Ecosystem Stewardship
Take responsibility for a domain or functional area.
The swiyu ecosystem develops through concrete applications, shared foundations and actors who take responsibility. Ecosystem Stewards make a multi-year commitment to the development of a domain or a cross-sector functional area.
A domain can be mobility, healthcare, retail or education, for example. Functional areas address topics that are relevant across multiple sectors, such as accessibility, skills, international interoperability, service integration between public administration and the private sector, or shared trust rules.
Ecosystem Stewards bring forward topics, priorities and impact objectives for their domain or functional area and contribute them to the wider ecosystem agenda. They bring the business and domain-specific challenges of their area to the table at a strategic level.
Stewards bring economic strength, strategic reach, networks, implementation capacity and a long-term sense of responsibility for the development of their area. They are an important force for the sustainable development and growth of the ecosystem, including where the value extends beyond the immediate business interests of their own organisation.
They are one of several forces shaping the ecosystem. Through the swiyu Launchpad, DIDAS and the Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) bring together the relevant actors to turn prioritised topics into concrete use cases, shared foundations, Governance approaches and implementable solutions.
A Steward’s contribution creates the conditions for this work to continue over time within a domain or functional area.
Why Stewardship exists
Verifiable Credentials connect multiple actors. Issuers need concrete use cases and demand. Verifiers need available credentials. Between them lies work that needs to be done collectively. Requirements need to be clarified, actors brought together, Trust Models and Credential Schemas developed, Governance questions addressed, and initial applications tested.
The resulting foundations can later be used by many organisations. Their development is rarely driven solely by the immediate interests of a single organisation.
Stewardship provides direction, continuity and strategic capacity within a domain or functional area. Stewards bring relevant topics, requirements and development perspectives into the ecosystem. Together with other participating actors, they establish priorities and impact objectives.
Their commitment extends beyond individual use cases. Stewards help sustain the development of shared foundations, structures and capabilities over time, including where their value extends beyond their own organisation or a single business case.
The swiyu Launchpad provides the implementation framework for this work. Through the Launchpad, DIDAS and the Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) bring together the relevant actors to translate prioritised topics into concrete use cases, address technical and regulatory questions, test solutions and develop reusable foundations for the ecosystem.
Domains and functional areas need responsibility
The ecosystem does not develop at the same pace everywhere. Progress happens where actors work together continuously and address shared questions.
Within an actively supported area, relevant organisations are brought together, use cases are prioritised and shared foundations are developed. Questions involving public authorities, regulators or other sectors can be addressed collectively. Experiments and pilots can lead to documented reference cases on which other organisations can build.
Ecosystem Stewards enable this continuous work.
Shared foundations create shared value
Many results of this work should be reusable. Examples include Credential Schemas, Trust Models, Governance artefacts, coordinated regulatory clarifications, specifications and integration patterns.
Their value increases through reuse.
A Steward’s contribution enables a domain or functional area to develop systematically and helps create the shared foundations it requires. At the same time, the Steward contributes its experience and the requirements of its organisation.
What Ecosystem Stewardship is
Ecosystem Stewardship is a multi-year commitment to the sustainable development of a domain or functional area. DIDAS membership is a prerequisite.
Stewards bring forward topics, requirements and development perspectives from their area. They bring economic strength, strategic reach, networks and implementation capacity to support relevant developments, mobilise additional actors and sustain shared initiatives over time.
They also bring a long-term sense of responsibility for the development of their area and the wider ecosystem. Their commitment extends beyond individual use cases and immediate commercial interests.
Stewards work with other participating actors to establish priorities and concrete impact objectives for their area. The wider ecosystem agenda also reflects input from business, public administration, research, associations, civil society and the responsible public authorities.
Concrete work takes place in conjunction with the swiyu Launchpad. DIDAS and the Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) use the Launchpad to bring together the actors and capabilities required for the respective topics.
The wider Ecosystem Governance continues to evolve together with the participating actors and the responsible public authorities.
Stewardship does not provide an entitlement to contracts or preferential treatment. A Steward’s economic strength or level of financial contribution does not provide additional formal voting weight within Stewardship Governance or at the DIDAS General Assembly. The framework is defined in the Ecosystem Stewardship and Initiatives Regulations, and the Statutes and other regulations are available under Who We Are.
Three categories
| Category | Annual contribution | Minimum term | Notice period thereafter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic Ecosystem Steward | CHF 50,000 | 2 years | 3 months |
| Ecosystem Steward | CHF 20,000 | 2 years | 1 month |
| Civic / Public Interest Ecosystem Steward | CHF 5,000 | 2 years | 1 month |
The Civic / Public Interest category is intended for selected public-interest organisations as defined in the Regulations. Industry and corporate representative organisations do not fall within this category.
Domains and functional areas
Domains
Domains bring together actors with similar sector-specific, economic or regulatory requirements.
