Hi everyone, Wanted to share this link: https://www.internetsociety.org/action-plan/2019/ And some extracts from it: The most prominent part of our investment in connecting people in 2019 remains our campaign in favor of community networks. (...) In the coming year we will shift our work by establishing enduring technical, policy, and regulatory frameworks that will help communities of the world connect themselves. The whole Internet community—a global, self-sustaining community of industry, governments, technical experts, policy makers, and the community members themselves—is needed to complete this work. The culmination of this effort will be a global summit for this community by the end of 2019, hosted by the Internet Society. The summit will be the expression of a roadmap to advance community networks, and be a foundation for a community-driven organization of community networks to implement the roadmap. We have set intermediate objectives to ensure we are on track to achieve this result. These include garnering economic and political support for community networks. We will work to get at least four governments to express a willingness to use public funds (e.g. Universal service funds) for community networks. We also expect to have two international development agencies pledge to make community networks part of their funding portfolios. (...) Additional activities... (...) Training and skills development, in collaboration with other capacity-development organizations. Success will be measured by the incorporation of trainees into direct network operations, and also by the use of previously-trained people as instructors in subsequent training sessions. (...) Because our efforts on community networks are maturing, 2019 will also be a period of research for viable future efforts. For example, a focus on connecting schools and children, increasing accessibility, or addressing the connectivity needs of displaced people might provide another fruitful approach to promoting connectivity. During 2019 we will conduct research, collect data, and run pilot activities in order to properly assess different options and alternatives that will inform our planning for 2020 and beyond. (...) How we work... (...) Our work is shaped by the understanding that community is much more than belonging to something; it’s about doing something together that makes belonging matter. Yet this is an aspiration we have not consistently achieved. Therefore, in 2019 we will improve our community engagement work by providing inclusive and innovative ways to involve our Community at all levels of our work to advance our mission and strategic objectives. We will continue to support Chapters as they make key contributions to our global priorities at the local level. We will reinvigorate our relationship with Organization Members and Partners as well as Individual Members, and we will develop our relationship with Civil Society to more closely align shared interests and priorities to increase the reach and impact of the Internet Society. In order to achieve these goals, we will complete the realignment of staff functions in order to put membership support and Chapter support together. The effectiveness of the organizational change will be measured in engagement with Chapters (including the health ranking of Chapters) and the successful implementation of an improved organizational membership experience. That improved experience is expected to make organizational membership more attractive, which will be indicated by increased member numbers and increased revenue from members. (...) We will also more closely connect our Individual Members, Organization Members, Partners, and staff by fostering ways for members to engage with each other to develop, promote, and advocate for real-world best practices that support our activities and campaigns. (...) Other organizational developments... (...) Establishing the Internet Society Foundation (...) (a) grants-giving programs and opening new opportunities for initiatives closely aligned with our mission. Grants for: * Chapter capacity building. Chapter grant funding for local and regional projects aligned with the Internet Society’s mission. * Community capacity building. Support for broader initiatives that improve Internet access and bridge the digital opportunities gap. * Disaster relief and recovery. Support to partner efforts to ensure communities can be reconnected quickly after natural disasters. * Research. The Foundation will explore opportunities to fund research and strengthen research capacity across technical, economic and public policy topics. * Innovation. This fund will encourage and fund technology initiatives and innovative technologies that contribute to the open Internet. (...) Regards,