[Chapter-delegates] Proposal to revise ISOC's mission statement

[Richard Hill]

Dear Gonzalo,

One of the members of ISOC-CH has the following questions:

>What precisely is the meaning of the phrase <the worldwide Internet
community>?
>
>What is the justification for the implied claim that it is in fact correct
to refer to this as a <community>?

Best,
Richard

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chapter-delegates [mailto:chapter-delegates-
> bounces at elists.isoc.org] On Behalf Of Gonzalo Camarillo
> Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2017 10:19
> To: chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org
> Subject: [Chapter-delegates] Proposal to revise ISOC's mission
> statement
> 
> Hi,
> 
> the board of trustees of the Internet Society (ISOC) plans to revise
> ISOC's mission statement. We would like to get your comments on the
> proposal we include below. This email discusses the reasons for the
> proposed change, the process we have followed so far to put together
> the current proposal, and the next steps in the process.
> 
> ISOC's current vision and mission statements were developed around
> 2005 and are available at ISOC's web page:
> 
> https://www.internetsociety.org/mission/
> 
> These statements have provided ISOC with a clear direction for many
> years and have been a useful tool for the community.
> 
> What ISOC does in practice to fulfill its vision has evolved over time.
> Looking at the environment in which ISOC operates, there have been
> important changes (some external and some internal to ISOC) that make
> it desirable to revise those statements at this point.
> 
> Externally, the current Internet environment is different from what it
> was when the current statements were developed: regional needs are
> different, communication patterns are different, and the
> standardization landscape is different. Internet users and, thus, also
> ISOC's chapters and members are more international and many of them
> come from developing countries.
> 
> Internally, ISOC's revenue sources have increased significantly from
> 2005 until present. This means that ISOC's potential to realize its
> vision through activities has increased substantially and may still
> continue to increase in the near term. The board considers that simply
> increasing linearly everything ISOC does today would not be a viable or
> desirable approach. Building a large reserve without further advancing
> ISOC's social goals is not a good option either. Instead, ISOC will
> strengthen some of its current areas of engagement and, when
> appropriate, engage in new impactful activities in new areas.
> 
> Our goal is to bring more focus into the organization. The idea is to
> avoid spreading ourselves too thin and, instead, increase ISOC's focus
> on activities that make a difference.
> 
> In order to make those key decisions, staff, the board, and the
> community need to be on the same page regarding ISOC's vision and
> mission, and their underlying meaning. Given that many members of
> staff, the board, and the community were not around when the current
> statements were developed back in 2005, revising them with their
> involvement was considered to be a necessary exercise so that everybody
> feels them as their own. Getting a common sense of ownership is one of
> our main goals.
> 
> In order to have a fresh look at our vision and mission, a set of
> workshops involving the whole staff were organized.  Using an iterative
> process and taking the input from those workshops into consideration,
> further workshops involving the board and ISOC's senior management were
> organized with the help of a facilitator. Some of the workshops were
> virtual and some of them were face-to-face.
> 
> The board had a face-to-face retreat where, based on all the work
> above, revised draft statements were generated. Those draft statements
> were sent to parts of the community (including IETF leadership, ISOC's
> emeriti trustees, and chapter and org members) to get initial comments.
> After gathering a good amount of initial community feedback, the board
> generated new proposed statements addressing the comments received.
> With the process above the board aimed to ensure that the revised
> statements take into account the perspectives of staff as well as our
> wider community.
> 
> The resulting proposed statements (included below) are now ready to be
> sent to our whole community.
> 
> During the process above, we agreed that ISOC's current vision and
> mission are still as valid as ever. With respect to the *statements*
> that capture the spirit of the vision and mission, we do not propose
> any changes to the vision statement.
> 
> With respect to the mission statement, we propose to update it.  One of
> the goals with the new statement is that it is both concise and
> memorable.  Consequently, the mission is stated at a higher abstraction
> level and contains fewer points.
> 
> The current mission statement included a list of activities ISOC
> performs to help achieve our mission. While it seems that list was not
> approved as part of the mission statement back in the day, the initial
> feedback we have gotten from the community clearly indicates that many
> consider capturing the list in an official way important. Therefore, we
> propose to keep those bullets as highlights of activities.
> 
> It is worthwhile noting that, regardless of the outcome in the form of
> a revised mission statement, this process is being very useful in
> itself. It has clearly helped getting a better understanding about
> ISOC's purpose among everybody involved.
> 
> Please, find the proposed statements below and share your comments with
> us on this list. Thanks!
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Gonzalo Camarillo (for the board)
> Chair - ISOC Board of Trustees
> 
> 
> --- Proposal ---
> 
> Vision:
> -------
> 
>   The Internet is for everyone.
> 
> Mission:
> --------
> 
>   The Internet Society champions the development of the Internet as a
>   global technical infrastructure, a resource to enrich people's
>   lives, and a force for good in society.
> 
>   We work with the worldwide Internet community for an Internet that
>   is open, globally-connected, and secure.
> 
>   Together, we focus on:
> 
>   - Building and supporting the communities that make the Internet
> work;
> 
>   - Advancing the development of Internet infrastructure,
>     technologies, and open standards; and
> 
>   - Advocating for sound Internet policy around the world.
> 
> Highlights of Activities:
> -------------------------
> 
>   To help achieve our mission, the Internet Society:
> 
>   - Facilitates open development of standards, protocols,
>     administration, and the technical infrastructure of the Internet.
> 
>   - Supports education in developing countries specifically, and
>     wherever the need exists.
> 
>   - Promotes professional development and builds community to foster
>     participation and leadership in areas important to the evolution
>     of the Internet.
> 
>   - Provides reliable information about the Internet.
> 
>   - Provides forums for discussion of issues that affect Internet
>     evolution, development and use in technical, commercial, societal,
>     and other contexts.
> 
>   - Fosters an environment for international cooperation, community,
>     and a culture that enables self-governance to work.
> 
>   - Serves as a focal point for cooperative efforts to promote the
>     Internet as a positive tool to benefit all people throughout the
>     world.
> 
>   - Provides management and coordination for on-strategy initiatives
>     and outreach efforts in humanitarian, educational, societal, and
>     other contexts.
> 
> --- End of Proposal ---
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