Federated Data Interpretation Systems Reference Architecture (FDIS-RA)

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Discussion

The Federated Data Interpretation Systems Reference Architecture (FDIS-RA) defines a common architectural framework for systems that interpret, validate, compare, and govern data produced through statutory, regulatory, administrative, or other governed reporting processes.

FDIS-RA addresses environments in which multiple organisations, agencies, jurisdictions, systems, or implementations participate in the production, extraction, interpretation, validation, or use of reported information. The architecture treats federation as a condition in which responsibilities and authority may remain distributed while systems coordinate through governed architectural boundaries.

FDIS-RA defines architectural responsibilities for:

Evidence intake and custodyInformation extraction and observation generationObservation and metadata managementSemantic canonicalisationInterpretation, rules, and calculationValidation, conformance, and assessmentAnalysis, reporting, and user interactionInterface and contract governanceSemantic version and context managementMonitoring, signals, and indicatorsFDIS-RA separates operational processing within the data plane from governance, configuration, semantic authority, and lifecycle control within the control plane. It defines explicit components, ports, port interfaces, feeds, streams, stream elements, adapters, responsibilities, and governance mechanisms at the platform-independent level.

The Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA) provides a representative motivating case. FDIS-RA does not derive its applicability solely from the FDTA and does not replace agency-specific rules, reporting requirements, enforcement authority, or legal judgments.

FDIS-RA serves as the proposed response to the Structured Information Processing Reference Architecture (SIP-RA) Request for Proposal. It applies the architectural separation of data, structure, semantics, and interpretation required by SIP-RA to federated data interpretation environments.

Definition

Platform-independent Reference Architecture defining governed responsibilities, boundaries, interfaces, and lifecycle controls for federated interpretation of regulated data.

Source

Federated Data Interpretation Systems Reference ArchitectureStructured Information Processing Reference Architecture Request for ProposalDido Solutions and Jackrabbit Consulting, 2026

Note

FDIS-RA does not prescribe a particular ontology language, rule engine, database, artificial intelligence model, transport protocol, product, platform, deployment topology, or vendor implementation.A system does not conform to FDIS-RA merely because it uses a technology or standard mentioned by the architecture. Conformance depends on satisfaction of the applicable architectural responsibilities, interface contracts, governance constraints, quality attributes, and conformance provisions.The expansion of FDIS is Federated Data Interpretation Systems. The plural word Systems reflects applicability across multiple systems and does not require a particular deployment to contain multiple independently deployed software systems.

Example

A regulator may apply FDIS-RA when acquiring an environment that preserves source filings, extracts observations with provenance, interprets those observations under versioned semantic definitions and rules, validates the results, and exposes traceable outcomes across governed interfaces.

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© 2026 Dido Solutions, Inc. and Jackrabbit Consulting, Inc.