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6<title>The Web Commons Initiative</title>
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164</head>
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166
167<header>
168 <span class="draft-date">Draft — March 2026</span>
169 <h1>The Web Commons Initiative</h1>
170 <p class="tagline">A multi-stakeholder initiative to collectively fund, govern, and advance the web platform — including the first independent, community-driven web engine.</p>
171</header>
172
173<section>
174 <h2>The Web Is Not Ours</h2>
175 <p>The web runs on three engines, each controlled by a single US company. The web's evolution is shaped by its gatekeepers — not users, governments, publishers, or the broader industry. The result: slow to change, serving only the largest common denominator, and failing those at the edges who need it most.</p>
176 <p class="full-only">The engine-makers have no structural incentive to share power, and true engine diversity remains out of reach.</p>
177</section>
178
179<section>
180 <h2>Proposal for a Web Commons</h2>
181 <p>A non-profit foundation that pools resources from across the web's stakeholder community to fund three streams of work:</p>
182 <div class="streams three-col">
183 <div>
184 <h3>1. Fix & Build in Existing Engines</h3>
185 <p>Fund features, fixes, and standards work in today's engines — giving stakeholders collective voice and leverage.</p>
186 </div>
187 <div>
188 <h3>2. An Independent Web Engine</h3>
189 <p>Accelerate a fourth major engine — collectively funded and governed — starting with Servo, while exploring alternative approaches.</p>
190 </div>
191 <div>
192 <h3>3. R&D for the Future Web</h3>
193 <p>Fund research into the longer-term future of browsers — new architectures, capabilities, and paradigms beyond what today's engines support.</p>
194 </div>
195 </div>
196</section>
197
198<section>
199 <h2>What the Web Commons Foundation Does</h2>
200 <ul>
201 <li>Identify and organize stakeholders across sectors</li>
202 <li>Gather and prioritize collective needs annually</li>
203 <li>Pool and manage funds from members</li>
204 <li>Deploy funding to an ecosystem of implementers and maintainers</li>
205 <li>Coordinate — not compete with — existing standards bodies (W3C, IETF, etc.)</li>
206 </ul>
207 <div class="callout full-only">
208 <p><strong>What it does not do:</strong> build software directly or create new standards. It funds and coordinates the people who do.</p>
209 </div>
210</section>
211
212<section class="full-only">
213 <h2>Who It's For</h2>
214 <div class="two-col">
215 <div>
216 <strong>Industry</strong>
217 <ul>
218 <li>Browser & engine makers</li>
219 <li>Device manufacturers</li>
220 <li>Developer tools & frameworks</li>
221 <li>Publishers & media</li>
222 <li>Web consultancies & implementers</li>
223 </ul>
224 </div>
225 <div>
226 <strong>Public Interest</strong>
227 <ul>
228 <li>End users & digital rights advocates</li>
229 <li>Policymakers & regulators</li>
230 <li>NGOs & civil society</li>
231 </ul>
232 </div>
233 </div>
234</section>
235
236<section>
237 <h2>Structure & Governance</h2>
238 <ul>
239 <li>European non-profit foundation with a rotating board</li>
240 <li>Tiered membership: revenue-generating and non-revenue-generating</li>
241 <li>Annual in-person summit, quarterly remote reviews, monthly working sessions</li>
242 <li>Lean operations: Executive Director + administration</li>
243 </ul>
244</section>
245
246<section>
247 <h2>Budget & Cost Breakdown</h2>
248
249 <!-- One-pager: compact summary -->
250 <p class="brief-only">€600K over three years (€200K/year), fully grant-funded. Split in thirds: staff, operations/events, and grants. Member dues begin year two; by year three the foundation is self-sustaining.</p>
251
252 <!-- Full version: detailed table and explanation -->
253 <div class="full-only">
254 <p>Target funding: €600K over three years (€200K/year), allocated in equal thirds:</p>
255 <table class="budget">
256 <thead>
257 <tr><th>Category</th><th>Annual</th><th>Share</th></tr>
258 </thead>
259 <tbody>
260 <tr><td>Staff (Executive Director, Program Coordinator)</td><td>€67K</td><td>33%</td></tr>
261 <tr><td>Operations & events (legal, accounting, infrastructure, annual summit, quarterly reviews)</td><td>€67K</td><td>33%</td></tr>
262 <tr><td>Grants & commissions (engine work, standards contributions, R&D)</td><td>€67K</td><td>33%</td></tr>
