DNS Entrepreneurship Center (DNS-EC)
Strategic Plan
(July 2019 - June 2022)
DNS-EC
Vision
To become a trusted body that works to grow the
domain name industry in Africa and the Middle East.
DNS-EC Mission
To foster the evolution of a robust and healthy domain name
marketplace in Africa and the Middle East, through understanding and addressing
the local needs of the region and providing an entrepreneurial platform, for
business development, collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Introduction
The
DNS-EC strategic plan consists of three main strategic objectives, to support the development of the
Internet ecosystem in Africa and the Middle East, act as a network of resources
to strengthen the domain name industry in the region and to establish a leading
role in advancing Egypt's DNS infrastructure and services. Each of the three
strategic strands is achieved through a series of goals, action steps,
outcomes, costs and expected dates of completion.
Strategic
Objectives
A.
Support
the development of the Internet ecosystem in Africa and the Middle East.
B.
Act
as a network of resources to strengthen the domain name industry Africa and the
Middle East
C.
Establish
a leading role in advancing Egypts DNS infrastructure and services
First Strategic Objective
A.
Support
the development of the Internet ecosystem in Africa and the Middle East.
Goals
1.
Develop
capacities in all aspects of the DNS policy, legal, technical and business
2.
Outreach
and awareness building
3.
Work
to bridge the gender diversity gap in the DNS industry
4.
Build
a network of experts that can help develop the industry
Second Strategic Objective
B.
Act
as a network of resources to strengthen the domain name industry in Africa and
the Middle East.
Goals
1.
Serve
as a repository for the DNS industry in the region (contacts, events, material)
2.
Lend
support and expertise to registries, registrars, and other players as
appropriate
Third Strategic Objective
C.
Establish
a leading role in advancing Egypt's DNS infrastructure and services.
1.Ensure that the DNS-EC is well established and is operationally
sustained
2.Develop a plan to further develop Egypts top-level domain
Registries (.eg) and (.مصر)
3.Develop partnerships with key stakeholders to support DNS-EC work
and goals
Action Plan
Action Activities Expected Outcomes -KPIs
First Strategic Objective
A.
Support
the development of the Internet ecosystem in Africa and the Middle East
Goal:
1.
Develop
capacities in all aspects of the DNS policy, legal, technical and business
Action Plan
a.
Conduct
Workshops in all aspects of the DNS technical, legal, policy and business
b.
Conduct
online courses
c.
Youth
capacity Building Program
d.
Community
and regional ALSs cooperation with GAC representatives
Action Activities
a.
Conduct
Workshops in all aspects of the DNS technical, legal, policy and business
1.Reaching out to the community in
Egypt, Africa and the ME region to determine the
required courses
2.Preparing the required material
for the courses and determining the required
instructors
3.Advertising the workshops
4.Conducting the workshops
Expected Outcomes
o
Skill
development and capacity building throughout the region
o
More
regional participation in ICANN policy development
KPIs
·
Numbers
of Workshops in Egypt per year
·
Number
of Workshops in Africa and the Middle East per year
·
Number
of trainees per year
Action Activities
b.
Conduct
online courses
1.
Cooperating
with companies and institutes with developed online courses
2.
Ensuring
the availability of the technical requirements required to conduct the courses
including necessary bandwidth if required
3.
Advertising
the Courses
Expected outcomes
Reaching out to a wider community in relation to skills development
and capacity building
KPIs
1. Number of online courses conducted per year
2. Number of trainees per year
Action Activities
c.
Youth
capacity Building Program
1.
Continuing
working with the academic institutes in Egypt
2.
Reaching
out to postgraduate students
Expected outcomes
Raising awareness and developing the skills of the youth in the academic
institutes
KPIs
1.
Number
of courses conducted per year
2.
Number
of trainees per year
Action Activities
d.
Community
and regional ALSs cooperation with GAC representatives
1.Identifying regional ALSs that
could engage with the regional GAC representatives
2.Conducting mutual workshops on
the ground
Expected outcomes
1.Alignment between the needs of
the community and the GAC representative goals
2.Informed community participation
KPIs
1.List of participants from both
sides
2.Number
of workshops in this regard
First Strategic Objective
A.
