ICANN Commits to Transparency, auDA Despises It

In the ongoing debacle at auDA, it’s hard not to notice what happens in other organisations, even in the domain name industry.

In the ongoing debacle at auDA, it’s hard not to notice what happens in other organisations, even in the domain name industry.

This week ICANN published the results of their “ICANN59 participant survey, and the technical, demographic, and attendance statistics. There are two reports – the Community Feedback report and the By the Numbers report. These reports summarise our findings from ICANN's second Public Forum Meeting of the new meeting strategy. These reports are part of ICANN's commitment to transparency.”

Note that last word. TRANSPARENCY.

OK, in years gone by transparency and accountability weren’t words that leapt into your mind when you thought of ICANN. But over the years with a lot of pushing from the community it learned it was much better to upfront than to hide.

Move over to Australia, and the .au policy and regulatory body defy logic when it comes to transparency and accountability. AuDA in the days prior to March 2016, when then CEO Chris Disspain was unceremoniously booted out in a bit of a boardroom coup that also saw long serving Chair Tony Staley booted a few months later, was consistently good with transparency and accountability. Meeting minutes were published, minutes and goings on for panels reviewing auDA policies were published, historical records were published and annual reports were published.

But in the months following the boardroom coup, new CEO Cameron Boardman and new Chair Stuart Benjamin oversaw the deletion of these historical documents and vowed they’d never return. But a Freedom of Information request to the Freedom of Information Commissioner at the Department of Communication and the Arts organised by former board member Josh Rowe saw auDA forced to make available 115 documents, previously published on their website but deleted under the new management. Some of these have even returned to the auDA website. However going forward auDA has vowed to keep the documents secret, to continue to hide the goings on in the organisation.

This lack of accountability and transparency is one of the main reasons behind a member revolt against the auDA Chair with a motion to be voted on Monday 31 July at a Special General Meeting. Many auDA members are disgusted at the current auDA leadership. Registrars are worried, some even privately disgusted as well.

* Disclaimer: the writer was an auDA Board member (2005 to 2007), served on 3 auDA Names Policy Panels (2007, 2010 and 2015), was a supplier to auDA for 14 years and is now a supplier to AusRegistry proving online media monitoring services and contributing to the Behind the Dot magazine.

ICANN: CCWG-Accountability – Draft Proposal on Work Stream 1 Recommendations

ICANN logoPurpose (Brief): The CCWG-Accountability offers its Draft Proposal for enhancements to ICANN accountability that have been identified as essential to happen or be committed to before the IANA Stewardship Transition takes place (Work Stream 1)

ICANN logoPurpose (Brief): The CCWG-Accountability offers its Draft Proposal for enhancements to ICANN accountability that have been identified as essential to happen or be committed to before the IANA Stewardship Transition takes place (Work Stream 1).

The six Chartering Organizations for the CCWG-Accountability are asked to indicate their support for the recommendations in this proposal. At the same time, public participants not involved with a Chartering Organization are invited to comment on the proposal. The CCWG-Accountability will attempt to reconcile reactions from Chartering Organizations and public comment prior to submission to the ICANN Board of Directors (currently anticipated for late January 2016).

In order to brief the community on the contents of their Draft proposal, the CCWG-Accountability will host two identical briefing webinars on Wednesday, 2 December at different times to facilitate participation across time zones. The webinars will take place on:

  • 2 December from 11:00 – 12:30 UTC (time zone converter here)
  • 2 December from 20:00 – 21:30 UTC (time zone converter here)

The webinars will be run in an Adobe Connect room. If you are interested in attending the webinar and would like to receive dial-in details, please send an email to acct-staff@icann.org and indicate your language request (if needed). The webinars will be recorded and transcribed. Live interpretation will be made available in English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Arabic, Russian and Portuguese.

Public Comment Box Link: https://www.icann.org/public-comments/draft-ccwg-accountability-proposal-2015-11-30-en

Public Comment Period opens on: 30 November 2015

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-3-2015-11-30-en

Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) | Chairs’ Statement: Thomas Rickert – León Sanchez – Mathieu Weill

ICANN logoThe Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) held its first face-to-face meeting in Frankfurt, Germany on 19-20 January 2015

ICANN logoThe Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) held its first face-to-face meeting in Frankfurt, Germany on 19-20 January 2015.

The Frankfurt meeting was attended by more than fifty members and participants with an additional 40 participants and observers who joined the meeting remotely. The meeting led to significant progress, including initial agreement on a problem statement, a list of “stress tests” and requirements for Work Stream 1. The basic themes were identified in a mind map, which will be a roadmap for the next phase of the group’s work. Participants’ comments at the end of the meeting indicated that the outcomes exceeded expectations.

Background

The scope of the Enhancing ICANN Accountability process is defined as ensuring that ICANN enhances its existing accountability in the absence of its historical contractual relationship with the U.S. Government.

