Strategic alignment
The five external frameworks and strategies PDTF publicly aligns to. Each one constrains the design space — and each one is a stakeholder relationship to maintain.
From propdata.org.uk's About page, PDTF lists five "Strategic Alignment" partners: HMLR Strategy 2022+, DSIT National Data Strategy, DIATF, W3C Verifiable Credentials, and the Trust Over IP Foundation.
The five alignments
HMLR Strategy 2022+
HM Land Registry's published business strategy from 2022 onwards. Property modernisation, digitisation of registers, Local Land Charges Programme, the national LLC service that's been rolling out council-by-council since 2018.
PDTF aligns by:
- Schema overlays for HMLR-managed forms (OC1, LLC1, CON29DW)
- Architectural compatibility with HMLR's national LLC service
- Maria Harris on the DPMSG-equivalent forums HMLR convenes
DSIT National Data Strategy
The cross-government strategy for unlocking the power of data (originally DCMS-published, now DSIT-owned). PDTF positions itself as a sector-specific implementation of the strategy's principles — particularly around Smart Data and trusted data sharing across organisational boundaries.
DIATF — Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework
UK government's published trust framework for identity verification services. Run by DSIT. Property transactions involve heavy ID checks (estate agent, conveyancer, lender — each currently does their own). DIATF's stated goal is to enable "verify once, use many times" identity proofing.
PDTF aligns by:
- Using W3C VCs / DIDs for participant identity — compatible model
- The PDTF DID Auth OAuth 2 Specification (in trust-framework/docs/) draws on DIATF concepts
- Future: PDTF accreditation could recognise DIATF-certified IDPs
W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model
The W3C standard for cryptographically verifiable claims about subjects. PDTF v2.0 is being structured around VCs — every property data point is a claim, with provenance, issued by an accredited participant, presented to relying parties.
Our archive includes both VC Data Model 1.1 and 2.0 specs locally at
source/08-external-references/related-w3c-specs/.
Trust Over IP Foundation
Linux Foundation project. The 4-layer governance + technical stack model that PDTF directly adopts. See the dedicated ToIP governance page.
Implicit alignments — not on the published list but worth tracking
Five more relationships that effectively shape the design space, even though OPDA hasn't formalised them as "Strategic Alignment":
| Framework / standard | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| UK Open Banking (OBL → JROC) | The direct precedent. propdata.org.uk's own tagline: "Open Banking for Property Data". Raidiam — Sandbox partner — operates the UK Open Banking Directory. Borrow patterns wholesale. |
| EU Data Spaces / IDS-RAM | European federated data ecosystem governance. Worth tracking for cross-border interoperability optionality, especially with Northern Ireland / Irish property transactions. |
| Schema.org | Used by Rightmove, Zoopla and most UK property listing sites. PDTF semantic model should align where they overlap (Property, Place, ResidentialAddress). |
| FAIR data principles | Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable. PDTF's "open" positioning maps directly onto FAIR. |
| W3C Data on the Web Best Practices (DWBP) | 35 best practices for publishing data on the web. Practical checklist for PDTF's published artefacts (schemas, examples, contexts). |
Alignment KPIs we could propose
To make these alignments operational rather than nominal, each should have measurable criteria. Suggested first cut:
- HMLR — every HMLR-published form has a PDTF overlay; LLC1 / OC1 conformance test suite passes.
- National Data Strategy — public data assets in PDTF have
dcat:metadata for discoverability. - DIATF — PDTF accreditation cross-recognises at least one DIATF-certified IDP.
- W3C VC — PDTF v2.0 conforms to VCDM 2.0 test suite.
- ToIP — published governance documents for all 4 layers + cross-cutting docs (per ToIP page).
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