Support
the development of the Internet ecosystem in Africa and the Middle East.
Goal:
2.
Outreach
and Awareness Building
Action Plan
a.
Awareness
Building Online Courses
b.
Outreach
Program
c.
Join
Community Efforts to Promote The Use of IDNs
d.
Awareness
Videos and Brochures
Action Activities
a.
Awareness
Building Online Courses
1. Providing African Youth with digital
literacy in key emerging technologies through making IBM digital Nation Africa platform
available through
DNS-EC
2. Cooperating with IBM on digitally
advertising the course
3. Putting DNS-EC logo on IBM's website in relation to the course
Expected Outcomes
o Enabling African citizens, entrepreneurs
and communities with the knowledge, tools and skills to innovate, design,
develop and launch their own solutions
o
Extending DNS-EC outreach
KPIs
·
Number of registrations to the online course
·
Number of certificates issued
·
Digital advertising actions
Action Activities
b.
Outreach
program
1.
Continue
to reach out to students from different disciplines through faculties organized
events like career fairs and others
2.
Continue
to participate in regional and local events
3.
Create
a list of community members who would like to remain in touch and informed and
creating a mailing list for this purpose
Expected Outcomes
o Raising awareness about the DNS and how the Internet works
o Increased participation from the region
KPIs
·
Number
of events attended by the center
·
Number
of community members that are on the mailing list
Action Activities
c.
Join
Community efforts to promote the use of IDNs
1. Conducting awareness sessions about IDNs
2. Helping the community to understand UA and
its importance to the industry
Expected Outcomes
o Helping the community to become UA ready
o Increase in the number of registrations
KPIs
·
Number of sessions conducted in this regard
·
Number of participants
Action Activities
d.
Awareness
Videos and Brochures
1.
Creating
awareness videos about the DNS industry
2.
Creating
awareness videos and printing brochures about the center for a better outreach
3.
Making
material available in different languages
Expected Outcomes
o
Better
outreach to the community
KPIs
·
Videos produced
·
Advertising material and brochures
First Strategic Objective
A.
Support
the development of the Internet ecosystem in Africa and the Middle East.
Goal:
3.
Work
to bridge the gender diversity gap in the DNS industry
Action Plan
a.
Create
a network for women in IT in the region and conduct women
oriented workshops and or awareness sessions
Action Activities
a.
Create
a network for women in IT in the region and conduct women
oriented workshops and or awareness sessions
1.Set up a mailing list and a blog
for the women IT network
2.Set up a Facebook page for the
group
3.Partner with women organizations
like the National Council for Women in
Egypt to organize mutual events
4.Form
a network for women in IT for AFRALO women and the Middle East
women
Expected Outcomes
o
Help
women work on topics of mutual interest in relation to IT
o Bridging the gender diversity in the DNS industry in the region
KPIs
·
Forming
a women in technology network in the region
·
Number
of participants
First Strategic Objective
A.
Support
the development of the Internet ecosystem in Africa and the Middle East.
Goal:
4.
Build
a network of experts that can help develop the industry
Action Plan
a.
Facilitate
engagement and collaboration among registry operators, registrars and people
interested in the domain name business in the region
b.
Seek
potential instructors from the region and help them attend courses conducted by
ICANN like train the trainer and similar skills development courses
Action Activities
a.
Facilitate
engagement and collaboration among registry operators, registrars and people
interested in the domain name business in the region
1. Call for interested parties to get involved.
2. Create blogs and mailing lists to
allow collaboration
Expected Outcomes
o A list of community members that can help in the development of the
industry in the region.
KPIs
·
Created
and active groups
Action Activities
b.
Seek
potential trainers from the region and help them attend courses conducted by
ICANN like train the trainer and similar skills development courses
1. Advertise available programs and workshops among interested
community
2. Encourage and help interested
candidates to participate
Expected Outcomes
o A group of instructors that can help DNS related courses
KPIs
·
Number
of instructors introduced through the center.
Second Strategic Objective
B.
