5: Commitment to Action
Identify the respective roles of the public and private sectors and the Federal Government implementation activities that
are critical to building and maintaining the Identity Ecosystem.
Other Information:
The implementation of the Identity Ecosystem will require the collaboration and joint commitment of both the public and private
sectors This section identifies, first, the respective roles of the public and private sectors and, second, the Federal Government
implementation activities that are critical to building and maintaining the Identity Ecosystem.
Stakeholder(s):
- The Private Sector: Role of the Private Sector Only the private sector has the ability to build and operate the complete Identity Ecosystem, and
the final success of the Strategy depends upon private-sector leadership and innovation The key operational roles within the
Identity Ecosystem include: subjects, relying parties, identity providers, attribute providers, and accreditation authorities
For each of these ecosystem roles, the private sector will constitute the majority of the actors For example, most identity
and attribute providers will be private-sector organizations The Strategy can only succeed if the Identity Ecosystem is self-sustaining,
which will require the development of business models for each of the service provider roles in the ecosystem Many of these
business models will be entirely new, and only the private sector can provide the innovation necessary to realize them The
private sector must also play a leadership role in the design and operation of the Identity Ecosystem The development of the
Identity Ecosystem Framework and the ongoing work to maintain accountability to that framework will require a true public-private
partnership The private sector has the insight into the needs of the market that is necessary to develop effective technical
and policy standards for the Identity Ecosystem For-profit organizations can help ensure that the Identity Ecosystem Framework
provides sustainable business models and is not an onerous burden on the private sector Advocacy groups and non-profits can
magnify the voices of individuals and under-represented groups, and they can work to ensure the enhancement of privacy and
to otherwise support civil liberties
- Federal Government: Role of the Federal Government The Federal Government’s role is to: * Advocate for and protect individuals; • Support the
private sector’s development and adoption of the Identity Ecosystem; * Partner with the private sector to ensure that the
Identity Ecosystem is sufficiently interoperable, secure, and privacy protecting; * Provide and accept Identity Ecosystem
services for which it is uniquely suited; and * Lead by example and implement the Identity Ecosystem for the services it provides
internally and externally The Federal Government will support the private sector’s development and adoption of the Identity
Ecosystem through activities such as: convening technology and policy standardization workshops, building consensus, establishing
public policy frameworks, participating in international fora, funding research, supporting pilots, and initiating education
and awareness efforts The Federal Government will partner with the private sector and participate in the development of the
Identity Ecosystem Framework to ensure that it establishes a sufficient baseline of interoperability, security, and privacy
The Federal Government’s role in this area is to help ensure the outcome; the private sector is better suited to ascertaining
the means of achieving that outcome This participation will also enable the Federal Government to advocate for and protect
individuals Among the actions that the Federal Government must undertake, privacy is the most important for individuals; as
such the Federal Government will ensure that the FIPPs are effectively incorporated into the Identity Ecosystem Framework.
The Federal Government has a wealth of information that can be useful to the private sector, but this information can be scattered
amongst different agencies and difficult to find To better enable the private sector, the Federal Government will share its
best practices and lessons learned in a centralized, accessible way The Federal Government must continue to be a leader through
its own participation in the Identity Ecosystem as both a subject and relying party Whenever possible, the Federal Government
will use existing private-sector Identity Ecosystem solutions rather than developing or operating its own Moreover, it must
not require levels of assurance that are excessive compared to the risk of a given transaction Through these actions, the
Federal Government will encourage the market toward trustworthy and interoperable identity solutions.
- The National Program Office: The Secretary of Commerce will establish within the Department of Commerce (Commerce) an interagency office to be known as
the National Program Office (NPO) that is charged, consistent with statutory authorities, with achieving the goals of the
Strategy The NPO will be responsible for coordinating the processes and activities of organizations that will implement the
Strategy Commerce will host this interagency function, because it is uniquely suited to work with the private sector—and with
government at all levels—to bring the collective expertise of the nation to bear in implementing the Strategy The NPO will
lead the day-to-day coordination of NSTIC activities, working closely with the Cybersecurity Coordinator in the White House
The National Program Office will: * Promote private-sector involvement and engagement; * Support interagency collaboration
and coordinate interagency efforts associated with achieving programmatic goals; * Build consensus on policy frameworks necessary
to achieve the vision; * Identify areas for the government to lead by example in developing and supporting the Identity Ecosystem,
particularly in the Executive Branch’s role as a provider and validator of key credentials; * Actively participate within
and across relevant public- and private-sector fora; and * Assess progress against the goals, objectives, and milestones of
the Strategy and the associated implementation activities The NPO will actively seek interagency collaboration, partner with
the private sector and individuals as necessary, harness multi-disciplinary and multi-sector contributions, and provide leadership
across the Federal Government In addition to the NPO, the President will designate agencies as leads and partners with the
private sector for individual tasks to fulfill the goals and objectives of this Strategy.
- Non-Federal Governments: Role of State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Governments -- Individuals interact with their State, local, tribal, and territorial
governments as much or more than with the Federal Government The Identity Ecosystem can help these governments decrease their
costs, even as they increase the services they offer their constituents online Much like the Federal Government, these governments
are well-positioned to lead efforts to protect individuals, help standardize policies, and act as early adopters in the provision
and consumption of Identity Ecosystem services As such, State, local, tribal, and territorial governments are encouraged to
align with the Identity Ecosystem Framework and to support its establishment by participating in its development As a first
step, these governments are encouraged to align their efforts with existing Federal work like the FICAM Roadmap and Implementation
Guidance One unique strength of these governments is their more direct and personal engagement with their constituents The
Federal Government will thus encourage them to initiate education and awareness efforts to engage individuals, small and local
businesses, and other local organizations.
- International Partners: Role of International Partners -- Other nations seek to supply their constituents with the benefits of more trusted identities
online, and many are more advanced in their efforts than the United States The public- and private-sectors’ engagement with
international partners will be critical to the success of the Identity Ecosystem: the long-term success of the Identity Ecosystem
depends upon its international interoperability The Federal Government will thus seek to support the private sector’s engagement
in international fora and to improve its own direct engagement in these fora The U S approach differs from that of many nations,
who have or are pursuing national offline and online identities The Federal Government explicitly rejects that approach for
its own citizens but will work to help the private sector achieve interoperability with the policy and technical standards
of other nations
Objective(s):
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