The group’s work is divided into two work streams:

  • WS1 is focused on identifying mechanisms enhancing ICANN accountability that must be in place or committed to within the timeframe of the IANA Stewardship Transition.
  • WS2 is focused on addressing accountability topics for which a timeline for developing solutions and full implementation may extend beyond the IANA Stewardship Transition.

The CCWG-Accountability expects to complete its work on Work Stream 1 within the same timeframe as the parallel, interrelated IANA Stewardship Transition process.

The CCWG-Accountability held its first online meeting on 9 December 2014 and has since held weekly virtual meetings. Transcripts and documents from all CCWG-Accountability meetings are available on the Wiki.

Progress

During its Frankfurt meeting, the CCWG-Accountability advanced a document including a problem statement and a set of definitions relevant to the scope of the work to a level of maturity so that it can now be shared with appointed external Advisors for their review and comment. These definitions clarify the purposes of ICANN‘s accountability, which include compliance to processes and applicable laws, achieving certain levels of performance and security, and ensuring that its decisions are for the benefit of the public, not just in the interests of a particular set of stakeholders and the corporation itself.

The CCWG-Accountability reached initial agreement on requirements to empower the community, which have been identified as necessary for accountability mechanisms considered for Work Stream 1.

The requirements were grouped into two categories:

  • Enabling community empowerment over ICANN Board decisions with limited, strictly enumerated, last resort powers;
  • Enhancing review and redress processes.

The identification of these high-level requirements will guide the next phase of the group’s work. These mechanisms will inform feasibility assessments and the development of solutions for consideration by the CWG-Stewardship.

While obviously focusing on accountability mechanisms, such as review and redress, the CCWG-Accountability reaffirmed its commitment that these mechanisms do not undermine the bottom-up, multistakeholder model.

The CCWG-Accountability also continued its work identifying contingencies – stress tests – against which it will assess and validate its recommendations, as requested by its Charter.

The group agreed on the need to further specify the existing work plan to include an overall timeline, an outreach plan, and efforts to ensure further substantive contributions from the broader global community.

The work of the CCWG-Accountability is just emerging from its formative stages; significant community engagement will come, including an engagement session in February 2015 at the ICANN52 meeting in Singapore.

The CCWG-Accountability also reiterated its commitment to synchronize its efforts with the ongoing work of the naming community (CWG-Stewardship). In addition to the already close coordination between the co-chairs of the two groups, further clarification of the inter-relations and interdependence between both groups was achieved during the meeting.

Next Steps

The CCWG-Accountability will continue to progress in all work paths identified during the Frankfurt meeting. A series of sessions will be held at the upcoming ICANN 52 meeting in Singapore, including a community engagement session and two working sessions, with remote participation. In addition, the group will meet with the ICANN Board.

Anyone interested in participating in or following the work of the CCWG-Accountability can find information on the Wiki here.

About the CCWG-Accountability

The CCWG-Accountability consists of 161 people, organized as 25 members, appointed by and accountable to chartering organizations, 136 participants, who participate as individuals, and 38 mailing list observers. The group also includes one ICANN Board liaison, one ICANN staff representative, and one former ATRT member who serves as a liaison. In addition, there are 4 ICG members who participate in the CCWG-Accountability, including two who serve as liaisons between the two groups.

Six Advisors have also been appointed to contribute research and advice, and to bring perspectives on global best practices to enrich the CCWG-Accountability discussion. The Public Experts Group (PEG) continues its search for an Advisor who will bring expertise in International Law/Jurisprudence and will strive to select this Advisor as soon as possible.

The CCWG-Accountability is an open group: anyone interested in the work of the CCWG-Accountability, can join as a participant. Participants may be from a chartering organization, from a stakeholder group or organization not represented in the CCWG-Accountability or currently active within ICANN, or self-appointed.

Of the 161 CCWG-Accountability members and participants, the regional representation is as follows:

  • 39 North America;
  • 36 Europe;
  • 32 Asia/Asia Pacific;
  • 29 (not specified);
  • 16 Africa;
  • 9 Latin America.

Of the 161 CCWG-Accountability members and participants, the stakeholder group representation is as follows:

  • 62 (no affiliation);
  • 40 GNSO;
  • 25 GAC;
  • 19 At-Large;
  • 11 ccNSO/ccTLD;
  • 4 ASO.

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2015-01-23-en

Webinar Invitation – IANA Stewardship Transition: ICANN Workshop and Webinar for Civil Society and the Noncommercial Sector

IANA logoICANN is hosting an information session to brief and discuss the ongoing evolution of Internet governance. This session will be tailored to provide an update on the U.S. Government’s announcement to transition its oversight of the IANA functions contract to the global multistakeholder community, and the parallel process of Enhancing ICANN’s Accountability in light of this changing historical relationship

IANA logoICANN is hosting an information session to brief and discuss the ongoing evolution of Internet governance. This session will be tailored to provide an update on the U.S. Government’s announcement to transition its oversight of the IANA functions contract to the global multistakeholder community, and the parallel process of Enhancing ICANN’s Accountability in light of this changing historical relationship.

