The Internet Society Foundation’s Internet Governance Forum (IGF) funding programme supports the organization of IGF events at the local, national, regional and global levels, as well as Schools of Internet Governance. The goal of the IGF is to encourage an open and inclusive multi-stakeholder dialogue on policy issues related to Internet governance. The goal of Schools of Internet Governance is to ensure that diverse actors have the skills to participate in Internet governance structures and shape the future of the Internet.
Programme Objectives
- Contribute to the development of an open and inclusive multi-stakeholder dialogue on Internet governance issues
- Provide opportunities for local, national and regional groups to convene IGFs focused on issues faced by a city, town or country and help people to bring solutions forward to a global level
- Support the development of a cadre of future Internet governance leaders, with the skills and knowledge to positively shape the future of the Internet
- Strengthen the impact of the Internet Society Foundation’s mission through policy discussion and follow-on actions from IGF events
Focus Areas
The Foundation funds the organization of:
- IGFs at the local, national, regional and global levels. This funding could include: covering the costs of IGF Secretariat activities; costs associated with hosting the IGF (space rental, catering); and/or costs associated with encouraging diverse participation (publicity, outreach).
- Schools of Internet Governance. This funding could include: covering the costs of organizing the Schools; the costs associated with running the Schools; and/or hosting students (staff time, space rental, catering).
- Youth Internet Governance Forums. This funding could include: covering the costs of IGF Secretariat activities; costs associated with hosting the IGF (space rental, catering); and/or costs associated with encouraging diverse participation (publicity, outreach).
Please note that the Internet Society Foundation will not consider requests for fellowships programmes, events on the topic of Internet governance that are not IGFs, or travel costs to attend IGFs.
Eligibility
IGF and Schools of Internet Governance funding is available to organizations who are directly involved in the organization of a local, national or regional IGF, or the organization of a School of Internet Governance. In addition, in order to receive Internet Society Foundation funding, organizations must be legally registered and have an official bank account in their name (based on their legal registration).
The Foundation will only fund national or regional IGF initiative that are officially recognized by the United Nations (UN) Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Secretariat.
Recognized national and regional events are generally listed on the UN IGF Secretariat website and meet the core principles for IGFs, as defined in the NRI toolkit. If an event is not currently recognized by the UN, the Foundation will reach out to a representative of the UN IGF Secretariat to verify its eligibility.
Given the time required for the review process (see section below), applications submitted within six (6) weeks of the event date will not be considered.
Application Review Process
Applications are reviewed by Internet Society Foundation Staff to determine whether they meet the eligibility requirements and are aligned with the focus areas. If the funding request is for an IGF event, Foundation staff will also reach out to the UN to confirm that this event is officially recognized.
Please note that this process could take up to six (6) weeks
Funding
One grant is available per organization on an annual basis (per calendar year) at a maximum of:
- USD $3,500 for Local and National IGFs or National Schools of Internet Governance
- USD $10,000 for Regional IGFs and Regional Schools of Internet Governance
Please note: IGF events (local, national or regional), Youth Internet Governance Forums and Schools of Internet Governance will only be funded through one application. Applicants are therefore asked to coordinate with other organizers to ensure only one application is submitted per event.
How To Apply
There are two different application processes for IGFs and Schools of Internet Governance depending on the type of event:
- Regional IGFs and Regional Schools of Internet Governance applications must be submitted online at: https://isocfoundation.fluxx.io/. Only applications submitted in the Foundation’s Grants Management System will be considered.
- Local and National IGFs and National Schools of Internet Governance applications must be submitted by ISOC Chapters through the Beyond the Net Small grants programme.
Please note: Organizations that are not ISOC Chapters can apply for National IGFs IF there are no Chapters in their country. In this case, the organizations would need to apply through the regional IGFs applications using the Fluxx link (please see above).
Incomplete applications or applications that do not meet eligibility requirements will not be considered (see “Eligibility” section above).
Questions?
If you have questions about this programme or the application process, please email Brittany Piovesan.
