[Chapter-delegates] An End of the Year reflection.

[Raul Echeberria]

Dear Chapters’ Leaders,


2016 is coming to an end and it is a good time to reflect about the work we have done this year with regard to Chapters strengthening and support. 
My evaluation is very positive. 

During 2016 we have seen the shaping of the Chapters Advisory Council and its Steering Committee. This is the realisation of a long process started a few years ago, when the bylaws were updated to include this new Council. 
This new body has demonstrated to be a very good catalyzer in the communication between the staff and the chapters and on the other hand, a very good instrument for channeling the advice from the chapters to the Board. 
The 3 recommendations submitted to the Board proves that. 

This year we also rolled out the Chapters performance report, based on criteria that have been set in consultation with the Chapters AC. Those criteria will be available for review as many times as necessary based on feedback from the chapters. This report gives us a very good opportunity to identify ways to improve our work with the chapters and to provide the most appropriate programs in order to strengthen the chapters.  

Based on feedback received last year, in 2016, we continued having the Regional Chapters Workshops but with a new format, more oriented to the Policy discussion rather than Chapter management capacity building, like we used to do. We held 4 workshops (Europe, LAC, Africa and Asia-Pacific) with a very high percentage of chapters form each region attending them. 

The Beyond the Net program continued to be successful in 2016 after a great start in 2015. Around 70 grants were allocated and we can see today very good projects being run by our chapters creating an impact in their own communities. The projects are also better aligned with our objectives and priorities, expanding the Internet Society work and impact, although there is always room for innovative ideas and for projects exploring new areas. 

Finally, the Administration Funding program has recently been launched. The number of chapters that applied is very promising. This is another small step in the right direction, addressing a need defined by our Chapters.  

The Board of Trustees recognises the importance of the chapters and is strongly committed to provide necessary support.  There is a very good alignment between this high level political understanding, the implementation at the staff level and the bottom up approach through the Chapters AC. 

We have many challenges lying ahead in 2017. We have to continue combining our energy and views to sustain the promotion of the development of the Internet, an open and trusted Internet for the benefit of the people. And all of this in a very dynamic and challenging environment with a lot of warnings coming from different places. 

Internally, we have to continue to advance this line of work, to continue facilitating the participation of the chapters in the policy positions development and policy discussion in general and to continue providing tools to support the chapters in their association with ISOC mission and vision.

We also continue to work in the permanent strengthening of the Chapters development and support team across the world.  While Joyce has taken new responsibilities this year, she remains in charge of the strategic aspects of the work with the Chapters, Nancy increased her workload and she has now coordination responsibilities of the team. We added Victor Ndonnang to work with Christine in Africa and Middle East. We are hiring a new resource in Asia and Pacific to replace Naveed, who has been promoted. And unfortunately, but for very good personal reasons, Tommi will leave very soon and we will hire somebody new in Europe. 
Ilda will continue to lead Beyond the Net, and we expect to have somebody at some point in 2017 in North America to work with Mark on chapter related issues. 
But, beyond this specific team, more and more people from different ISOC groups and departments are adding the Chapters perspective in their specific scopes everyday. 

There are still other areas in which we need to improve. Our accountability practices related to funding Chapter activities are not the best and they can be improved a lot. It has been pointed out to us by our auditors, by chapter leaders and also by our own staff. We promise to make progress on that. 

Another point that has been raised a few times in the Chapters community is the lack of clear rules to use the ISOC brand. We are in the process of clarifying this issue too. And especially in this next year, the year of the 25th anniversary of ISOC, when we plan to invest more to support our chapters in branding, it looks like the right moment to review it. 

Summarizing, ISOC is investing more and more every year in activities and projects related to the chapters and the chapters are being included more and more in our work and processes. We know that it is never enough and we work based on that assumption. The existence of the Chapters AC and the dynamic interaction between the Chapters AC and other components of the organization are an excellent basis to continue to move in the right direction. 


In 2017 we will continue to improve the Chapters support activities, launching new initiatives, managing the resources based on better practices and clear rules, with increased transparency and accountability, and, what is most important, we will continue to work together to advance our Mission and Vision. 


Happy New Year for everybody, 



Raúl