Online Identity Assurance Programme Board minutes: January 2018

Attendees and apologies

Attendees

• Colin Cook - Director Digital, Scottish Government (Chair)
• Ken MacDonald - Information Commissioner's Office
• Geoff Huggins - Director for Health and Social Care Integration, Scottish Government
• Esther Gunn-Stewart - SOLACE
• Doreen Grove - Head of Ingage, Scottish Government
• Ruchir Shah - SCVO
• John Campbell - Head of Digital Risk and Security, Scottish Government (substituting for Andy McClintock)

Apologies

• Andy McClintock - Chief Digital Officer, Scottish Government

Online Identity Assurance (OIA) Project Team

• Roger Halliday - Chief Statistician and Head of Performance
• Susie Braham - Strategic Lead
• Mike Crockart - Delivery Lead
• Gavin Ross - Programme Manager
• Stephen Peacock - Senior Policy Officer
• Ross Clark - Communications and Engagement
• Jessica Roscoe - Stakeholder Engagement

Items and actions

1. Welcome and introductions

1.1 Colin Cook welcomed Programme Board members to this first meeting of the Online Identity Assurance Programme Board and provided a brief outline of how the intended participatory approach to developing a Scottish online identity assurance solution will be a key piece of work in achieving the Scottish Government’s aim of putting citizens at the heart of what we do.

1.2 Having shared their particular interests in this work, the Board agreed:

• the need for a Scottish approach to online identity assurance, which should be co-produced with services users/citizens and recognise the broad range of concerns of users and providers of online public services
• that COSLA should be invited to join the Programme Board

2. Background, context and Scottish Government Online Identity Assurance Programme Plan (OIAPB-01)

2.1 Susie Braham provided an overview of this paper which was published on the digital blog in December (2017) and focussed on the following points:

• developing a Scottish approach to online identity assurance for access to public services was a key commitment in the Scottish Government’s digital strategy ‘Realising Scotland’s full potential in a Digital World’ (2017)
• that the level and quality of stakeholder engagement will be crucial to the success of this work and, as such, messages should be clear and wording should be neutral

2.2 Programme Board noted the content of the Scottish Government Online Identity Assurance Programme Plan.

3. Programme Board remit and terms of reference (OIAPB-02)

3.1 Susie introduced OIAPB-02, containing the draft remit and terms of reference for the Programme Board.

3.2 The Board agreed that agendas and as far as possible, other papers and materials will be published on a proactive basis. They commented that routine publication would help keep stakeholders informed of progress with the work.

3.3 It was agreed that the Board would be both advisory and have a decision making role, for example by assuring and signing-off advice to Ministers.

3.4 Given their respective roles, it was agreed that Ruchir Shah and Ken McDonald would be members of the Board in an advisory capacity, and therefore should be exempt from the decision making role.

3.5 The Board also agreed that it should maintain oversight on ethics and values to ensure these matters remain at the forefront in on-going work.

3.6 Subject to the following changes, the Remit and Terms of Reference were agreed:

• the addition of oversight of ethics and values to the list of Responsibilities (after paragraph 8)
• updated text to the section on Open Government, with input from Doreen Grove
• under Membership, to indicate that Ken MacDonald is a Member in an advisory capacity
• to invite COSLA to join the Programme Board

Action Point 26/1/18-1: OIA team to update the Remit and Terms of Reference with the changes indicated.
Action Point 26/1/18-2: OIA Team to invite a representative from COSLA to the Programme Board

4. Programme, project and risk management

4.1 Gavin Ross updated the Board on progress to date and informed members that this work, which is being taken forward as an Agile project, is now in its the ‘discovery’ phase. In this instance an Agile approach to project management will facilitate our aim of putting users at the heart of this work – a key principle of the Scottish Government’s ‘Digital First’ approach.

4.2 Gavin went on to stress that it will be necessary to develop a mechanism that enables the project team to get input from the Programme Board (and other groups) at the right time to ensure the decision making process remains transparent and open.

4.3 The Board discussed the need for engagement and collaboration with external experts. The Board was assured by the engagement that has already taken place and proposals for this to continue throughout the life of the project.

5. Progress updates

5.1 Mike Crockart provided an update on the recent tender process to secure independent, high-quality user research input. The contract was awarded to We are Snook who will do three rounds of user research and will subsequently map their results. The outputs will be shared with Programme Board for review.

5.2 The Board proposed that additional external experts that could be approached within this work, could include:

• INVOLVE (a third sector organisation whose aim is to “give people real power to effect change in their lives”)
• Edinburgh Council who have customer feedback which could be fed-in to this work
• North Ayrshire Council who will be making a decision on an online identity assurance solution over the next 6 months and who will wish to ensure their work dovetails with the outputs of this programme

Action Point 26/1/18-3: OIA team to consider how to approach additional external experts.

5.3 Mike updated that the invitation to tender (ITT) for the service design element will be finalised on 26 January 2018.

6. Communications and Stakeholder Engagement (OIAPB – 03)

6.1 Susie introduced Paper OIAPB-03, the Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Plan, highlighting that it is a working document and that further iterations will be made available to the Board and other interested parties.

6.2 The first meeting of the Stakeholder Group had been arranged for 8th February 2018, with the majority of invitations issued. In addition to inviting specific individuals, the meeting would be publicised on the digital blog in the hope that any individual with an interest in this work will be able to attend the meeting. The aim is to foster an environment that enables stakeholders to have a genuine role in shaping our work.

6.4 The Board noted the content of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan, with the following proposed amendments:

• to include the Human Rights Commission and citizen engagement interests in the list of stakeholders and stakeholder groups
• to amend the section heading for paragraph 9, to say ‘Actions’, rather than ‘Tactics’, as drafted
• to add ‘citizen interests’ into paragraph 18, relating to engagement with specific interest groups

Action Point 26/1/18-4: OIA team to amend the stakeholder plan with the changes proposed.

6.5 Susie highlighted that it is the intention to set-up an Expert Group (to include technical, legal and privacy experts) to question and challenge what we are producing. The expertise required on this group will change over time.

Action Point 26/1/18-5: OIA Team to circulate the proposed membership for the Expert Group to the Programme Board.

Actions to be taken forward

Actions log

Number	Owner	Description	Progress
26/1/18-1	OIA Team	OIA team to update the Remit and Terms of Reference with the changes indicated.
26/1/18-2	OIA Team	OIA Team to invite a representative from COSLA to the Programme Board
26/1/18-3	OIA Team	OIA team to consider how to approach additional external experts.
26/1/18-4	OIA Team	OIA team to amend the stakeholder plan with the changes proposed.
26/1/18-5	OIA Team	OIA Team to circulate the proposed membership for the Expert Group to the Programme Board.

6. Date and time of next meeting

6.1 The next meeting of the Programme Board is planned to take place on 23 May 2018 (exact details to follow).