As part of our ongoing efforts to encourage members of the regional Internet community to participate, LACNIC has introduced a variety of new instruments to help the community develop and modify policies implemented in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The initiatives, which were launched last year, aim to achieve greater community participation. They include the Policy Shepherds program and the List of Policy Improvements.
The goal of the Policy Shepherds initiative is to help new authors submit policy proposals. Policy shepherds are individuals who have experience in the policy development process and can help new authors.
"Because they have never drafted a proposal, new authors might need some assistance. Policy shepherds can offer guidance to those who feel they might need it," explained Gianina Pensky, Policy Officer at LACNIC.
In 2015, there were two notable cases of newcomers relying on policy shepherds for assistance: Nicolas Antoniello shepherded policy 2.3.2.18, and Juan Peirano shepherded policy proposal "Inter-RIR Transfers."
Another tool designed to promote a more active response from the community is the List of Policy Improvements (Lista de Mejoras in Spanish). According to Pensky, the goal of the list is to encourage interaction within the community to spur the development of new policies. As community members work together, they can discover potential improvements and submit new policy proposals.
We encourage you to subscribe to the policy mailing list to stay up to date on the latest news on policy development in the LAC region.