We implemented a cross-government secure and robust online identity and access management service that removes friction for customers and encourages users to engage with government using digital services.

The innovation came in both leveraging and enhancing the face-to-face registration processes already in place in Ireland; utilising a new policy based technical solution being developed by Microsoft at the time; hiring and developing new skills; building new hybrid cloud/on-premise solution that meets data protection constraints; new responsive design approach focusing on user experience; and putting in place a new operational and support model.

The solution follows best practice international standards such as GPG (UK) and NIST (US) as a flexible trust framework for identity services. MyGovID is now the government standard online identity service for individuals accessing online public services in Ireland.

The MyGovID is built as a whole of Government identity service that is now utilised by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection [www.mywelfare.ie ], the Revenue MyAccount service [www.ros.ie/myaccount], the National Driver Licence Service [www.ndls.ie], and the Student Grant service [www.susi.ie ] with more services coming on board including a new Health Service patient portal. To date some 740,000 accounts have been set up on MyGovID with 4 million logins to access government services. MyGovID will also facilitate Ireland’s compliance with the eIDAS electronic identification services for the EU.

New relying parties continue to be added to the MyGovID service, and a central oversight group representing government departments and agencies, and chaired by the government CIO, has been put in place to oversee quality standards and the continued expansion of the service.

Staff in the IS Division who took on the problem, did the research and analysis, did the technical exploratory, made the business case, and with support of Deloitte Ireland developed and implemented the solution using Agile software development methods. Staff in the Department’s client identity service who led on the change processes and new data governance arrangements. Office of Government CIO who established new oversight governance and led in the on-boarding of other Government departments.

Citizens: MyGovID is a single account that lets you use government services in Ireland. This means you only have to sign up once and remember one password. It provides security around your identity and how your data is shared with other government bodies.

Government: A key pillar of Ireland’s public service ICT strategy it provides government agencies with a quick-to-market secure and robust identity management platform which enables digital services for citizens across the public service.

Ireland now has a single online identity service for citizens. To date some 740,000 accounts have been set up. Some 4 million logins have accessed welfare support services, job activation supports, Revenue tax services, driver licence applications, and student grant services online.

MyGovID is a quick to market identity and access management service put in place for use by all government agencies. Currently 5 agencies are using MyGovID for authenticated online accounts with more in the pipeline.

Customers can complete public services across multiple Government entities using a single sign-on. Having citizen identity information in one central location allows Ireland to combine proofing methods under a secure centralised identity service and thus reduce risk of fraud. MyGovID provides relying parties with an online identity that meets a substantial level of assurance and positions Ireland to implement eIDAS as the national eID scheme for Ireland.

Technical: Had to master personal data on premise, but we wanted to leverage the native availability, scalability and cost benefits from using cloud services. Developed new hybrid architecture.
Design: Implemented a new service design approach focused on user experience and user behavior. Initial designs were revised after the first year based on analytics and stakeholder feedback.
Skills: The solution required hiring in and learning new skills on the team, both in using and managing cloud based services, and in developing a world class online identity service.
Operation: New procedures to support multi-factor authentication were put in place across the Department. New system support arrangements were put in place which extended our service level and data sharing agreements with departments and agencies.
Take Up: Success relies on support of central government and departments/agencies coming on-board. It has the support of senior management and government CIO, and our media campaigns are underway.

You need individuals who want to tackle this type of ‘wicked problem’ working within a management structure where there is an appetite and space for risk and exploration. There must be a governance structure that facilitates allocation of finance and resources in that context. In our organisation this is in place and all new projects must go through an exploratory phase before proceeding.

The exploratory project was approved which commenced with researching as to how the identity problem was addressed in other countries. The work done in setting out digital identity standards and guidelines in the US and UK heavily influenced our subsequent thinking and supported the business case for us to solve this for all public services in Ireland. We also sourced the right skills/knowledge onto the team.

Following extensive engagement across government we also got support of the Civil Service Management Board and MyGovID became a key part of the Government ICT Strategy.

MyGovID is currently used by five organisations within Ireland for their online services. The Government CIO oversees on-boarding of all other public service bodies. We are currently actively engaged with 18 other organisations in this regard. We have a new MyGovID partner portal now in place that provides live information about the service as well as technical and design documentation for organisations building out the identity service on their own website.

We have provided briefings to a number of agencies and service providers in other countries including UK, Finland, Australia and USA. In these engagements we shared information about MyGovID and the approach to using a trust framework in Ireland, as well as the robust registration processes that we have in place. We also shared our experience in using a customisable cloud based identity management services and our experience in implementing the MyGovID project.

It is crucial to do extensive research in relation to the problem and possible solutions. It was very useful to learn from work done in other countries where approaches and solutions have been successful and where problems arose. This also informed our approach; including establishing principles such as using open standards and follow best international practice. The time bound exploratory phase of the project proved to be very useful as it better positioned the project team to assess the possible solutions, identify challenges and approaches, and to assess our own capacity to deliver. It also confirmed that there were no shortcuts and that a considered rigorous approach would best serve the Department and the wider public service in the long run.

Bringing the right skills and knowledge to the project was very important. We had an external support partner in place who was able to bring very skilled people onto the team at the right time. When we got these on board, and we put in place a process where we worked very closely with the experts on the cloud service product team, we were able to make significant progress. We also invested heavily in getting our own people up-skilled.

The project was delivered in a phased approach, with each phase building on the previous phase and learning as we progressed. The project team got excellent support from other technical and support teams as we introduced new technology and new infrastructure. We used an agile approach which was crucial, especially in the early phases of the project where we were working very closely with the cloud service product team.

Getting other public bodies to use the service was a challenge and it was difficult to get traction at the start. Getting the Revenue tax online service on board first proved pivotal. This gave us leverage with other organisations. With the support of the Office of the Government CIO we were able to get other departments and offices engaged.

The innovation came because a very small number of people wanted to take on a very big project. The technology was a challenge but was solvable and once we were able to source/build the right skills we knew we could do it. There are certainly quick wins, but there are no shortcuts. It always requires hard work and taking a risk. If it was easy someone would have done it already. One hard challenge is to get everyone else on board. This involves stepping outside the project and selling it. Convincing people that they should support it, and providing the evidence that it is worth doing and that the approach is right. The MyGovID service is built and in use, but the challenge to get customers using it, and having it as an identity service on all public service websites and mobile applications, goes on. We want to increase take up through media campaigns and offering more online services that use MyGovID. These are our long term goals and we will continue to innovate and learn.