Federated digital identity management infrastructure and the related services is a core pillar of research and education network. Facilitating European consensus and supporting the evolution of trust and identity technologies and services is a key element in the NORDUnet strategy.
The AARC blueprint architecture and interoperability framework is the foundation for this infrastructure, enabling support for a diverse range of research communities and e-Infrastructures. It is therefore with great pleasure that NORDUnet at as coordinator of the AARC TREE project, co-funded by the EU, to refresh and evolve the blueprint.
The project has recently completed its first year and the AARC TREE team has reached key milestones and delivered significant outcomes, ensuring continued innovation in AAI interoperability. Most notably, we have made substantial strides toward the next version of the AARC Blueprint Architecture (AARC BPA) and its interoperability framework, strengthening the foundation for research and education (R&E) infrastructures across Europe and beyond.
The AARC TREE project builds on the AARC BPA (2019) and its interoperability framework, governed by AEGIS, which oversees policy and technical guidelines for AAI services. Since 2019, AEGIS has met monthly to ensure continuous development. The AARC BPA is now the de facto best practice for research and education (R&E), supporting the AAI of major e-infrastructures (GÉANT, EGI, EUDAT), research infrastructures (LifeScience, PaNoSC, DARIAH, ESCAPE), and pan-European initiatives like Erasmus+, university alliances, EuroFP, and EOSC AAI.
Objectives of the AARC TREE Project
The primary objectives of the AARC TREE project are to:
- Develop a new version of the AARC BPA that aligns with emerging technology standards and supports evolving requirements.
- Update the AARC Interoperability Framework by assessing and updating existing AARC guidelines, making it easier for the R&E community to adopt them to build interoperable AAIs.
- Provide recommendations for the long-term sustainability of AAI services.
Key Deliverables and Achievements
Between March 2024 and February 2025, the AARC TREE team produced several documents in line with the project plan, including The AARC Profile for expressing community identity attributes, Informational document on methods for establishing trust between OAuth 2.0 proxies, Guidance for notice management by proxies, The landscape adoption of the AARC BPA, and A use-case collection and analysis.
Read more about the deliverables on the AARC TREE website, or see the Full list of AARC TREE documents.
What’s Next?
The AARC BPA 2025 revision and the trust framework for proxies, set for release in May 2025, will mark a key milestone, benefiting both project members and the wider community. Efforts also focus on creating a visual, concise overview of use-case analysis for the Compendium of AARC Best Practices and Recommendations, due February 2026. Additionally, work has begun on a long-term AAI strategy for pan-European Research Infrastructures, with a supporting workshop planned for June 2025.
Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to shape the future of AAI interoperability!
- is a project co-funded by the EU under Horizon Europe
- has 18 beneficiaries (and two linked parties), plus two organisations in the UK and Switzerland that do receive national funding.
- funding complements the in-kind contributions from several organizations across Europe and beyond; these contributions ensure that AARC outputs remain relevant and continue to evolve across funding cycles.
