The DNS Research Federation has secured funding for the creation of the world's first Internet Standards Observatory.

Monitoring proposals that could shape the future of the internet

The Internet Standards Observatory will support the production of Internet standards that enable the evolution of one global, free and open Internet. The Observatory will identify and monitor standards proposals that could significantly shape the future of the Internet and that require special attention and collective-thinking from the global Internet community.

The Internet Standards Observatory will also provide tools and draw on independent research and insights to help organisations to navigate Internet standards and equip people with the knowledge and confidence they need to engage in standards.

Contributing towards the prevention of internet fragmentation

The Internet Standards Observatory is powered by the DNS Research Federation, an independent, not-for-profit organisation that is committed to safeguarding a better future for the Internet. Making sense of data through objective research, the DNS Research Federation aims to contribute to the prevention of Internet Fragmentation, by encouraging greater engagement from the Internet community in standards development processes.

Internet technical standards are baseline requirements that lay out which protocols and technologies make the Internet work most effectively. The Internet Standards Observatory will reduce the barriers to engagement with Internet standards by facilitating the identification of relevant proposals under discussion and providing tools and insights to industry, technical experts and policy makers to engage with those proposals.

With the generous support of RIPE NCC

The Internet Society Foundation is an avid supporter of one global, open Internet that empowers individuals across the world. The prevention of internet fragmentation is a key priority for the organisation that has supported the Observatory with a US$250,000 research grant for a period of two years. Funds will be used to test the automated identification of relevant standards proposals and produce guidelines and research to facilitate the engagement with Internet standards.

The RIPE NCC – the Regional Internet Registry Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia – encourages the active participation of the technical community across its regions of service in shaping the future of the Internet. The organisation has contributed EUR $34,650 through its Community Projects Fund to set up the Observatory and facilitate the engagement of stakeholders from the RIPE region with proposals that challenge the open, global nature of the Internet.