About the Role of a Unique Personal Identifier in Collaboration Across Organizational Boundaries

This paper discusses the role of a unique personal identifier in cross-organizational government collaboration. It investigates the challenges public authorities face in identification processes and argues in favor of the use of the Swiss Social Security Number (SSN) as a unique identifier for Switzerland, and reviews concerns expressed against it. A unique identifier is seen as a relevant means in improving data quality level in base registries and hence, a central enabler for collaborative government.