[DC-Trade] Changes to the Open Digital Trade Network and IGF Dynamic Coalition on Trade and the Internet

[Jeremy Malcolm]

This update goes out both to the IGF Dynamic Coalition (DC) on Trade and
the Internet, and also to the Open Digital Trade Network (ODTN);
apologies if you receive it twice. If you have recently returned from
vacation, I hope that it went well and look forward to a productive new
year of collaboration with you. For those who attended the DC's
*inaugural meeting* at the IGF, here is a draft report of that meeting
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DxVPV54NXYlV7PJkDPMgmmv-XHKzko_mgmHFVPrkBXI/edit#>
for your review and comment.

During 2016 and 2017, EFF would sent out a *weekly update* to member of
the ODTN, with hyperlinks to working items being tracked in our online
platform at opendigital.trade <https://opendigital.trade>. Although I
have received feedback that the email update itself has been useful, it
has been increasingly obvious that the platform—which contains
productivity tools for both the ODTN and the DC (a task tracker, wiki,
calendar, document repository, contact database, and forums) is not
really being used at all.

Additionally, the separation of the *ODTN and the DC**has created some
redundancy and confusion*. When we originally resolved to form a DC, it
was decided not to simply to roll the ODTN into it, because the
requirement that DCs have open membership and public mailing lists did
not work for some members. Hence we retained the ODTN as a private and
invitation-only strategy group that would continue alongside the DC
(here is an article
<https://policyreview.info/articles/analysis/contested-meanings-inclusiveness-accountability-and-transparency-trade>
in which I unpack this tension around publicness and the need for two
separate groups).

So for 2018 and going forward we will be experimenting with some
changes. *The short version* is that if you are an ODTN member, you
would become a DC member also and be added to its low-volume mailing
list, which will receive a new newsletter in place of the task-tracker
based weekly updates. The DC will thereby become the new umbrella
structure for the ODTN's projects and any other related projects
coordinated by DC members.

*The long version* is as follows:

  * *The weekly update emails will be replaced with a periodic
    newsletter* which will go out to DC members, and will no longer be
    based directly on activities in the task tracker of the online platform.
  * Instead of managing a multiplicity of tasks through our online
    platform, we will *focus on a few broader key projects* under the
    aegis of the IGF Dynamic Coalition, each independently led by its
    own coordinator. The ODTN project on transparency and participation
    will become one of these, and its members will thereby become DC
    members also.
  * Projects led by DC members *can have **closed memberships and
    private mailing lists*, but to fulfill the IGF's rules the
    coordinator will be responsible for summarizing discussions back to
    the main DC mailing list and in the DC's annual report periodically.
  * The task tracker, calendar and other *productivity tools will become
    for the project coordinator's use only* (though they can grant
    access to others). The opendigital.trade website will be revamped to
    become more of a public-facing resource, highlighting our outputs,
    projects and writings.

This is aimed at simplifying and making our collaboration more effective
in 2018, by reducing some of the the duplication of maintaining two
separate groups, while continuing to enable people to work on specific
projects with a chosen group of collaborators. If you have any comments
before the suggested changes go into effect, please share them.
Otherwise, ODTN members will be added to the DC mailing list and will
receive their first newsletter of 2018 in the next couple of weeks.

-- 
Jeremy Malcolm
Senior Global Policy Analyst
Electronic Frontier Foundation
https://eff.org
jmalcolm at eff.org

Tel: 415.436.9333 ext 161

:: Defending Your Rights in the Digital World ::

Public key: https://www.eff.org/files/2016/11/27/key_jmalcolm.txt
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