Introduction

The GN4-3 WP5 T2 Trust and Identity Incubator (“T&I Incubator”) aims to develop, foster and mature new ideas in the Trust and Identity space in Research and Education. The incubator will investigate new technologies that currently have no place (yet) in the services ecosystem of the GÉANT project. This may include to test and experiment with potential new features for existing GÉANT services. In addition also business case development for potential new services and developments that would improve data protection and privacy aspects in services or software are in scope.

The T&I incubator runs six to eight incubator project per project year in parallel. These incubators typically take about 6 months and employ an agile methodology to enable rapid development of ideas. Preferably at least two subject matter experts work together with support from the project team. Subject matter experts are recruited from within the team or, preferred, sponsored by their NRENs. In addition, the project team facilitates the incubator track by providing a scrum master, dedicated developers as well as one or more mentors. The mentors are selected based on matter expertise and consist of senior staff from participating NRENs, complemented with a few senior subject matter experts from outside of GN 4-3 project. Next to providing mentorship, the group of senior community members will also act as an advisory committee to the T&I Incubator Task Lead to asses the feasibility of new ideas to be brought into the T&I incubator and to the evaluation of the existing projects when their 6 months are up. The advisory committee members may also suggest new areas and ideas the T&I incubator should engage with.

Upon completion of an incubator track the its results and merits will be evaluated by the advisory committee and it will formulate an advice on how to proceed with the track. A track may either be continued in a new incarnation, with different focus. A track may also be concluded in the Incubator. In that case, its results may be handed over to a service activity in the GÉANT project.