263 <tr><td>Total</td><td>€200K</td><td>100%</td></tr>
264 </tbody>
265 </table>
266 <p style="margin-top: 0.5rem;">Staff costs cover the two core roles that make the foundation operational: an Executive Director to lead strategy, stakeholder relationships, and fundraising, and a Program Coordinator to manage funded work, organize events, and handle day-to-day operations. The remaining two-thirds flow directly into the foundation's mission — operations and convenings that bring stakeholders together, and grants to implementers and researchers advancing the web platform.</p>
267 </div>
268</section>
269
270<section class="full-only">
271 <h2>Funding Model & Sustainability</h2>
272
273 <!-- Full version: detailed ramp and membership tiers -->
274 <div class="full-only">
275 <p>The €200K/year bootstrap budget is fully covered by grant funding (EU programs, philanthropic foundations) for the entire three-year establishment period. This is not a declining subsidy — the full baseline is secured upfront so the foundation can focus on building, not fundraising.</p>
276 <p>Member dues collected during this period are additive. They expand the foundation's capacity beyond the baseline — funding additional grants, events, or staff as the coalition grows. The goal is not to backfill the bootstrap budget with member income, but to build a parallel revenue stream that is ready to sustain the foundation independently when the three-year grant period ends.</p>
277
278 <table class="funding-ramp">
279 <thead>
280 <tr><th></th><th>Year 1</th><th>Year 2</th><th>Year 3</th><th>Year 4+</th></tr>
281 </thead>
282 <tbody>
283 <tr><td>Bootstrap grants</td><td>€200K</td><td>€200K</td><td>€200K</td><td>—</td></tr>
284 <tr><td>Member dues (additive)</td><td>—</td><td>€80K</td><td>€150K</td><td>€200K+</td></tr>
285 <tr><td style="font-weight: 600;">Total capacity</td><td style="font-weight: 600;">€200K</td><td style="font-weight: 600;">€280K</td><td style="font-weight: 600;">€350K</td><td style="font-weight: 600;">€200K+</td></tr>
286 </tbody>
287 </table>
288
289 <p style="margin-top: 0.5rem;">Membership is tiered to ensure broad participation:</p>
290 <ul>
291 <li><strong>Large enterprises / major stakeholders:</strong> €15–25K/year</li>
292 <li><strong>Mid-size companies:</strong> €5–10K/year</li>
293 <li><strong>Small organizations & startups:</strong> €1–3K/year</li>
294 <li><strong>Non-revenue / NGO / academic:</strong> nominal or waived</li>
295 </ul>
296 <p style="margin-top: 0.35rem;">As the foundation demonstrates value through funded work, dues become self-reinforcing: members see direct returns through prioritized features and fixes, which attracts new members. By the end of year three, the member base is large enough to sustain baseline operations independently — and the foundation transitions from grant-funded to member-sustained without a gap.</p>
297 </div>
298</section>
299
300<section>
301 <h2>Three-Year Plan</h2>
302 <div class="streams">
303 <div>
304 <h3>Year 1 — Establish</h3>
305 <ul>
306 <li>Incorporate foundation, recruit founding members</li>
307 <li>Hire Executive Director and minimal staff</li>
308 <li>First stakeholder needs assessment</li>
309 </ul>
310 </div>
311 <div>
312 <h3>Year 2 — Coordinate</h3>
313 <ul>
314 <li>Formalize priority-setting and funding allocation</li>
315 <li>Expand membership and stakeholder representation</li>
316 <li>Direct initial funded work in existing engines</li>
317 </ul>
318 </div>
319 </div>
320 <div class="streams" style="margin-top: 0.8rem;">
321 <div>
322 <h3>Year 3 — Ready to Drive</h3>
323 <ul>
324 <li>Governance and decision-making processes proven</li>
325 <li>Member dues sufficient to sustain operations after bootstrap period</li>
326 <li>Organization fully operational and ready to lead the larger engine initiative</li>
327 </ul>
328 </div>
329 <div>
330 <h3>Key Outcomes</h3>
331 <ul>
332 <li>The first-ever multi-stakeholder coalition for web platform governance</li>
333 <li>A credible, funded organization ready to drive an independent web engine</li>
334 <li>Collective priority-setting reshaping how the web evolves</li>
335 </ul>
336 </div>
337 </div>
338</section>
339
340<footer>
341 <span><a href="https://webtransitions.org">webtransitions.org</a></span>
342 <span>March 2026</span>
343</footer>
344
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