This will be an event to learn more on the latest developments on the two processes and walk-through any upcoming opportunities for input. (Lunch will be provided)

When: 23 January 12:00-13:00 CET (UTC + 01:00)
Where: ICANN Brussels Office, 1st floor, 6 Rond-Point Schuman

Additionally, the event will be hosted as a Webinar:

Conference dial-in details: An audio line will be available to take part in the discussion.

  • From Belgium: +32 78 480 286
  • From the UK: +442070990867
  • Conference ID: 21912

(For other countries, please visit: http://adigo.com/icann).

Suggested Agenda

  1. Introduction/Overview of the Internet Governance Ecosystem and ICANN (Jean-Jacques Sahel and Adam Peake)
  2. Overview of the IANA Stewardship Transition and Enhancing ICANNAccountability Processes (Theresa Swinehart)
    • Presentation on the IANA Stewardship Transition  (Theresa Swinehart and Grace Abuhamad)
    • Presentation on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (Theresa Swinehart, Adam Peake and Alice Jansen)

Please register by emailing europe@icann.org.

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2015-01-21-en

Selection of Advisors to the Enhancing ICANN Accountability Process

ICANN logoThe Accountability & Governance Public Experts Group (PEG) announces the selection of Advisors to the Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG)

ICANN logoThe Accountability & Governance Public Experts Group (PEG) announces the selection of Advisors to the Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG).

As stated in the revised Enhancing ICANN Accountability and Governance Process from 10 October, The Public Experts Group (PEG) was tasked with selecting up to 7 Advisors to the CCWG. Through the course of its work, the PEG identified the following areas of expertise as critical to the process and to the evaluation of Advisor candidates:

  • Board Governance and Corporate Management (for example operational, finance, risk management)
  • Global Accountability and Transparency – theoretical, practical, tools and metrics
  • Global Ethics Frameworks and Human Rights (for example consumer protection)
  • Governmental Engagement and Relations and Multistakeholder Governance
  • International Law/ Jurisprudence (for example choice of law)

The PEG is pleased to announce the following individuals, serving in their personal capacities as Advisors to the CCWG:

Roberto Bissio, Executive Director of the Instituto del Tercer Mundo — Area of Expertise: Global Ethics Frameworks and Human Rights (for example consumer protection)

William Currie, Consultant in ICT Policy and Regulation — Area of Expertise: Governmental Engagement and Relations and Multistakeholder Governance

Valerie D’Costa, Program Manager at infoDev — Area of Expertise: Governmental Engagement and Relations and Multistakeholder Governance

Ira Magaziner, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of the Clinton Health Access Initiative — Area of Expertise: Governmental Engagement and Relations and Multistakeholder Governance

Nell Minow, Shareholder Advocate — Area of Expertise: Board Governance and Corporate Management (for example operational, finance, risk management

Jan Scholte, Professor, University of Gothenburg and University of Warwick — Area of Expertise: Global Accountability and Transparency — theoretical, practical, tools and metrics

The Advisors roles are to contribute research and advice, and to bring perspectives on global best practices to enrich the discussion, all while engaging with a broader network of accountability experts from around the world.

The PEG continues its search for an Advisor who will bring expertise in International Law/Jurisprudence and will strive to select this Advisor as soon as possible.

Once the PEG has concluded its work, it will no longer be active in the Enhancing ICANN Accountability Process. However, the PEG notes that the Enhancing ICANN Accountability Process considered that while the PEG’s formal task is to select Advisors, PEG members could continue to be available provide additional assistance if there is an identified need for further independent input or expertise.


The members of the PEG are: Ms. Jeanette Hoffman, Director, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society; Ambassador Janis Karklins, Latvian Ambassador. Chair of the Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group (MAG); Mr. Larry Strickling, NTIA Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Communication and Information of the U.S. Department of Commerce; and Mr. Brian Cute, Chief Executive Officer, Public Interest Registry

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-12-17-en

ICANN: Call for Volunteers to Participate in Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability

ICANN logoIn brief: The Cross Community Working Group (CCWG) was formed to deliver proposals that would enhance ICANN‘s accountability towards all stakeholders. The organizations that chartered the CCWG now call for volunteers to join this effort

ICANN logoIn brief: The Cross Community Working Group (CCWG) was formed to deliver proposals that would enhance ICANN‘s accountability towards all stakeholders. The organizations that chartered the CCWG now call for volunteers to join this effort.

