An open discussion list for topics related to the eduGAIN interfederation service.

[Steven Carmody <steven_carmody AT brown.edu>]

On 11/28/14 1:16 PM, Nicole Harris wrote:
> So what I seem to be hearing here are the following actions:
>
> 1.  REFEDS to look at an "academic IdP" EC and possibly a "public
> sign-up" EC (quick before Leif finds some more!).


I just encountered a use case relevant to the discussion of an "academic 
IDP", and the attributes it could assert about individuals.

One of the research centers here at Brown has just started a multi-year 
project (Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice; 
http://brown.edu/initiatives/slavery-and-justice/ ). They currently have 
eight partners -- the Smithsonian Museum (a member of InCommon), five 
museums in Europe, and two museums in Africa. The project expects to 
produce a body of academic papers, and an exhibit that will tour the world.

I'd suggest that all of the partners might qualify, in some way, for 
being described as "academic IDPs". However, it appears that none of the 
European museums are Federation members. I was recently pointed to
http://www.europeana.eu/ , which also seems to exist outside of the 
Higher Ed world.

Previous postings have mentioned partnerships with research departments 
in commercial organizations. I'd suggest that we'll soon be presented 
with a growing set of situations where researchers on campuses are 
working with researchers based in organizations other than campuses. In 
many of these cases, I believe the joint work could easily be called 
"academic work".