[Chapter-delegates] 2014 - 2016 Internet Society Business Plan DRAFT

[Dave Burstein]

The budget document is very well done, loaded with detail that helps me
understand the issues being discussed.

In particular,  the data suggest a very large effort projected for what
looks like very little in net grants. The gross fundraising income after
the cost of everyone's fundraising effort is projected at ?14% of total
revenues. The costs, including the development staff and the large
investment of staff time required, seem to eat up most of that. That's even
more true after subtracting the direct cost of "fulfillment" of the grants.

   At first look, the organization would be better off cutting down the
effort spent raising money and bringing expenses more in line with the very
substantial funding from PIR. I doubt the small increase in available funds
will do much to advance our mission.

  Most money comes with strings, especially from corporations and
governments, and it looks like the net proceeds here are so small they
aren't worth the compromises required. But that's a first look; someone
with better access to the data needs to confirm it. Remember that folks
like the economist we hired were told in advance fundraising would be a big
part of their job, as it is of the CEO and top staff. Adding their time to
the cost of raising money is a necessary exercise.

Meanwhile, a few clarifications of the document, please.

Referring to North America I find this intriguing item:
"Policy Outreach: in particular with the content community  outside of the
traditional policymaking process together
with carriers and other stakeholders, as well as with US Government."

What are we planning here? The "content community" in the U.S. is not a
natural friend of ISOC.

Also

"Sponsorships or Grants for Internet economic research and publications,
headed by our recently hired
Chief Economist, provides enhanced funding opportunity for ISOC, starting
with $240K in 2014"

sounds like we have a large sponsorship we haven't announced. Who's
providing the money?

and

What the heck do we mean by our "Open and Sustainable Internet Campaign"

I don't think anyone other than a few carriers looking for government
handouts and favors has serious doubt the Internet is "sustainable." Far
too many companies are making far too much money to doubt that on the
commercial side the Internet will survive and thrive. So what would ISOC be
doing to make sure the net is "sustainable?

-----------

Somewhat deeper question that deserves an answer:

We're setting a key policy goal
"Access and Development: Open and Smart Internet Development Policies:
Advocating public policies that advance
rather than hinder economic development"

    Do we seriously know what policies "advance rather than hinder economic
development?"

Frankly, the folks speaking for ISOC in the past on economic development
often made fundamental errors that were obviously to anyone working in
broadband network expansion. For example, one very senior ISOC official
suggested "more competition" as a solution for rural broadband even in poor
countries. In rich countries, we have a hard time getting even a single
provider in many rural areas; 5% of the U.S. isn't covered. Very few rural
areas in poor countries will attract multiple providers. So if bringing
broadband to exreme rural areas is important, some policy other than
"promoting competition" is necessary. (Germany did it best; to get highly
profitable LTE licenses for the major cities, the carriers first had to
build to some of the "unserved" areas. Worked really well because Deutsche
Telekom and Vodafone, spending their own money, are doing it efficiently.)

    Competition is a great tool but doesn't work everywhere.

    In the run up to WCIT, ISOC staffers made a slew of suggestions that
were simply bad policy. The most dramatic was the assertion that
Australia's NBN, Hamburg's City Network (considered Germany's best) and all
U.S. muni networks were definitely mistakes. (The actual statements were
that all networks should be private. I much prefer keeping government out
of things when practical, but that doesn't mean government is never the
right choice. But that was the plain reading of an official ISOC document,
never retracted even after it was pointed out.

    Another ISOC proposal, for African networks, would result in a 25-50%
decrease in capacity for mobile broadband in an area starved for capacity.
A very senior ISOC official so much preferred one of several ways to
increase competition she wanted to seriously compromise the network.

    We've now hired a single economist, who is a friend and a good
economist. But we're not even close to having the resources to be certain
we have the expertise to give clear answers in a tough area. For example,
the best economists in the field are unsure about the economic effect of
spending more on broadband. Good studies (that could be wrong) found it too
small to measure. The ones that found a big effect were almost invariably
bought and paid for by companies that would profit from more broadband
spending. When you read them closely, they usually fall apart.

