Multistakeholder Advisory Group

Multistakeholder Advisory Group
Name	Multistakeholder Advisory Group
Type	Advisory body
Headquarters	Geneva
Formation	21st century
Region served	International

Multistakeholder Advisory Group is an advisory forum convened to provide strategic guidance to international initiatives, drawing stakeholders from civil society, industry, academia, and intergovernmental bodies. It functions at the intersection of digital policy, internet governance, public health initiatives, and sustainable development, interfacing with entities such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and regional organizations. Members often include representatives affiliated with institutions like the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the World Economic Forum, and major research universities.

Overview

The group operates within a landscape shaped by actors such as the United Nations, European Commission, African Union, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations, while interacting with technical bodies including Internet Engineering Task Force, ICANN and World Wide Web Consortium. It is influenced by global processes exemplified by the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, the UN Charter, and multilateral negotiations like the World Trade Organization rounds. Seat holders and observers often include organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple Inc., Amazon (company), Tencent, Huawei, Cisco Systems, IBM, and academic centers at Harvard University, University of Oxford, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Tsinghua University.

Purpose and Scope

The advisory mandate typically covers cross-sectoral issues connecting initiatives led by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, World Health Organization, International Telecommunication Union, and United Nations Development Programme with private-sector innovation from firms like Salesforce, SAP SE, Oracle Corporation, and civil society campaigns from Electronic Frontier Foundation, Access Now, and Open Rights Group. Scope areas include digital inclusion, data governance, public-private collaboration, and policy frameworks that interact with instruments such as the General Data Protection Regulation, the Digital Services Act, and initiatives like COVAX Facility and Global Fund. The group situates its work alongside forums such as the Internet Governance Forum, World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, and G7 summit discussions.

Membership and Representation

Membership models draw on precedents set by advisory bodies linked to United Nations Secretary-General, World Health Assembly, and boards of organizations like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Participants include representatives from civil society organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam International, Save the Children, and Transparency International; private-sector delegates from Siemens, Intel, PayPal, Visa Inc., and Mastercard; and academic experts affiliated with Columbia University, Yale University, Princeton University, University of Cambridge, and ETH Zurich. Regional representation often involves actors from African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and national bodies like Ministry of Foreign Affairs (France), Department of State (United States), Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and Ministry of External Affairs (India).

Governance and Decision-Making

Governance arrangements are informed by models from the International Telecommunication Union, World Health Organization, UNICEF, and corporate governance practices at Berkshire Hathaway and Alphabet Inc.. Decision-making typically uses consensus-building and charter rules influenced by the UN General Assembly resolutions and advisory panels like those advising the Director-General of the World Health Organization or the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Chairs and co-chairs are often drawn from institutions such as Internet Society, IEEE, The Rockefeller Foundation, and national diplomatic missions to Geneva. Processes incorporate stakeholder accountability mechanisms similar to those in the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund.

Activities and Outputs

Typical outputs include policy recommendations, white papers, capacity-building programs, technical standards input, and multistakeholder statements presented at events like the Internet Governance Forum, UN Climate Change Conference, World Health Assembly, and WSIS Forum. The group organizes workshops, roundtables, and consultations that engage think tanks such as the Brookings Institution, Chatham House, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and RAND Corporation, producing guidance that influences policy instruments like the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and norms articulated by entities such as UNESCO. Outputs are often disseminated through collaborations with foundations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and Ford Foundation.

Criticisms and Controversies

Critiques parallel debates seen around bodies such as the International Chamber of Commerce advisory panels, the World Economic Forum engagements, and corporate influence in UN-linked initiatives. Concerns cited by groups including Public Citizen, Corporate Europe Observatory, and Friends of the Earth address perceived conflicts of interest involving corporations like Amazon (company), Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, transparency standards compared to norms set by Transparency International, and governance legitimacy questions reminiscent of disputes at the Internet Governance Forum and controversies over the TTIP negotiations. Other controversies arise over representation imbalances involving stakeholders from Global South institutions, debates similar to those in BRICS dialogues, and tensions between technical experts from IETF and policy actors from World Economic Forum or national ministries.

Category:International advisory bodies