InCommon Service Categories
A service category is a group of service providers with a common purpose. The primary goal of a category is to make attribute release more scalable. To this end, IdPs release a known set of attributes to categories of SPs. Using entity attributes (instead of entityIDs), attribute release policy at the IdP is configured for all services in the category (both present and future), rather than once per service. IdPs signal their support of particular categories in metadata, which helps SPs build relevant discovery interfaces.
For example, to become a member of the Research and Scholarship Category, a service provider will support the research and scholarly activities of the higher ed community and satisfy a modest set of technical requirements.