IAM4NFDI
Identity & Access Management
Supported by NFDI Section:
Common Infrastructures
Phase: Ramp-up
How to reach us
Discover how IAM4NFDI is revolutionising access to digital research resources! By connecting and expanding Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems, this initiative enables researchers across Germany and worldwide to seamlessly access tools, data, and services within the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). Learn how the decentralized, federated approach ensures secure and easy integration with external platforms like the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), benefiting thousands of institutions and researchers globally.
If you are supporting researchers in managing their data - watch this video to learn how IAM4NFDI can benefit you and your researchers!
What is the Basic Service under development about?
IAM4NFDI is concerned with connecting and expanding existing and emerging Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems in a way that researchers from different domains and institutions are able to access digital resources within NFDI as easily as possible, including access to and exchange with external infrastructures and resources like the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). A decentralised, federated IAM is required. This way, users from approx. 400 German research and higher education institutions plus approx. 5000 home organisations worldwide -number increasing - will be able to access services and resources provided by the NFDI Community Authentication & Authorisation Infrastructure (AAI).
Goals of the Initialisation phase
Even before the project began, the team developed a modular architecture for the future NFDI Authentication and Authorisation Infrastructure (NFDI-AAI) based on concepts that are already established in the international research communities (AARC). The same applies to the underlying standards and best practices such as attribute profiles and the policy framework. The concept of a Community AAI plays a central role here, for which as-a-service solutions will be developed. During the initialisation phase, these concepts will be implemented and evaluated together with the NFDI community. The experience gained here will be an important basis for the integration phase.
Goals of the Integration phase
This stage focuses on integrating various services into the NFDI-AAI, with different levels of integration complexity addressed by separate work packages. NFDI consortia can integrate some services themselves using provided documentation, while more technically involved integrations will be handled in specific work packages. An incubator, modelled after the GEANT project's concept, will facilitate community-driven development for integrating specific services and extensions, with the involvement of IAM4NFDI and NFDI Consortia representatives.
Goals of the Ramp-up phase
The IAM4NFDI project is advancing into its Ramp-Up phase to transition the established NFDI Authentication and Authorization Infrastructure (NFDI-AAI) consisting of the Community AAI services, the Infrastructure Proxy, and its Policy Framework into an operational, reliable, and sustainable Basic Service. Building upon the successful integration of most NFDI-Consortia, this phase focuses on scaling the service, enhancing the user experience, and supporting the integration of more complex services through incubator projects. IAM4NFDI will continue to proactively integrate the evolving standards and technologies, especially those relevant for the EOSC AAI, to meet future needs of the NFDI in its role as the German national node. To ensure long-term viability, we are establishing a durable operational model with the service providers and want to shape and integrate into the future sustainable governance and funding strategies in close cooperation with the NFDI association and Base4NFDI.
Planned duration (current phase)
Initialisation Phase: 01.03.2023 - 31.01.2024
Integration Phase: 01.02.2024 - 31.01.2026
Ramp-up Phase: 01.02.2026-31.01.2028
Publications, presentations, workshops
