Dentsu Group and Panasonic Holdings to Present Research on "SSIE (Self-Sovereign Information Environment)" at International Conference

Dentsu Group Inc. (Brand: dentsu; Headquarters: Dentsu Group Inc.; Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and Global CEO: Hiroshi Igarashi) announces that its R&D organization, "Dentsu Innovation Initiative" together with Panasonic Holdings Corporation (Headquarters: Kadoma City, Osaka; President and Group CEO: Yuki Kusumi; hereinafter "Panasonic Holdings") and dentsu's joint research partners^* presented research findings on the "Self-Sovereign Information Environment (SSIE)" at the international conference "SGEM Vienna GREEN 2025."

This research summarizes the results of a proof-of-concept study that examined the question "Why do social contribution activities fail to persist?" in citizen-participation projects addressing social challenges. It explored a new information infrastructure model where individuals retain control over their own behavioral data, utilizing Web3 and blockchain technology.
In recent years, companies, local governments, and NPOs have launched various social contribution programs, behavior-change apps, and point systems to address various social issues. Many adopt a custodial model where companies or administrations centrally manage data. However, these initiatives face structural challenges that make persistent participation difficult. These include: "users having limited visibility into how their provided information is used," "participants lacking control over their own data," and "different platforms having different systems, causing participation histories to be lost when switching services."
The SSIE we are announcing today addresses these challenges based on the concept of "Structural Sovereignty," where users retain sovereignty over their activity records. It differs from custodial models by emphasizing: Transparency (the ability for external parties to verify the flow of activity records and the verification process); Privacy (data can be handled without identifying individuals); Autonomy (participants themselves decide what data to share, with whom, and to what extent); and Verifiability (the outcomes of social contribution activities can be confirmed by third parties).

Proof-of-Concept (PoC) of an International Collaborative Model Connecting India and Japan
This research examined India's educational access challenges and Japan's domestic citizen participation models. It tested the effectiveness of SSIE under the theme: "What kind of information design enables persistent cross-border citizen participation?"

PoC 1: Initiative in India - "Self-Certification Escrow" Supporting Educational Opportunities for Female Students Without ID
In India, many women cannot receive adequate education due to lack of proof of address or identity documents.
This PoC established an escrow system where female students themselves record actions like class attendance and exam results. After verification by faculty or educational institutions, support funds covering tuition and living expenses are provided in stages. This enables students to digitally prove their efforts and achievements without relying on third parties. Supporters can also track fund usage and outcomes, creating mutual benefits for both parties.

PoC 2: Japan Initiative: University Students as Fundraisers Leading International Cooperation
In Japan, university students utilize crowdfunding to serve as fundraisers and communicators, connecting female students in India with senior donors in Japan. Simultaneously, they conduct research on social issues, coordinate with local partners, and disseminate information to donors. This enables senior donors to verify the flow and outcomes of their donations through the traceability platform. It validated the effectiveness of a new international cooperation model connecting "Japanese students actively engaged in social issues" and "seniors wishing to give back to society through their experience and assets" across generations.
This collaborative model was highly regarded as a new form of international support integrating digital technology and citizen participation. Through this proof-of-concept, dentsu and joint research partners verified the market potential of our credit provision service (traceability platform) for non-status goods economies and will advance implementing its features.

The paper defines a four-layer architecture enabling SSIE to function without reliance on a central administrator.

1) Sensing Layer (Behavior Recording):
Records citizens' actions—such as learning participation, volunteer activities, and donations—in chronological order.

2) MRV Layer (Measure–Report–Verify):
Verifies whether action records are fact-based through stakeholder confirmation and digital evidence.

3) Tokenization Layer (Action Evidence NFT-ization):
Issues verified action records as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and stores them in a tamper-resistant format.

4) Incentive Layer (Non-Monetary Authentication Incentives):
Designed to offer non-monetary value such as "sense of fulfillment" and "trust" through authentication badges and evaluation metrics, rather than relying solely on monetary incentives.

These components functioned without issue in both Japan and India during proof-of-concept testing, confirming the establishment of data processing that balances privacy, transparency, and continuity.
 
＜Future of This Project＞
Based on the results of this PoC, dentsu and Panasonic Holdings believe the SSIE architecture can be applied to diverse social challenges both domestically and internationally, such as regional communities, education and sustainability.
We plan to further explore the SSIE potential as a foundational technology for promoting persistent behavioral engagement and strengthen our research and development.

＜Workshop Overview＞
At this international conference, both companies co-hosted a workshop bringing together experts in technology and sustainability and data governance from Japan and abroad. The effectiveness of the SSIE architecture and its potential applications were discussed.

● Workshop Details
Title: Self-Sovereign Information Environments: A New Architecture for Sustainability Data
Date: December 4th, 2025 (11:30–12:30 local time)
Venue: Within the International Conference SGEM Vienna GREEN (Room Leopold)
Organizer: dentsu / Panasonic Holdings
Content: Technical explanation of SSIE, PoC reports from India and Japan, and discussion with participants on its potential applications.

*: Panasonic Holdings Corporation, Onplanetz, Inc., Table Unstable DAO LLC

Contact for Inquiries Regarding This R&D Activity:
Junichi Suzuki
Dentsu Innovation Initiative, Dentsu Group Inc.
URL: https://en.innovation.dentsu.com/
Email: innovation-initiative@dentsu.co.jp

Inquiries Regarding This Release:
Jumpei Kojima, Akiko Shimadzu, Toru Nakagawa
Group Corporate Communications Office, Dentsu Group Inc.
Email: group-cc@dentsu.com