In a report released this week, NIST said it would provide federal funding to an organization willing to convene the steering group and provide it with initial secretarial, administrative, and logistical support.

NIST seems to be flush with cash to implement the White House’s National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC). Last week, the agency announced plans to award $10 million for trusted online credential projects.

NIST said the steering group should be structured to safeguard protections for individual privacy and the underrepresented, through mechanisms such as a special privacy coordination committee and an appointed ombudsman.

After a period of initial government support, the steering group would need to establish a self-sustaining structure capable of allowing continued growth and operational independence, NIST said.

“While NSTIC is a government initiative, the ‘Identity Ecosystem’ it envisions must be led by the private sector”, said Jeremy Grant, NIST’s senior executive advisor for identity management. “The recommendations we published today lay out a specific path to bring together all NSTIC stakeholders – including the private sector, advocacy groups, public-sector agencies and other organizations – to jointly create an online environment, the ecosystem, where individuals and organizations will be able to better trust one another, with minimized disclosure of personal information.”