Activity report Q2 2022-23
Kia ora,
The purpose of this report is to summarise our delivery to our strategies and plans, and highlight the key metrics that matter to the ongoing health of our organisation.
Our objectives for Q2 of 2022/23 were:
- Undertaking the appointment process of a new permanent Tumu Whakarae, which has seen Vivien Maidaborn join the organisation on 17th October 2022.
- Continuing project Mimosa to build and launch the new registry platform, IRS, in November 2022.
- Ongoing conversations with the Government on how we work together on mis- and dis- information in Aotearoa.
- Monitoring of the Christchurch Call process at the 2022 gathering of Leaders alongside the United Nations meeting.
- Starting to identify the focus of the international Internet governance work INZ will do, with attendance at the ICANN and ITU meetings based on the initial support from Council at the May meeting.
- Receiving the review of Structural Racism.
- Continuing to increase our presence and profile as the leading independent commentator on Internet issues in Aotearoa, on behalf of the Internet community.
We have made substantial progress across all of the significant commitments of our 2022/23 Annual Plan. Q2 represents a particularly significant moment in the change and evolution of InternetNZ, as we focus on outward orientation to serve our registrars, users of .nz and the people of Aotearoa to maximise their benefit in using the Internet.
Andrew Cushen, Interim Chief Executive
Rei kura: treasured teeth - The focus of our action and mahi
Our plan for the year includes six key strategic commitments. The status of our work is summarised as one of three states:
| Status | Description |
| On track | This work is tracking according to our plans and expectations. |
| Within tolerance | This work has deviated from our plans and remedial action is underway. |
| Out of tolerance | This work has deviated from our plans and remediation is not known or unsuccessful. |
Our strategic goal: .nz is a good product
| Goal | Notes | Status |
| Complete the replacement of the .nz registry | We are on track to complete the move to the new registry system on 1 November. Core functionality and project remain within scope and budget. Potential variance is managed through action risk management plan. | Within tolerance |
| .nz policy that continues to manage harm through .nz domain names | We’ve begun work on the first stage of our plan in relation to managing/responding to online harm through the .nz rules. At the same time we are progressing with the panel recommendations and prioritising those that focus on online harm. | On track |
Our strategic goal: we are a Te Tiriti o Waitangi-centric organisation
| Goal | Notes | Status |
| Deepen relationships with Māori through engagements and partnerships | Te Puni Māori has been approached by Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust and Te Matatini Inc to explore forming a potential strategic alliance. This alliance will look at ways we can develop multi-year partnerships with mutual benefit. For immediate attention is how we can engage with the 40th year celebration for Te Kōhanga Reo in Hamilton (10 - 12 Nov), and Te Matatini 50th anniversary (20 - 24 Feb). | On track |
| Build an environment where Te Ao Māori is treasured and embraced | We have completed Te Tiriti o Waitangi organisational team planning on “how Te Tiriti o Waitangi can be central to our mahi”. Teams looked at their current work programme and identified how Māori equitable outcomes can be identified. This work supports the development of Ipurangi Aotearoa’s Te Tiriti o Waitangi framework. | On track |
Our strategic goal: responses to harms
| Goal | Notes | Status |
| Convene and advocate for systemic responses to the challenge of mis- and dis-information in Aotearoa. | Our focus has been on providing input to the government on the issues in this space and on supporting our strategic partner Tohatoha in their misinformation work. We are also preparing to attend the Select Committee hearing on mis and dis information in October. | On track |
Our strategic goal: digital equity and inclusion
| Goal | Notes | Status |
| Working within the Digital Equity Coalition Aotearoa (DECA) framework towards digital equity | We continue to work with and through DECA to support and strengthen their operating ability, as part of our strategic support for this collaborative community vehicle. | On track |
Highlights of the quarter
InternetNZ in the media
We appeared in 76 media stories for the quarter. The topics with the most coverage were:
- The Christchurch Call (InternetNZ's response to the Christchurch Call Leaders Summit and what more needs to be done to realise the Calls commitments).
- The Netsafe Code (InternetNZ's strong concern for the lack of community consultation)
- Taumarunui's Internet outage (InternetNZ calling for the Internet to be treated like a utility)
The majority of our media articles were surrounding our "Internet that benefits" rei kura.
