FIDE Development Levels Redesign Survey

The FIDE Planning and Development Commission (PDC) has reached out all national federations through the official email addresses about a very important topic related to the level of support that you may receive from FIDE: the Development Levels (also known as “Development Index” https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/DevelopmentIndexRegulations)

FIDE development fund is a catalyst to support less developed national federations in their endeavors, speeding up their growth by funding some foundational chess projects for the sustainability of their activities. Federations that are more developed shall also get supported for their continued efforts to develop chess in their country.  

For years, FIDE has used the average ratings of the top 10 players to determine the stage of federation development within the FIDE family. Though this was a fair basis upon which to initially assess development, it was found to be insufficient as it did not contemplate other factors when looking at the level of development of a chess federation.

One of PDC’s projects is to renovate the Development Levels, by the coming Congress in Budapest (Sept. 2024): renovate the Development Levels, by the coming Congress in Budapest (Sept. 2024):
* by adding more criteria to their calculation
* by clarifying the various use cases that involve them

The project has been in the pipeline for a few years already and we need to conclude it now. To achieve our target and ensure a wider analysis of the global needs, we believe that it is important to collect your inputs and views about the Development Levels. The more input we collect, the better our understanding of the different views will be.

The survey is split into 2 sections and based on the work already done by PDC in the past:
1. Positioning of the Development Levels (in which cases to use them)
2. Calculation of the Development Levels (which parameters to consider)

The survey (link has been sent to your official email address) will be open between the 27th of February and the 15th of March 2024. Please take a few minutes to share the vision of your federation. Your collaboration will be highly appreciated!

Gens una sumus

Laurent FREYD
FIDE PDC Chairman