    If we don't have real answers on the economic questions we shouldn't
pretend we do.

db










On Tue, Nov 12, 2013 at 10:24 PM, Ted Mooney <mooney at isoc.org> wrote:

>   Dear Chapter Officers
> Dear Organization Members
>
>  Attached for your review is the 2014 - 2016 Business Plan and Budget for
> the Internet Society that has been sent to the Board of Trustees for review
> at its Buenos Aries meeting, 22-23 November.  This document will be posted
> shortly along with the Board Agenda and other materials for the meeting (at
> http://www.internetsociety.org/who-we-are/board-trustees/meetings).
>
>  To the Chapter officers our sincere thanks to each and every one of you
> for your inputs over the last year, whether it was responding to the
> Chapter survey (in which Chapter participation was 100%!), discussing
> issues in a Chapter workshop or engaging the debates held in many
> conferences and forums all over the world.  All of that input informed the
> development this business plan.  So that all Chapter leaders have the
> opportunity to read this document with the fullest understanding, I will
> offer some additional context.
>
>  To our organization members we likewise offer our deep appreciation for
> your input at various conferences, meetings and through the Advisory
> Council, and for your continued support of this important work.
>
>  This business plan builds towards a vision of the Internet Society in
> 2020 as "the foremost global voice and leader for the Internet" -- one that
> more deeply engages our community and stakeholders to shape a better
> Internet globally, regionally and locally.  It is also aligned with the
> Strategic Objectives set forth by our Board earlier this year.
>
>  As you all know, 2013 has been a challenging year.  It has been complex
> due to many factors - security, privacy, trust and data management issues
> being thrust to forefront consideration by all stakeholders; efforts by
> intergovernmental organizations and certain national administrations to
> exercise greater international control over the Internet and exert greater
> national controls; a successful IGF aimed at defining the multi-stakeholder
> model and related principles for Internet governance plus the launch of new
> Internet governance activities focusing on 2014; anticipation of a new ISOC
> CEO; net neutrality; digital Intellectual property rights;  a host
> of  technology policy issues aimed at a healthy and resilient
> Internet;  further extension of the Internet to under- and un-served
> communities and real progress in expanding the use of IXP's and generating
> growth in local traffic;  scaling out to regional and local new and future
> influencers the capacity to carry forward the work of ensuring an open,
> global Internet; and the health and well-being of the Internet Society
> itself and the ISOC communities.  These challenges will be amplified and
> likely accelerated in 2014.  And challenges now looming will assert
> themselves and vie for our attention.
>
>  As we look to address these issues, we look forward to working with our
> community, as well as building our capacities to more deeply engage in 2014
> and beyond. We will increasingly rely on and support our members and
> chapters as resources to meet these challenges both proactively and in
> reaction to events. We fully expect projects and programmes just now
> beginning in 2013 or being launched in the 2014-2016 Business Plan to
> provide real benefits to chapters and members in 2014 and, in turn, for the
> Internet worldwide.
>
>  Interestingly at this very time when we have built a business plan
> within a "steady state" 2014 budget, we will be trying to do more. You will
> see a shift of resources into the regions as part of our effort to work
> more closely with chapters, members and local partners to become
> increasingly effective local and regional influencers of  ISOC's principles
> and mission. For example, Regional Chapter Development Managers will report
> directly to the regional bureau directors.  Our membership support programs
> will also be reworked to support greater engagement between Org members and
> ISOC. We will be seeking  greater value for our investments  at every
> turn.
>
>  Most important to this plan for the year ahead and beyond is our
> commitment to the principles and mission of the Internet Society.  ISOC
> enjoys a reputation for encouraging all voices, taking principled stands
> and bringing critical issues of access, technology,  infrastructure and
> policy into the public debate.  Our 2014-2016 business plan will continue
> this historic arc, leveraging resources from the broad communities of
> participation and fueling the open and sustainable Internet on many fronts.
>
>  The Board of Trustees will review and potentially revise this plan and
> vote on the approval in their meeting in Buenos Aires on November 22 & 23.
> Once approved, we all look forward to working with you to execute and
> inform the 2014 business plan implementation.
>
>  Best regards,
>
>  Ted Mooney
> Senior Director, Membership & Services
> The Internet Society
> 1775 Wiehle Avenue
> Reston, VA 20190 USA
> Office: +1 703-439-2774
> Cell: +1 301-980-6446
> eMail: mooney at isoc.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
> to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org
>



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