Internet Governance - Why the Multistakeholder Approach Works

Editor's Notes

• #2: Introduction There is no one multistakeholder model. It is a way of doing things. The multistakeholder approach is a set of tools or practices that all share one basis: ‘Individuals and organizations from different realms participating alongside each other to share ideas or develop consensus policy’. The multistakeholder approach brings stakeholders together to solve common problems or to achieve goals. It favors cooperation and collaboration, because we get better answers to questions when many voices can take part in the discussion. Multistakeholder decision-making is accountable, sustainable, and effective. The better the inputs and the more inclusive the process, the better the outputs and their implementation.
• #3: Shared goals and methods: The Internet is open, distributed, interconnected, and transnational. The key Internet principles which make the Internet a global platform for innovation and economic growth are: participatory bottom-up processes, prioritizing the stability and integrity of systems, and maintaining the open nature of the underlying technologies. The Internet’s multistakeholder approach has come to be accepted as the optimal way to make policy decisions for a globally distributed network. In this governance framework, issues must be addressed by all relevant stakeholders in a spirit of collaboration and shared responsibility. The harder and more interconnected the problem, the more multistakeholder the path to the solution needs to be. Experience has shown that shared goals are important to success, and focused goals help build consensus. Respect each other’s perspectives and time, and build on existing structures and relationships.
• #4: When is the multistakeholder approach useful? The multistakeholder approach is useful, robust, and adapable: when decisions impact a wide and distributed range of people and interests, where there are overlapping rights and responsibilities across sectors and borders, if different forms of expertise are needed, such as technical expertise, and/or where legitimacy and acceptance of decisions directly impacts the implementation.
• #5: The Internet’s governance landscape This diagram shows the organizations and communities that have organically evolved to guide the operation and development of the technologies and infrastructure that comprise the global Internet. These organizations share common values and a shared commitment to the open development of the Internet. The multistakeholder model is a logical consequence of the Internet’s original design. The Internet’s protocols and standards have been developed openly and transparently with everyone who wants to participate. Stakeholders bring their expertise and enthusiasm and work collaboratively to deliver better outputs that can be implemented. These stakeholders include the public and private sectors, academia, and civil society. Because decision-making is consensus-driven, standards are voluntarily adopted. The Internet’s multistakeholder approach drives innovation and economic stimulation. It contributes to the evolution of the Internet.
• #6: Attributes of successful multistakeholder decision-making The work of the global Internet community spans across the years and across the various policy and technical issues that the Internet has faced and will continue to face. We have learned a lot about working effectively with and alongside a variety of legal and regulatory regimes. All this work has allowed certain attributes to emerge; they may be applied to existing multistakeholder processes to keep them evolving to effectively serve the global public good. They can also be applied to a range of governmental and multilateral processes and institutions where they will help make decision-making more collaborative and effective, and produce workable outcomes that all stakeholders can implement: 1) Inclusiveness and transparency Those significantly affected by a decision should have the chance to be involved in making it. The less inclusive a process is, the less likely it is to gain the trust and support of those outside the process. 2) Collective responsibility We must all share a sense of ownership for realising the benefits that the Internet can bring. 3) Effective decision-making and implementation Decisions should be made based on open and deliberative processes that consider a wide range of sources and perspectives. Stakeholders who have been a part of the process tend to work harder to make its implementation a success. 4) Collaboration through distributed and interoperable governance The Internet is a group effort, with different actors teaming up and working together. The organizations that coordinate the Internet collaborate where appropriate and otherwise focus on doing their best at their respective jobs. We must recognize this autonomy and keep dialogue and mutual participation to areas of overlap.
• #7: Conclusion Multistakeholder decision-making is a set of behaviors and practices that can be applied to almost anything. It will make your ways of working more robust, more effective, and better able to deal with complex issues. Briefing Paper URL: http://www.internetsociety.org/doc/internet-governance-why-multistakeholder-approach-works