Toolkit on Internet Public Policy Dialogue

The 'Toolkit on Internet Public Policy Dialogue' is a guide published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in September 2012. It provides policy practitioners with a structured, multistakeholder approach to gathering evidence and securing public consent for Internet and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policies. The toolkit emphasizes 'adaptive policy making' to respond to the rapidly evolving technological landscape and provides eight specific tools—ranging from expert roundtables and policy mapping to online surveys and public forums—to facilitate inclusive dialogue across government, private sector, civil society, and academia.

• Internet public policy requires a broad multistakeholder approach because the Internet's impact extends beyond technical management into domains such as rights, security, environmental impacts, intellectual property, and economic development.
• The toolkit advocates for 'adaptive policy making,' which is described as a dynamic and ongoing process of continuous learning that allows practitioners to respond to uncertainties and change.
• The principle of subsidiarity is central to the toolkit, suggesting that policy action should occur at the lowest jurisdictional level (local, regional, or national) consistent with effectiveness.
• Multistakeholder collaboration faces four primary challenges: legitimacy (the need for neutrality and diversity of voices), capture (the risk of powerful stakeholders biasing the process), challenging vested interests (resistance from privileged lobbyists), and effectiveness (the need for tangible outcomes rather than just dialogue).
• The toolkit identifies several key global technical Internet governance institutions, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Internet Society (ISOC), and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
• The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is highlighted as a unique UN-system forum based on multistakeholderism rather than traditional intergovernmental structures, serving as a model for national and regional forums.
• Tool 2 (Mapping the Broad Policy and ICT Landscape) is a rigorous research process used to document existing policies, stakeholders, and policy gaps, serving as a baseline for other evidence-gathering tools.
• Tool 3 (Online Surveys) is used to create a baseline of stakeholder opinions and perceptions, though the document warns that it may be discriminatory in areas with limited Internet access.
• Tool 4 (Focus Groups) allows for the exploration of perceptions and attitudes within specific geographic or thematic groups, providing qualitative data that can triangulate survey results.
• Tool 5 (Scenarios and Backcasting) helps stakeholders imagine possible futures—both ideal and undesirable—to identify the policy decisions needed today to achieve a desired outcome.
• Tool 6 (Online Discussion Boards, Forums and Lists) provides a space for asynchronous consultation and community building, as exemplified by the KICTAnet experience in Kenya.
• Tool 8 (Background Papers, Policy Briefs and White Papers) focuses on presenting evidence to policy-makers, with policy briefs specifically designed to be short (preferably four pages) and action-oriented.

APA

Akoh, B., Egede-Nissen, B., & Creech, H. (2012). Toolkit on Internet Public Policy Dialogue. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/iisd_toolkit_internet_public_policy_bw.pdf

Chicago

Akoh, Ben, Bjørnar Egede-Nissen, and Heather Creech. Toolkit on Internet Public Policy Dialogue. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2012. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/iisd_toolkit_internet_public_policy_bw.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Akoh |first1=Ben |last2=Egede-Nissen |first2=Bjørnar |last3=Creech |first3=Heather |title=Toolkit on Internet Public Policy Dialogue |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=September 2012 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/iisd_toolkit_internet_public_policy_bw.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{akoh2012toolkit, author = {Akoh, Ben and Egede-Nissen, Bjørnar and Creech, Heather}, title = {{Toolkit on Internet Public Policy Dialogue}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2012}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/iisd_toolkit_internet_public_policy_bw.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }