Current state of the Early Adopters programme
Although the programme is currently on hold, we are leaving the
registration form open for anyone interested in creating a new
project. Please note that new expressions of interest will not be
processed until at least Q4 2025.
The Early Adopters programme is an incubator to help you and your
partners imagine, build and launch their EBSI pilot project(s).
Together, we reimagine mobility in Europe. We help citizens study,
work and grow all over Europe.
Are you interested in joining this programme?
Can’t wait to build your project?
Start building your project on EBSI right away.
Learn everything about the programme:
The EBSI ecosystem is now composed of 25 projects with more than 100
organisations across +15 countries, pioneering the use of EBSI.
At the beginning of 2021, 21 Early Adopters from 18 European countries
participated in the first wave of EBSI’s Early Adopters programme.
Each project's private and public sector partners were given early
access to the pre-production environment of EBSI, to develop specific
business or governmental use cases involving the exchange of
verifiable credentials in the education domain.
Today, the range of domains piloting with the Early Adopters programme
has increased considerably. For an overview of all projects that have
built on EBSI through the Early Adopters programme, please click the
button below.
The aim of the Early Adopters programme is to upscale local projects
and Proofs of Concept into production-ready EU cross-border pilots.
The ambition is to scale Verifiable Credentials for use cases related
to the verification of documents, traceability of products and
verification of legal entities.
To best achieve this, the programme seeks pilots with: Projects with a group of stakeholders Scenarios that work across borders Projects with the ambition to go into production Scenarios that involve multiple actors and domains
Solutions that exchange Verifiable Credentials end-to-end
(issue, store, verify)
What does a successful project within the EA programme look
like?
EBSI divides success into three criteria: business, technical
and people.
The capacity of the project to deliver value to European
society (cross-border) by:
Trust chain and accreditation model
The project has clearly established its trust chain and
accreditation model.
Clear target audience
The project clearly answers to a target audience's
needs.
Multidisciplinary actors
The project has mobilised multidisciplinary actors
across borders.
Clear vision and ambition
The project outlines a clear vision and ambition that
contributes to the Digital Decade Target 2030.
Business objective
The project clearly answers to a business objective and
is economically viable (please quantify).
The capacity of the project to release solutions into
production
End-to-end exchange of credentials
The project has built solutions that enable the
end-to-end exchange of credentials.
Exchange of many credential types
The project has built solutions that enable the exchange
of many credential types.
Integrated services and user experience
The project has been fully integrated into a set of existing services and user experiences.
Recognised data models
The project offers data models that are recognised by international standards.
Ready for deployment
The project is ready to be technically deployed into
production.
The capacity of the project to engage with people and the
ecosystem.
Clear problem statement
The project outlines a clear problem statement to which
an entire domain ecosystem can relate to.
Pain points and solutions
The project clearly outlines the pain points and
demonstrates clear solutions to them.
High quality delivery
The project demonstrates a high quality of delivery, including both a compelling narrative and engaging visuals.
Clear decision process
The project clearly outlines the decision process and
the way the project plans to move forward.
Compelling story and demo
The project has a compelling story and demo that can be
reused in any set-up (e.g. EBSI Experience Centre).
The proposed support for the Early Adopter Programme and for the
European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) covers two
levels of service.
First level
The first level provides basic support, which involves the
registration of schemas, registration of TIs & TAOs, and
technical Q&A.
Second level
The second level provides full support, which includes the
support offered in the first level as well as custom technical
advice, custom functional advice, clustering with other similar
applicants, workshops, success stories and other publications,
and finally a Demo Day.
Levels of service
The level of service given to each project is determined by
the EBSI team by considering the domain of the project.
For example, if a domain like education is highly represented
by project applications, the EBSI team is more likely to
consider these applications as part of the second level.
First level (Basic support) Scale VCs and reach critical mass Second level (Full support) Extend the potential reach of EBSI Onboarding a use case or recognising new schemas (*) For a full overview of all projects that have built on EBSI through the Early Adopters programme, please visit the EBSI Projects webpage.Early Adopters Programme
History
Objectives of the Programme
Success Criteria
Support Offered
Services
Registration of schemas (*)
Registration of Tis & TAOs
Technical Q&A
Custom technical advise
Custom functional advice
Clustering with other applicants
Workshops
Success stories & other publications
(Not guaranteed)
Demo Day
(Not guaranteed)
Benefits of Piloting with EBSI
Prepare for the future, today
Prepare for the future by piloting and testing blockchain use cases in real-life settings and delivering cross-border services using tomorrow's educational credentials today.
Build on well-known standards
Build on well-known standards such as the European Learning Model (ELM) and Europass, which provide a solid foundation for flexible and decentralised education.