Media highlights
- Jacinda Ardern reveals an initiative that will delve into researching social media algorithms (Today FM interview)
- Study launched to learn effects of social media algorithms (RadioNZ interview)
- Social media giants agree to 'first of its kind' code of conduct in Aotearoa (Stuff article)
- Town back online after Chorus plays whackamole with internet outage (Stuff article)
- Internet: Is it a utility? (InternetNZ Interim CE live on TVNZ Breakfast show - not available on the Internet)
Rei ora: teeth of vitality — The foundations on which we stand
.nz metrics and commentary
Total .nz domains
The chart above shows the total number of .nz domain registrations from Q1 2021 through to Q2 2022. The total number of domains each quarter from Q1 2021 - Q2 2022 is as follows: 724,808; 733,200; 738,309; 741,157; 740,720, 750,368 (respectively).
Creates
The chart above shows the total number of .nz domains created from Q1 2021 through to Q2 2022. The total number of .nz domains created each quarter from Q1 2021 - Q2 2022 is as follows: 29,333; 32,693; 25,623; 25,567; 28,511; 35,822 (respectively). The chart also shows the quarterly change. The percentage of quarterly change each quarter from Q1 2021 - Q2 2022 is as follows: 7.98%; 11.45%; -21.63%; -0.22%; 11.51%; 25.64% (respectively).
Renews and cancels
The chart above shows the total number of .nz domain renewals, cancels and renewal ratio (against cancels) from Q1 2021 through to Q2 2022. The total number of renews each quarter from Q1 2021 - Q2 2022 is as follows: 205,220; 227,784; 203,265; 230,878; 244,192 , 249,138 (respectively). The total number of cancels each quarter from Q1 2021 - Q2 2022 is as follows: -32,582; -28,418; -24,051; -30,600; -37,370, -33,892 (respectively). The renewal ratio (against cancels) for each quarter from Q1 2021 - Q2 2022 is as follows: 86.30%; 88.91%; 89.42%; 88.30%; 86.73%; 88.03%.
Membership metrics and commentary
The chart above shows the InternetNZ membership numbers September 2021 through to September 2022. It groups members into types of fellows, individual, individual plus, small org, large org and the total number. The total number of members each quarter from September 2021 through to July 2022 is as follows: 396, 394, 401, 411, 346, 370 (respectively).
People metrics and commentary
FTE permanent employees
At the end of Q2, we had 36.5 FTE permanent employees. This number is up 2.0 from the prior quarter.
Arrivals and departures
We welcomed two members to our whanau: Assistant Accountant, Senior Policy Advisor.
Health, safety and wellbeing
The HSW committee is now responsible for the ongoing management of our COVID response with support from ELT. We ran a series of events during Mental Health Awareness week to support the wellbeing of our staff and to raise awareness of mental health.
Highlights
There have been three major focuses for the team in this quarter:
- the build-up to the IRS launch — with over half the staff involved in the .nz registry replacement project in some way the build-up to the launch is being felt across all the teams
- the commencement of the Māori Equitable Outcomes work within teams led by Te Puni Māori and
- preparation for the transition to our new Chief Executive.
Partnership metrics and commentary
For the $1mil of community funding, $640k has been invested into strategic partnerships or projects with the following organisations:
- 20/20 Trust
- AUT, World Internet Project
- Digital Future Aotearoa
- FigureNZ
- Tohatoha
- Waka Ama New Zealand
- Digital Equity Coalition Aotearoa, DECA (co-funder with Spark Foundation and Todd Foundation)
- Brainbox Ltd (co-funder with Borrin Foundation)
- NZ Red Cross, Awhi Matahiko Red Cross Settlement (co-funder with Spark Foundation)
$85k is now available for on-demand grants to support people who want a chance to contribute and have an influence on key Internet issues but face barriers to participation. We encourage people seeking to apply to call us first to discuss their possible application; we listen and support people where they need through the application process. We may also offer to ghost-write, or review draft applications if needed.
$240k is set aside for our next contestable grant round, with work yet to progress on the theme, aligned with our strategic direction.
The remaining $35k is tagged for ‘follow up’ funding, there to support projects and initiatives we have funded in the past who need a small amount of additional funds to complete a project where there may be a change. This pool amount aligns to our funding policy of 10% of grant pools available in this financial year.