highlights the spread of opinion amongst a group of European experts in application areas of identity management on the issue of interoperability of such systems. It builds from an earlier report that presented a literature review and an account of research in interoperability. It uses the three-part conceptual framework of technical, formal and informal dimensions through which to frame the questions posed and interpret the answers given. The 23 interviewees from 5 different European countries, while differing in detail, display a remarkable consensus on much of the issues. Application areas from which the experts are drawn cover egovernment, ehealth and ecommerce, and while, given their specific nature, there may be many points on which such areas diverge, the likelihood of interoperability is deemed to turn on a small number of key questions, mostly non-technical. Importance is given to building trust in the citizen and end-user through good communication, usability, compliance with data protection and privacy principles.

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This report from the FIDIS project has been created from within the Work Package 4 on Interoperability of Identity and Identity Management Systems. It emerges as the third in a series of investigations into the broadly social aspects concerned with sharing data, especially personal information, in respect of plans for interoperable European electronic ID systems. This survey was designed to investigate attitudes towards a number of issues involved in making eIDs interoperable that were drawn from an underlying theoretical framework of
institutional trust. The survey questionnaire used 17 constructs, grouped into three broad categories of (1) sources of trust; (2) levels of trust; and (3) consequences of trust.

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This Deliverable is a journal paper submitted to the FIDIS Journal issue to be published in June 2007.

The paper is based on  FIDIS Deliverable 4.4 - see report for full details on contributors and reviewers.

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This deliverable is concerned with the recommendations for best practice guidelines and the need for an effective development method and framework, which can be widely used for managing all aspects of identity resulting from the FIDIS research. The emphasis is on the delivery of a practical approach, which incorporates sound tools and techniques, which can be applied in the project and other settings.

The proposed method is a generic one that may be applied to any type of research project, business operation or delivery service to ensure it will fit effectively into a given environment. The method is flexible and customisable and incorporates clearly defined events and procedures throughout the information lifecycle. A holistic and systematic approach is adopted.

The method is first described and then an outline is provided, as to how it may be applied to interoperability, within the e-health sector.

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This deliverable is concerned with recommendations for establishing an identity classification system which can be incorporated into the best practice guidelines and the FIDIS identity management model, proposed in FIDIS Deliverable D4.6. It is paramount that the classification system may be readily applied in all areas of government, commerce and industry.

A review was made of the identity issues, being studied by FIDIS and otherexternal bodies, which need to be represented in the classification system. Thereview concentrated on the work published in FIDIS Deliverable  D2.1 "Inventory of topics and clusters", and in proposed standards by ISO and the U.S. Department of Commerce. It is hoped that this report may provide a basis for developing a global identity classification system, which can be shared by practitioners involved with identity management. The system will be continually enhanced throughout the duration of the FIDIS project.

It is recommended that the proposed inventory defined in FIDIS Deliverable D2.1, which categorises and defines the different terms used in the identity domain, should provide the core of the identity classification system.

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This deliverable is concerned with the generic application of the best practice guidelines concerning interoperability, which incorporate an effective development method and framework. The guidelines presented in " D4.6: Draft best practice guidelines" have been applied, in broad terms, to four areas of interest relating to identity, namely the FIDIS research project and the sectors of e-Government, e-Health and e-Commerce.

The identity classification system, which was outlined in " D4.7: Review and classification for a FIDIS identity management model", has been applied in the report for each of the areas of interest.   

It is envisaged that the proposed FIDIS interoperability framework will be suitable for performing the applications discussed in the EC reports:

• "European Interoperability Framework for Pan-European eGovernment Services"
• "Connected Health – Quality and safety for European Citizens"

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This deliverable sets out a high-level specification for a portal to assist practitioners responsible for information management systems within different business sectors, such as e-Health, e-Government and e-Commerce, with the aim of supporting their activities in this field, particularly relating to interoperability between stakeholders.

The portal will provide managers and developers of identity management systems with a tool to aid in their navigation through the tricky issues that identity management technologies and systems engender. It brings together a wide range of materials that have been developed in FIDIS and elsewhere, which are required to reach good decisions on interoperable identity.

The approach has been built on earlier LSE research in the area of Flood Risk Assessment which is currently being implemented by the UK government within England and Wales.

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This FIDIS deliverable relates to the field of eHealth in general and to the use
of health and medical data for various purposes in specific. The use of eHealth
tools, such as electronic health records and cards, not only enables the flow of
medical data in the ‘European Health Information Space’; it also addresses
important choices that have to be made by (welfare) states.

The deliverable constitutes of a descriptive part and a discussion section. For
the descriptive part, a question list was send to the partners of this deliverable to
gather information about European practices in the field.

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