Connected Government: An Exploration of the UAE's Identity Management Integration Strategy

Abstract

The subject of connected government is coming once again to the forefront of national development priorities around the world. This stems from the need to address various local and global necessities in light of the changing landscape of the new digital world we live in today. In a connected government context, public service agencies are needed to act as a single enterprise so that citizens feel they are being served by one organization rather than a number of different public authorities. Identity management is considered here a fundamental pillar to enable such operating models and support single sign-on (SSO) and online identity validation capabilities for e-government and e-commerce environments. This article explores and describes the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government integration strategy with relation to keeping its national identity management infrastructure (population register) updated as life events take place. The integration strategy also aims to support federal and local government entities to verify citizen and resident information using their own applications in a secure, reliable, and integrated manner. Another expected contribution of the integration platform is to support decision-making and strategic planning dimensions of government work.