Examples include:
- Mobility
- Healthcare
- Retail
- Insurance
- Banking & Finance
- Education & Employment
- Trade & Logistics
Functional areas
Functional areas address shared foundations that are relevant across multiple domains.
Examples include:
- Accessibility
- Skills
- Innovation capacity
- Service integration between public administration and the private sector
- International interoperability
- Trust rules
Many of these foundations cannot be assigned to a single industry. Developing them collectively allows different domains and use cases to build on the same foundations.
Which domains and functional areas are actively developed, and where additional Stewardship can add value, evolves with the participating actors and concrete use cases.
How Stewardship works
The role of DIDAS
Stewards bring topics, strategic perspective, economic strength and long-term commitment to their domain or functional area. They are part of a wider ecosystem involving business, public administration, research, associations, civil society and other actors.
DIDAS works with these actors to structure relevant topics and priorities into an ecosystem agenda.
The swiyu Launchpad provides the main framework for concrete work. Through the Launchpad, DIDAS and the Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) bring together the actors required for a topic or use case.
DIDAS structures and orchestrates the shared work. It connects domain requirements with technical expertise, standards and specifications, Governance and regulatory questions, and supports the development of prioritised topics into concrete use cases and reusable foundations for the swiyu ecosystem.
Where several organisations face the same legal or regulatory questions, DIDAS bundles these questions and coordinates their clarification with the responsible public authorities, regulators or engaged specialists. Legal and regulatory assessments remain with the competent parties.
The same principle applies to technical and domain-specific foundations. DIDAS brings together the required actors and expertise and supports their joint development and reuse. Existing standards, Swiss Profiles and specifications provide the starting point.
Insights from individual use cases are documented and, where appropriate, translated into reusable foundations for other organisations and applications.
What can emerge from this work
Depending on the requirements of a domain or functional area, DIDAS can coordinate and support the development of shared outcomes.
What Stewardship should achieve
Within the first twelve months
The relevant actors within a domain or functional area are connected. Needs and priorities are clarified. Shared questions can be addressed collectively.
Where shared foundations are missing, their development is coordinated. These may include Trust Models, Credential Schemas, Governance artefacts, regulatory clarifications or integration patterns.
Concrete use cases provide practical experience with the technical, regulatory and organisational requirements for implementation.
The Steward also helps establish a longer-term development perspective for the area, beyond individual projects or short-term commercial opportunities.
As the area matures
Use cases develop into documented reference cases. Credential Schemas, Trust Models, specifications and Governance artefacts can be reused in further applications.
Where sufficient continuous engagement develops, more permanent structures with their own roadmap can emerge.
Integrators, Trust Services Providers and other providers become familiar with the requirements of the area. This reduces the effort required for additional organisations to build on existing foundations.
Open specifications, transparent change processes, appropriate transition periods and backward compatibility can also support the protection of early investments.
Stewards use their strategic reach, networks and market experience to involve additional actors, connect existing initiatives and help move shared foundations towards broader adoption.
Longer term
Domains and functional areas develop shared foundations, implementation experience and a network of actors with the capacity to sustain further development.
Long-term Stewardship strengthens the ecosystem’s ability to develop relevant topics continuously and to support shared interests that extend beyond individual projects and organisations.
Swiss requirements can be connected with European and international standards and frameworks. Experience from real applications provides a substantive basis for engagement with the Confederation, regulators, standards organisations and international partners.
As Verifiable Data becomes more widely available, additional value can emerge in applications and services that use trusted and reusable data across organisational boundaries.
Transparency and Governance
The rules governing Ecosystem Stewardship are publicly defined in the Ecosystem Stewardship and Initiatives Regulations.
Currently, 90 percent of Stewardship contributions are allocated to initiatives and ecosystem orchestration. 10 percent support the necessary DIDAS base operations. The respective accounts are maintained separately. Changes are governed by the rules defined in the Regulations.
Within Stewardship Governance, the principle is one Steward, one vote. The level of financial contribution does not provide additional voting weight. Ecosystem Governance continues to develop, and bodies, roles and forms of participation are being defined as part of that work.
Stewards do not receive preferential treatment in contracts or procurement. The applicable conflict-of-interest rules apply where a Steward has a direct economic interest. Jointly funded work packages and outcomes are handled according to the principles defined in the Regulations.
The institutional integration of the DIDAS orchestrator role and Ecosystem Stewards into the wider swiyu Governance continues to be developed with the responsible public authorities. This page reflects the applicable DIDAS Governance framework.
Three ways to participate
Frequently asked questions
Take responsibility for a domain or functional area
Stewardship starts with a discussion about the domain or functional area, the strategic challenges ahead and the actors already working within it.
Together, we identify where a longer-term commitment can strengthen the ecosystem, which topics should be brought forward and what impact should be pursued over the following twelve months.
We also provide transparency on existing activities, participating actors and areas where additional Stewards can strengthen the sustainable development of the ecosystem.
Global Standards. Local Governance.