Gain visibility at the European level
Gain visibility at the European level by showcasing pilot projects through annual Demo Days and promotional materials and being featured on the EBSI website and other digital channels.
Co-create with others across Europe
Co-create with others across Europe leveraging a constantly growing network.
The Onboarding Process
The registration process is designed to help you join the Early Adopters programme and take advantage of the benefits it offers. The process is straightforward and consists of the following 4 steps:
1. Self-evaluation
Before considering participating in the Early Adopters programme, it is important to evaluate your organisation's readiness to adopt blockchain technology and self-assess whether the programme aligns with your aspirations and our ambitions, as well as the level of assistance we can provide. Additionally, it is a prerequisite for participation to be a European initiative with European actors involved. The programme does not support non-EU or non-EEC projects.
To do this, before submitting your application, please carefully consider the following requirements:
Choose a domain
By successfully piloting a variety of use cases, EBSI is well advanced in the implementation of various types of Verifiable Credentials. Verifiable Credentials can be applied to a variety of use cases and domains such as:
Verification of documents
- Education domain
- Social security domain
Traceability of products
- Intellectual Property domain
- Food and beverage domain
Verification of legal entities
- Business registries domain
- SME financing domain
To learn more about use case domains that EBSI has worked on with other projects please visit the EBSI Projects page.
Understand your role
You can participate in the Early Adopters programme in different roles. Please establish which role you would like to participate as.
As a TAO
You can become a trusted accreditation organisation and / or issuer of verifiable IDs.
As an issuer
You can become an issuer of the proposed educational credentials or implement other credentials to enrich the service.
As a verifier
You can join and adopt such solutions in the context of your recruitment process and significantly reduce your verification costs.
As a wallet provider
You can turn your wallet into an EBSI conformant wallet and build a pan-European wallet ecosystem.
As a holder
You can join the group of beta users.
Now you are ready to register.
2. Application submission
Current state of the Early Adopters programme
Although the programme is currently on hold, we are leaving the registration form open for anyone interested in creating a new project. Please note that new expressions of interest will not be processed until at least Q4 2024.
Once you have self-assessed, you can submit your application via our application form. Your application helps the EBSI team understand your use case and how it aligns with the goals of the Early Adopters programme.
When submitting your application, you will need to provide detailed information about the problem you want to solve, the use case, the ecosystem that will play a part, as well as stating the level of support you would need from EBSI.
3. Application review
The assessment of the application will consider each project's commitment to EBSI’s ambition to scale Verifiable Credentials and their commitment to EBSI’s success criteria.
After this evaluation, projects will be contacted by the EBSI onboarding team to begin collaboration. The EBSI Early Adopters programme reserves the right to disqualify any application that does not meet the criteria or is incompatible with the requirements.
4. Running process
The publicly available EBSI Hub is used to guide all EA programme participants through the three stages: Define, Design, and Build.
At each of the three stages, the EA programme gives access to collaborative workshops, technical, business and people sessions, and Q&As.
Any project can begin building on EBSI by following our guidelines and specifications, regardless of the status of their participation in the Early Adopters programme.
Start building your project on EBSI right away.
Define stage
In the Define stage, participants will be introduced to the EBSI Hub and will begin to identify and define their business requirements and end-to-end scope of their EBSI project.
Design
In the Design stage, participants will be guided by the EBSI Hub to detail the functional flow, actors, and roles of every member part of their solution. They will pitch their scenario, explore EBSI specifications in collaboration with others, and design cross-border scenarios and integration plans.
Build
Finally, in the Build stage, participants will be guided by the EBSI Hub to build and integrate their project in a piloting/production environment and perform a Wallet Conformance test. They will have access to technical workshops and tailored support. In addition, they will also have the opportunity to showcase their pilot project during an ecosystem Demo Day.
Testimonials
25 projects with more than 100 organisations across +15 countries, have been part of the EA programme. Have a look at what they have to say:
The Early Adopters programme provided us with a unique platform to showcase our solution and receive constructive feedback from experts in the field. This invaluable input enabled us to refine our approach and enhance the overall value proposition.
Moreover, the programme facilitated the establishment of a robust network of like-minded organisations, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing.
- Vocational Education and Training
“The implementation of the pilot programme was exceptionally smooth, and the team's engagement was outstanding.”
- University Alliances
“The W3bsi Ecosystem Day was – I think – excellent for the EBSI community.
- TRACE4EU
Are you interested in the programme?
The Early Adopters programme is on hold, however we will leave the registration form open to allow new projects to express their interest in the programme. Please note that new expressions of interest will not be processed until at least Q4 2024.
Express your interest...or do you need more information before registering?
Discover more about the EBSI Projects.
Explore in more detail the EBSI Hub.
Learn more about EBSI and Verifiable Credentials.