DCO Interoperable Digital ID (Inter-ID) Initiative – Phase 1
Introduction and Purpose
DCO Member State Baseline Assessment Survey Questionnaire
Prepared by: DCO General Secretariat
Background
Digital Identity (DID) is a foundational enabler of digital transformation, facilitating security, trust, and seamless access to digital services across the public and private sectors at national and international levels.
As digital economies become increasingly interconnected, there is a growing need to enable interoperability among national digital identity systems while respecting national sovereignty, legal frameworks, privacy requirements, and security principles. Recognizing this need, the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) has launched the Interoperable Digital Identity (Inter-DID) Initiative, which aims to establish a collaborative framework for trusted, secure, and interoperable digital identity ecosystems across DCO Member States.
The initiative seeks to facilitate cross-border recognition of digital identities, credentials, and trust services, thereby supporting digital government, trade, education, workforce mobility, financial inclusion, and other cross-border digital services. As the first phase of this initiative, the DCO is conducting a baseline assessment to understand the current readiness of national digital identity ecosystems across Member States. The findings will inform the development of the Inter-DID Framework, implementation roadmap, governance arrangements, interoperability standards, and pilot use cases.
Purpose of the Survey
The purpose of this survey is to assess the current state of national Digital Identity (DID) ecosystems across DCO Member States and establish a baseline for designing and implementing an interoperable Digital Identity (Inter-DID) ecosystem.
Specifically, the survey aims to assess existing national digital identity ecosystems, understand legal, regulatory, governance, and institutional arrangements, and evaluate technical, semantic, and organizational interoperability readiness. It also seeks to identify existing trust services, trust frameworks, and accreditation mechanisms, assess priority sectors and potential cross-border use cases, and identify implementation challenges and capacity-building needs. In addition, the survey aims to gauge Member States’ willingness to participate in future Inter-DID pilots and roll-out activities.
Target Respondents
The survey should be completed by the lead government body responsible for Digital Identity, in consultation with other relevant ministries, agencies, regulators, and ecosystem stakeholders where appropriate.
Examples include the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Digital Economy, Information Technology, or Communications and Information Technology; the Ministry of Interior; the National Digital Government Authority; the National Identity Authority; the Data Protection Authority; the National Cybersecurity Authority; the Telecommunications Regulator; the Central Bank; and any other relevant ministry, division, or institution.
Survey Instrument
Please answer all questions as accurately as possible. Where multiple organizations contribute to Digital Identity governance, responses should reflect a coordinated national position.
Unless otherwise stated, please select only one response; questions marked “Select all that apply” permit multiple responses. Where requested, provide additional information in the free-text fields. All responses will be used solely for research and planning purposes within the DCO Inter-DID Initiative.