International Digital Standards: A Case for the Involvement of Actors in the ARIN Service Region

By Pavlina Ittelson – Executive Director, Diplo US

2021 ARIN Community Grant Program Recipient Report

Diplo US received an ARIN Community Grant in 2021 to complete a research project and policy paper on digital standards in the ARIN community — with specific emphasis on the Caribbean region. The report, “International Digital Standards: A Case for the Involvement of Stakeholders in the ARIN Region,” has been published in both English and Spanish.

In addition to publishing a blog post on their website and strengthening coverage of the issue of digital standards on the GIP Digital Watch observatory, Diplo, with ARIN’s involvement, presented two webinar events detailing their findings in February and March 2022. These findings and topics are also covered in Diplo’s monthly Internet Governance briefings and in a guest post published on the ARIN Blog in May 2022.

Click here to learn more about all 2021 ARIN Community Grant Program Recipients.

Achieving Outcomes and Pursuing an Ongoing Vision

Diplo US undertook the International Digital Standards project with two types of outcomes intended. The first, immediate outcome — the report on the involvement of ARIN service countries in international standard-setting processes and the webinars related to this topic — has been achieved.

The second, long-term outcome involves ongoing capacity development activities through promotion of the report and dissemination of its findings. These activities have been undertaken during the project itself, and Diplo US continues to pursue them beyond its duration towards the goal of further capacity development efforts in the ARIN service region. Both project outcomes have increased capacity and understanding of the role of standardization and standard-setting processes for ARIN service countries in the Caribbean region.

Assessing the Project’s Reach

This project has reached more than 10 thousand individuals through promotion, events, and outreach conducted by Diplo US. However, because the outreach activities occurred in cooperation and coordination with ARIN, the total number of individuals reached is, in fact, even higher. Diplo US reached people in the following ways and amounts:

• Promotional emails for the two webinar events were opened and read by about 1,800 individuals.
• A social media campaign conducted between February and May 2022 resulted in total reach/impressions of 10,175.
  • Instagram/Facebook reach: 3,957
  • Twitter impressions: 4,902
  • LinkedIn impressions: 1,316

Benefits to the ARIN Region

Representation of the ARIN service region in international standardization is largely ensured by stakeholders from Canada and the USA, with little representation from the rest of the region in international standard-setting organizations and the ITU and virtually no participation in several other standard development organizations (SDOs). To help close this standardization gap, Diplo’s project has:

• Provided an overview of the engagement of the ARIN region countries in the standard-setting organizations, including a set of recommendations for increasing involvement in these organizations.
• Raised awareness of digital standards in ARIN service countries and of the need to build the capacities of stakeholders.
• Contributed to a better understanding of the involvement of ARIN service region countries in the international standardization processes.

As capacity development is most effective as a continuous process, the research paper was conceived to have a long-term lifespan, was promoted through several channels, and will serve as reference material for both the ARIN membership base and Diplo’s audiences.

“Many thanks to Sorina [Teleanu, Digital Policy Senior Researcher, Diplo,] and colleagues for an excellent study and presentation,” said Richard Hill, an independent mediator, arbitrator, and consultant dealing with WCIT/ITRs, operational aspects of service provision, networks, and performance.

The report and the webinars have been distributed through Diplo offices in Malta, Switzerland, and Serbia. In Switzerland in particular, the report has received considerable interest from the permanent missions of Caribbean countries (Barbados and Bahamas) to the UN in Geneva. Diplo has also received a positive response to the report from the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU).

Watch the video presentation of Diplo’s project update on YouTube.

What’s Next for the Project?

Diplo US plans to continue working toward this project’s long-term goal of raising awareness about digital standards among the small, developing countries in the ARIN service region. They will continue to incorporate and reference the findings in the capacity development programs Diplo undertakes in favor of more active engagement of these countries and their stakeholders in international standard-setting.

About the ARIN Community Grant Program

ARIN provides financial grants in support of initiatives that improve the overall Internet industry and Internet user environment. Are you working on a project that advances ARIN’s mission and broadly benefits the Internet community within the ARIN region through informational outreach, research, Internet technical improvements, or Registry processes and technology improvements? Visit the ARIN Community Grant Program page for more information and to find out when and how your organization can apply in 2023. For application tips and support, read this post on our blog.

Any views, positions, statements, or opinions of a guest blog post are those of the author alone and do not represent those of ARIN. ARIN does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or validity of any claims or statements, nor shall ARIN be liable for any representations, omissions, or errors contained in a guest blog post.

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