UK digital identity hackathon shows policy innovation diversity

A self-sovereign identity system, a digital credential for asylum seekers and a hybrid model were among the entries for a recent British hackathon, showcasing innovation diversity in tackling problems.

A virtual hackathon hosted by SPRITE+ and Chatham House’s Common Futures Conversations (CFC) brought together technologists, policy experts, and young innovators to meet one of the most pressing challenges of the digital age — how to design inclusive, secure and trustworthy digital identity systems.

The event invited participants to develop policy frameworks that balance technical feasibility with ethical governance. The central prompt asked teams to craft a technically grounded policy framework for managing and owning digital identities, considering the roles of governments, individuals and legal institutions.

Five teams presented solutions. Group 1 proposed a citizen-centric framework titled “Building Trust by Design,” emphasizing inclusive access, radical transparency, and community co-design. Group 2 focused on security and scalability, advocating for multimodal authentication and a federated single sign-on architecture.

Group 3 — the winning team — introduced a digital identity credential for asylum seekers and refugees in the UK. Using open standards like W3C Verifiable Credentials, their solution enables secure, user-controlled access to services, even for those without smartphones, via NFC smart cards. The solution is anchored by the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF).

Group 4 recommended a self-sovereign identity (SSI) system built on permissioned blockchain. Their proposal envisions a single digital credential issued to every UK resident, streamlining interactions with government agencies and reducing fraud in sectors like taxation and healthcare. Group 5 advocated for a hybrid model that combines government reliability with user control and transparency.

The hackathon’s timing coincides with the UK government’s announcement of its Digital ID scheme, underlining the relevance of the event. Rowan Wilkinson, a judge and research associate at Chatham House, noted that participants grappled with “real-world tensions” in digital identity systems, balancing innovation, privacy, accessibility and governance.

Opening remarks were delivered by Mark Elliott, Director of SPRITE+, and Yiannis Theodorou, Global Lead on Digital ID at the Tony Blair Institute, that set the stage for a week of collaborative ideation. Julie Dawson, Chief Policy and Regulatory Officer at Yoti and Dr. Karen McCullagh, associate professor at the University of East Anglia completed the line-up of judges.

Summaries of each Group’s policy solutions can be found here. The winning group’s policy presentation can be viewed here.

Article Topics

digital identity  |  digital inclusion  |  research and development  |  self-sovereign identity  |  UK digital ID