Policy Development 

Number Resource management policies are developed through an open Policy Development Process (PDP). There is no specific requirement to participate in the PDP. Anyone can propose and discuss policy proposals irrespective of geographicallocation,gender and race.

Policy discussions happen mostly on the  resource policy discussion (rpd)   mailing list, which is open to anyone, including all its archives, and at AFRINIC Public Policy Meetings, which take place twice yearly.

Please click here to download the policy development process flow chart.  

Understanding the nomenclature of policy proposals

Policy proposals are assigned the following different “status” values in their PDP life cycle until they have been implemented and added to the Consolidated Policy Manual.

ID format for New Policy Proposals

Each policy proposal is assigned a unique ID of the format below: 

"AFPUB-YYYY-Category-Number"-draft-nn"

• YYYY=year in long format e.g., 2011
• Category refers to resource or service type affected by the proposal. Valid categories are ASN=AS Numbers, v4=IPv4, v6=IPv6, DNS=all DNS matters, GEN=all others.
• Number= Serial number within that year starting from 001 for that category of policy documents.
• nn=Integer that starts with 01 and increases by 1 for every new version of the proposal. 
• If/when the proposal is implemented, numbering is abandoned as the content as ratified will get inserted into the Policy Manual.

Propose a Policy

Participate in the Policy Development Process

• Subscribe to the RPD mailing list and join the discussions. Archives of all previous discussions are available here.
• Propose new policy or a modification to existing policy.
• Attend a public policy meeting in person or remotely to discuss your proposal and other proposals. Minutes of all previous policy discussions at public policy meetings are available here.

Propose a Policy

• Please use the policy proposal template below to format and present your proposal.
• Send the policy proposal to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it copied to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . According to the provisions of the PDP, a proposal can also be posted directly to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (the policy discussion mailing list). We however recommend that it is shared with the PDWG co-chairs first in case any structural changes to the content and formatting are needed.