The United Nations Development Programme has issued a request for proposals for an open source mobile digital identity pilot in Mauritania that adheres to privacy by design principles and industry standards. According to the RFP, the pilot is intended to accelerate the improvement of public service accessibility in accordance with Mauritania’s ‘Digital Agenda 2022 – 2025.’
That includes identity verification via an automated process based on NIST standards, face biometrics with a liveness check against an ID document, and authentication via a future services portal incorporating OpenID Connect flows and QR code scanning. The principle of double blindness must also be maintained by separating the identity proofing and authentication server from the agency in charge of the civil registry. Standards to be followed include the W3C’s Verifiable Credentials, as explained in a LinkedIn post by UNDP Senior Advisor for National Digital Transformation Jonas Loetscher.
The work is expected to take two months, with a July start date and an August completion date. A detailed implementation concept, a test version of the app and backend, and deployment on client infrastructure with app availability on Google Play Beta and iOS Testflight are the deliverables. Each of those deliverables is capable of being completed remotely. In Nouakchott, a fully functional pilot with a passed acceptance test must be completed. The RFP document contains information such as the assessment criteria.
