The UK government is to invest £5.5 million in developing the next generation of secure identity management systems.

The investment, led by the Technology Strategy Board, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), will create three new research projects, called EnCoRe, VOME and Privacy Value Networks.

The projects will be collaborations between business, academia and the public sector and will aim to ensure that the next generation of identity management systems strike appropriate balances with privacy concerns, the Technology Strategy Board said.

“In order to prepare UK businesses for competition in this global market, practical and cost effective solutions need to be developed which inspire public confidence by improving privacy and enabling consent as an integral part of future procurements," said Iain Gray, chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board.

Project EnCoRe will focus on providing more rigorous means for individuals to grant and revoke consent for the use, storage and sharing of personal data.

VOME will give a clearer hardware and software requirement for end users’ ideas and concepts regarding privacy and consent.

The final project, Privacy Value Networks (pvnets), aims to generate, a detailed understanding of individuals’ and organisations’ conceptions of privacy and identity.

EPSRC chief executive Professor David Delpy said that the new research had a unique approach, "looking at both the technological advances that need to be made alongside the social considerations and implications. The long term aim is to ensure a good balance between freedom and security for everyone.”