Join Our Academic Focus Group on Universal Digital Identity
We are conducting a research study to better understand the core concepts within a digital identity ecosystem and how they relate to each other. Your insights will help shape the future of life online.
What is This Research About?
This focus group is part of an ongoing academic research initiative at the University of Oxford examining the challenges and opportunities associated with Universal Digital Identity—specifically, how digital identity systems can be designed, governed, and adopted in ways that are trustworthy, usable, and interoperable across sectors and jurisdictions.
We are engaging stakeholders from across the digital identity ecosystem, including government, business, academia, and consumer perspectives. We are particularly interested in how different stakeholders understand and navigate digital identity in practice—such as enrolment and onboarding, credential issuance and verification, authentication, consent and data sharing, privacy and security expectations, inclusion and accessibility, liability, and the role of standards and trust frameworks.
The ultimate goal of the research is to produce a reference ontology for digital identity that can be used to promote interoperability: a shared, structured vocabulary and set of relationships that helps align concepts, roles, processes, and artefacts across jurisdictions and implementation approaches. Insights from this focus group will help validate key concepts, surface gaps and ambiguities, and identify areas of alignment or tension between stakeholder needs and existing technical/governance approaches.
All participation is voluntary, and your contributions will be treated confidentially (including de-identification in any reporting). The study has been approved through the University of Oxford’s research ethics process [Ethics Committee/Reference], and you will receive detailed information about data handling, privacy, and your rights as a participant before any session begins.
The Impact of Your Contribution
Your participation provides insights and evidence that can’t be captured through surveys or quantitative methods alone. This study is centred on building an evidence-based ontology of the digital identity domain—linking standards, regulations, trust frameworks, and working-group outputs to the realities of implementation. Your contribution helps us understand the nuance behind decisions, the constraints you work within, and the real-world challenges and trade-offs that shape digital identity in practice.
You’ll have the opportunity to contribute in a supportive, collaborative environment—sharing perspectives with peers across the ecosystem and helping ensure the resulting ontology is both technically defensible and practically relevant. The outcomes are intended to support clearer shared understanding across stakeholders and inform future work in digital identity governance, interoperability, and implementation.
As a thank you, participants who complete the study phases will receive a breakdown report of the resulting ontology (including its key domains, concepts, relationships, and supporting evidence). Participants may also opt in to revoke anonymity and be publicly acknowledged as a Founding Contributor to the Universal Digital Identity Ontology. This is entirely optional and will be handled via separate, explicit consent—you can remain anonymous and still participate fully and receive the report.
Who Can Participate?
We are seeking participants who can contribute either professional ecosystem perspectives or consumer/user perspectives on digital identity.
A. Digital identity ecosystem participants
- Currently working in the digital identity ecosystem (e.g., government, regulators, standards bodies, industry providers, academia, major relying parties)
- Have direct experience with digital identity policy, governance, assurance, standards, architecture, implementation, operations, or risk (e.g., identity proofing, authentication, credentials/wallets, federations, trust frameworks)
B. Users and Consumers
- Use or have used digital identity services as an individual (e.g., online identity verification, government digital ID services, banking onboarding, credential/wallet-like apps, sign-in and verification flows)
- Have experience with real-world issues such as access, usability, privacy, consent, inclusion/exclusion, fraud, support processes, or trust
For all participants
- Aged 18 years or older
- Able to participate in the study’s three phases (Oxsona portal contribution, a 1–1 interview, and a group critique session)
- Willing to share honest perspectives—professional or personal—about what works, what doesn’t, and why
- Fluent in English (sessions and materials are in English)
If you’re unsure whether you qualify, please register your interest and the research team will follow up with you directly.
How to Participate
Joining our focus group is straightforward. We have designed the process to be as convenient as possible while ensuring we gather meaningful data. Here is what you can expect:
- Register Your Interest: Click “Sign Up” to create an Oxsona account and complete a brief screening questionnaire so we can confirm eligibility and stakeholder background.
- Confirmation & Onboarding: The research team will review your registration and, if eligible, confirm your participation and provide onboarding details (including access to the portal and next steps).
- Phase 1 — Evidence Loading & Portal Commentary (Oxsona): You’ll add or reference baseline evidence (e.g., standards, regulations, trust frameworks, working groups) and comment on draft ontology structures produced through a semi-automated NLP pipeline.
- Phase 2 — 1–1 Interview: You’ll have a one-to-one interview with a researcher to discuss your experiences with digital identity and views on future implementation—helping refine the ontology and the evidence supporting it.
- Phase 3 — Group Critique Session: You’ll join a facilitated group session (typically online via video conference or in-person where applicable) to critique the formed ontology and discuss its real-world relevance, gaps, and priorities.
- Follow-Up: You may be invited to clarify or add detail (e.g., additional evidence links or comments). Once data collection is complete, participants will receive a summary of findings and how contributions informed the final ontology.
What to Expect During the Focus Group
Sessions are designed to be conversational, collaborative, and evidence-led. Rather than aiming for “right” or “wrong” answers, the goal is to build and validate a shared ontology of the digital identity domain—grounded in concrete sources (e.g., standards, regulations, trust frameworks, and working-group outputs) and informed by real-world practitioner experience. Participation is conducted in three phases:
- Evidence loading and structured commentary (Oxsona portal): Participants help load baseline evidence (standards, regulations, working groups, guidance) into the focus group portal Oxsona, and comment on draft ontological structures produced through a semi-automated NLP pipeline (e.g., concepts, categories, relationships, and where evidence supports—or fails to support—the structure).
- Individual 1–1 interview: Participants take part in a one-to-one interview with the research team to discuss specific experiences with digital identity and views on its future implementation. These discussions are used to refine the baseline ontology and strengthen (or challenge) the evidence supporting its structure.
- Group critique and consolidation: Participants then assemble as a group to critique the formed ontology, test its relevance and practical value, and discuss gaps, tensions, and priorities for improvement.
All sessions will be facilitated by experienced researchers using a semi-structured guide and open-ended questions. You are free to share as much or as little as you feel comfortable with.
With your permission, interviews and group discussions will be audio recorded for transcription. Recordings and related data will be stored securely, used only for research purposes, and destroyed after the research is complete in line with the study’s retention procedures. Your identity will be protected in all reports and publications—any quotes used will be anonymised and will not be attributable to you personally.
Ready to Make a Difference?
Your expertise matters. Join digital identity practitioners from across government, industry, standards bodies, and academia to help build an evidence-based ontology of the digital identity domain—and shape how digital identity is understood and implemented in the real world.