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The Identity Ecosystem Steering Group, which through a grant is overseeing the implementation of the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, will not simply dissolve in November, said Jeremy Grant, senior executive advisor for identity management at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

"When we awarded the grant a year ago, NIST was very clear that it would only fund the initial two years and then the expectation was this organization, being privately led, would then transition to a self-sustaining organization. But, that said, we think it's going to take a full two years," said Grant.

While he could not yet make a formal announcement, NIST plans to supplement the original grant for trusted federal systems in the next month or two, said Grant July 24 at the IDESG's fifth plenary meeting in Cambridge, Mass.

"We'll basically allow the organization to carry operations forward through next June or so, which basically gives us close to a year from today for the organization to actually figure out the next step," he said.

"I know there's been a lot of concern that the clock was ticking and that this organization might suddenly disappear before it had time to go through proper planning and transition activities, and I'm confident that the supplemental funding will allow us ample time for the organization to actually transition to a self-sustaining model," said Grant.

Kimberly Little director of market planning for identity management solutions at LexisNexis and IDESG's business plan subcommittee chair spoke to attendees about several options IDESG is considering for its structure moving forward.

The legal counsel recommendation is to transition IDESG to a non-profit organization, because it has the most widely-recognized and easily understood legal structure, she said. It could even move from a single group to a two-organization structure that would provide flexibility as goals of the organization develop.