Please describe your proposed solution.
As a solution provider the Atala Prism ecosystem is providing support for identity and credential solutions. These solutions are adopted and used by practitioners all over the world, yet the community has loosely adopted standards that provide guardrails for work being completed. It is hard for those new to the space, or for those seeking commercial support to know the conditions under which the solution is applied and who is operating under generally agreed upon Good Practice principles of Governance.
Recently in the US a large-scale effort to provide interoperability standards across utilization protocols (CHAPI/DIDComm/etc.) resulted in seminal co-opted adoption of technical standards that can now increase interoperability across issuing and validating systems. Completed by Jobs for the Future through their Plugfests (<https://w3c-ccg.github.io/vc-ed/plugfest-1-2022/> & <https://w3c-ccg.github.io/vc-ed/plugfest-2-2022/>), the resulting work highlighted a strong need for basic governance standards among operators. At least three foundational identity companies who complete strong work in the Catalyst community participated in these interoperability opportunities.
In parallel to this, the Trusted Learner Network (<https://tln.asu.edu/>) an affiliation of credential tuned industries started work on a governance framework that will support participation in the TLN. I was given the opportunity to serve on that Advisory Board, and can attest that the need for basic governance principles cannot be understated and stand in support of current interoperability work. While some governments and local authorities have provided governance frameworks, largely speaking the community is only self-regulating against W3C-VC working models and other similar technical standards with little in the way of adopted best practices.
These practices include conditions that recognize:
- Adopted definitions
- Statements of utilization (or roadmap)
- Mission Statement
- Purpose built protocol solutions
- Declared responsibilities for DID/VC holders
- Declared responsibilities for DID/VC issuers
- Declared responsibilities for validators
- Declared rights for DID/VC holders
- Declared rights for DID/VC issuers
- Declared rights for validators
- Due Process
- Stated rules for use
I have been blessed to know many who have helped to build this ecosystem and have done tremendous work in the VC space. It is my proposition that I be provided resources and be allowed to bring together many of these influential and knowledgeable practitioners in the VC/DID/SSI space and guide work that results in a set of basic well informed governance framework principles that will stand as best practice standards. That, when/if adopted by the Atala Prism community, can stand as an institutional standard for operations.
Those who want to ascribe to these Governance Framework principles can seek endorsement that will come to them as a VC of Good Practice that they can use in all publications and solutions. Thus indicating to the world that they ascribe to the published Good Practice Governance Framework principles.
How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?
The challenge of adopting standards is quite difficult. They need to be responsive to reflect application and utilization needs, and as well, at points standards themselves stand in contrary opposition to the basic tenets of open work. While it would not be advisable to impose standards on operators in this space, it would be useful to provide standards of utilization that represent Good Practice in the field.
Gathering this information into one document, and providing opportunity to review, incorporate, and then to prove adoption gives users a voluntary stance in the Atala Prism ecosystem. This approach also serves much more as a carrot towards best practices for new users and practitioners rather than as a set of rules designed to keep new products and solutions out.
This Good Practice Governance Framework, of necessity, needs to be created by high level users and those who have deep historical knowledge in the field. But this needs to be tempered against new knowledge and innovation. As such, a strong bench of practitioners needs to be gathered to work on these principles and provide public endorsement of the proposition and work.
How do you intend to measure the success of your project?
The success of this work will be in the successful completion of a Good Practice Governance Framework proposed document that addresses (at a minimum):
- Adopted definitions
- Statements of utilization (or roadmap)
- Mission Statement
- Purpose built protocol solutions
- Declared responsibilities for DID/VC holders
- Declared responsibilities for DID/VC issuers
- Declared responsibilities for validators
- Declared rights for DID/VC holders
- Declared rights for DID/VC issuers
- Declared rights for validators
- Due Process
- Stated rules for use
While adoption is not a prerequisite for declaring success, I am hopeful that endorsement and support will follow after the creation of the proposed document.
Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?
After creation, the Good Practice Governance Framework document will be presented to the Catalyst Community for review and comment, and then to the Atala Prism community as well for review and public comment through media presentations as well as document flagging. Comments will be reviewed and incorporated and the result will be a generally recognizable statement of Good Practice that can be adopted by practitioners.
It is suggested that if/when adopted, that a reference website be established (<https://www.credentialgateway.org/good-practice-governance-framework> as an example) and the governance council who agrees to review the document annually and then produce a public report on how widespread adoption of the Good Practice Governance Framework is found.