...
Kantara Initiative is an independent non-profit organization formed as a Program of IEEE-ISTO (www.ieee-isto.org) for secretariat and legal support. Kantara Initiative is governed by a volunteer Leadership Council made up of the Chairs of all IDTBD Work Groups. It is funded by the support of Members, especially Trustee level Members. Anyone who wishes to make the financial investment in Kantara Initiative can be a Trustee. The heart of Kantara Initiative is its Work Groups and Discussion Groups. Membership is encouraged but not required for being a full voting Participant in any Work Group or Discussion Group (and non-Members can serve on the Leadership Council).
Why was Kantara Initiative formed?
Kantara Initiative was formed by leaders of foundations and associations working on various aspects of digital identity, aka "the Venn of Identity," to be robust and well-funded focal point for collaboration to address industry issues we all share: Interoperability and Compliance Testing; Identity Assurance; Policy and Legal Issues; Privacy; Ownership and Liability; UX and Usability; Cross-Community Coordination and Collaboration; Education and Outreach; Market Research; Use Cases and Requirements; Harmonization; and Tool Development.
What organizations are currently participating in Kantara Initiative?
Kantara Initiative has been co-formed by the DataPortability Project, the Concordia Project, Liberty Alliance, the Internet Society (ISOC), the Information Card Foundation (ICF), OpenLiberty.org and XDI.org. All of these organizations are now members of Kantara Initiative. The name of the organization was announced during the April 20 Identity Workshop at RSA Conference 2009, at which time the co-founders introduced key goals, benefits to the industry, and issued a formal call for participation. Many other individuals and organizations have also become members of Kantara Initiative. Kantara Initiative will release a full list of members once industry stakeholders have the opportunity to respond to the April 20 call for participation.
What is the organizational, membership and fee structure of Kantara Initiative? How does this differ from other industry organizations?
Kantara Initiative is unique in that it has been organized to ensure that there are zero barriers to participation, which means all individuals and organizations are able to participate in the development of Kantara Initiative output. Kantara Initiative membership fees have been established to keep the organization financially stable over the short and long-term and to ensure the widest possible participation - at all levels - among the vendor, deployer, developer, open source, legal and privacy communities. A full membership kit, information and fees is available in the Membership section.
...
LIC = "Individual Contributor" = an individual
NP = "Non-Profit" = any non-governmental non-profit organization
L0 = "Level 0" = 1-100 employees
L1 = "Level 1" = 101-1000 employees
L2 = "Level 2" = 1001-25000 employees
L3 = "Level 3" = more than 25000 employees
Is Kantara Initiative a Standards Setting Organization?
Kantara Initiative is not a standards setting organization for technical specifications. The output of Kantara Initiative is called a Recommendation. Any kind of work can be done in Kantara Initiative but if the work is a technical specification it must be submitted to an SSO upon completion. Other "standards" work such as Operational Frameworks or Usability Guidelines or Interoperability Testing Procedures are the primary focus of Kantara Initiative and will be both developed and maintained by the organization.
Why was Kantara Initiative formed?
It was formed by leaders of other foundations and associations working on various aspects of digital identity, aka "the Venn of Identity" to be robust and well-funded focal point for collaboration to address the issues we each share: Interoperability and Compliance Testing; Identity Assurance; Policy and Legal Issues; Privacy; Ownership and Liability; UX and Usability; Cross-Community Coordination and Collaboration; Education and Outreach; Market Research; Use Cases and Requirements; Harmonization; and Tool Development.
Why does Kantara Initiative have multiple IPR Policies?
Due to the nature of Kantara Initiative, as a focal point for collaboration between stakeholders across the Venn of Identity, we have chosen an IPR regime that is inclusive. There is a list of pre-approved IPR Policies that founders of a Work Group can choose from. In addition, there is a clear process for proposing a new IPR Policy to the Leadership Council in a WG proposal which will be taken to the Board of Trustees for approval. We have every expectation the list of IPR Policies will grow as the community takes advantage of the Kantara Initiative infrastructure for collaboration. A list of available IPR policies is available.
...