This paper synthesizes a set of twelve case studies of real-world governance structures. It is the result of a globally coordinated, independent academic research project by the Network of Centers and Berkman Center for Internet & Society. It examines existing multistakeholder governance groups with the goal of informing the evolution of - and current debate around - the future evolution of the Internet governance ecosystem. Internet governance is an increasingly complex concept that operates at multiple levels and in different dimensions, making it necessary to have a better understanding of how multistakeholder governance groups operate and how they best achieve their goals. With this need in mind, this project aims to deepen our understanding of the formation, operation, and critical success factors of governance groups by studying a geographically diverse set of local, national, and international governance models, components, and mechanisms from within and outside of the sphere of Internet governance.