Act
as a network of resources to strengthen the domain name industry in Africa and
the Middle East.
Goal:
1.
Serve
as a repository for the DNS industry in the region (contacts, events, material)
Action Plan
a.
Develop
strong online presence
b.
Collect
data and statistics about the industry in the region
Action Activities
a.
Develop
strong online presence
1.
Create
a dynamic webpage with community blogs and establish strong online presence
through various platforms
2.
Advertise
the center digitally
3.
Hire
an intern or permanent employee for this purpose
Expected Outcomes
o
Strong
online presence for DNS-EC and better reach to the community
o
Availability
of resources to the community
KPIs
·
The
website and the online presence created
Action Activities
b.
Collect
data and statistics about the industry in the region
1.
Send
out surveys to the community
2.
Conduct
a market study or analysis
Expected Outcomes
o Better understanding to the industry
and the needs of the users in the region
KPIs
·
Number
of surveys sent out to the community
·
Research
or studies conducted through the center
Second Strategic Objective
B.
Act
as a network of resources to strengthen the domain name industry in Africa and
the Middle East.
Goal:
2.
Lend
support and expertise to registries, registrars, and other players as
appropriate
Action Plan
a.
Assist
existing and potential new gTLD registries in understanding the new gTLD
program and help them if required
Action Activities
a.
Assist
existing and potential new gTLD registries in understanding the new gTLD
program and help them if required
1.
Outreach
to potential new
gTLDs from the region, engage in discussions about
the challenges that they face and how the center can help
2.
Provide
consultancy and training programs in relation to the new gTLD program
Expected Outcomes
o
Better
participation from the region in future new gTLD rounds
KPIs
·
Number
of events in this regard
Third Strategic Objective
C.
Establish
a leading role in advancing Egypt's DNS infrastructure and services.
Goal:
1.
Ensure
that the DNS-EC
is well established and operationally sustained
Action Plan
a.
Continue
to develop and retain DNS-EC staff
b.
Ensure
that DNS-EC has the technical requirements necessary to carry on its mission
c.
Establish
partnerships with local and regional entities to help the center in carrying on
its mission
Action Activities
a.
Continue
to develop and retain DNS-EC staff
1.
Hire
an employee or get interns to support the online presence of the center
2.
Develop
the skills of DNS-EC
instructors
Expected Outcomes
o
Strong
DNS-EC staff that can support its activities
KPIs
·
Courses
and trainings attended by DNS-EC staff
Action Activities
b.
Ensure
that DNS-EC has the technical requirements necessary to carry on its mission
1.
Purchasing
servers/laptops and other technical equipment as required
2.
Ensuring
technical maintenance and support to DNS-EC equipment
Expected Outcomes
o
An
infrastructure that can support the center's Activities
KPIs
·
The
infrastructure and the support provided
Action Activities
C.
Establish
partnerships with local and regional entities to help the center in carrying on
its mission
1.
Establish
an MOU with IBM to start using Digital Nation Africa online course
2.
Conclude
the partnership with the Egyptian Universities Network
3.
Conclude
the partnership with NIRA
4.
Conclude
the partnership with Africa gTLD
5.
Seek
other regional partnerships
Expected Outcomes
o
A
strong network of partners that could support the center's goals and activities
KPIs
·
Number
of partnerships conducted
Third Strategic Objective
C. Establish a
leading role in advancing Egypt's DNS infrastructure and services.
Goal:
2.
Develop
a plan to further develop Egypts top-level domain Registries (.eg) and (.مصر)
Action Plan
a.
Invite
(.eg), (dot masr) operators
and people interested from the community to join round table discussions on how
to further develop both registries
b.
Facilitate
cooperation between the registries and registrars with the aim of aligning
efforts to increase the number of registrations
Action Activities
a.
Invite
(.eg), (dot masr) operators
and people interested from the community to join round table discussions on how
to further develop both registries
1.
Make
a list of interested parties
2.
Invite different parties and facilitate round table
discussions
Expected Outcomes
o
A
plan that defines future means of cooperation to help foster the industry in
Egypt
KPIs
·
Number
of events conducted in this regard
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