How to participate

There are two ways to volunteer:

  • Individual Participants – anyone interested can volunteer to join the CCWG as a “participant”, regardless of whether they are members of the ICANN community. Participants are expected to actively contribute to mailing list conversations as well as meetings. It is anticipated that participants will provide essential input to the process. They will participate similarly to ICANN chartering organization-appointed members and will be required to provide a Statement of Interest (SOI).
  • Mailing list observers – for those who are merely interested to monitor the CCWG conversations, there is the possibility to sign up as a mailing list “observer” which offers read-only access to the mailing list. Mailing list observers will not be permitted to post, will not receive invitations to the various meetings or calls of the CCWG (note that audio streaming will be provided for those interested to follow the CCWG meetings) and will not have to complete a statement of interest (see below). At any point in time, a mailing list observer can join the CCWG as a participant simply by informing ICANN staff.

In addition, there will be opportunities to provide input through public consultations and public comment processes that the CCWG is expected to organize.

How to join

If you are interested in joining the CCWG as an individual participant or mailing list observer, please contact Grace Abuhamad (accountability-staff@icann.org).

Members of ICANN Supporting Organizations or Advisory Committees should contact their respective SO/AC secretariats and state clearly whether they are joining as a participant or mailing list observer. All participants – chartering organization-appointed members and individual participants – will be listed on the CCWG’s webpage. All participants in this process are required to submit a SOI following the procedures of their chartering organization or, in cases where that is not applicable, the GNSO procedures. Alternatively, a statement should be provided which, at a minimum, should include name, whether the participant is representing a certain organization or company as part of his/her participation in this effort, areas of specific interest in relation to this effort, material relationship with other parties affected by ICANN and primary country of residence.

Next steps

The CCWG currently is in formation. To date, the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC), the Country Code Supporting Organization (ccNSO) and the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) have adopted the charter and are in the process of appointing members. The first online meeting of the CCWG has been scheduled for Tuesday 9 December 2014 at 20.00 UTC, which also can be followed via audio streaming (please click here at the start of the meeting). Following that, regular online meetings are expected to alternate between 11.00 and 14.00 UTC to allow for maximum participation taking into account the different time zones.

Background

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) requested that ICANN “convene a multistakeholder process to develop a plan to transition the U.S. government stewardship role” with regard to the IANA Functions and related root zone management. In making its announcement, the NTIA specified that the transition proposal must have broad community support and meet the following principles:

  • Support and enhance the multistakeholder model
  • Maintain the security, stability, and resiliency of the Internet DNS
  • Meet the needs and expectation of the global customers and partners of the IANA services
  • Maintain the openness of the Internet.

NTIA also specified that it would not accept a proposal that replaces the NTIA role with a government-led or an intergovernmental organization solution.

In response to NTIA‘s transition proposal, the ICANN Board, leadership and community raised the broader topic of the impact of the change on ICANN‘s accountability mechanisms. The Enhancing ICANN Accountability process was finalized and posted on 10 October 2014, and can be found here. The scope of the Enhancing ICANN Accountability process is defined as ensuring that ICANN remains accountable in the absence of its historical contractual relationship with the U.S. Government and the perceived backstop with regard to ICANN‘s organization-wide accountability provided by that role, such as the renewal process of the IANA functions contract. It calls for an examination, from an organizational perspective, of how ICANN‘s broader accountability mechanisms should be strengthened to address the absence of its historical contractual relationship with the U.S. Government, including looking at strengthening existing accountability mechanisms (e.g., the ICANN Bylaws and the Affirmation of Commitments).

The CCWG Charter foresees that work is carried out in two work streams:

  • Work Stream 1: focused on mechanisms enhancing ICANN accountability that must be in place or committed to within the time frame of the IANA Stewardship Transition;
  • Work Stream 2: focused on addressing accountability topics for which a timeline for developing solutions and full implementation may extend beyond the IANA Stewardship Transition.

In addition to individual participants and observers, there are also chartering organizations appointed members – Each ICANN Supporting Organization (SO) / Advisory Committee (AC) that has adopted the charter can appoint up to five members to the CCWG. These members are expected to have sufficient expertise to participate in the applicable subject matter; commit to actively participate in the activities of the CCWG-Accountability on an ongoing and long-term basis; and where appropriate, solicit and communicate the views and concerns of individuals in the organization that appoints them. Those interested to join as a chartering appointed member should contact their respective SO/AC for further information about the selection procedures.

In developing its Proposal(s), work plan and any other reports, the CCWG-Accountability shall seek to act by consensus taking into account the views of all participants (both members and individual participants).

For further information, please see the CCWG Charter at https://community.icann.org/x/XQHxAg.

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-12-02-en

IANA Stewardship Transition Cross Community Working Group on Naming Related Functions – Chairs’ Statement on Frankfurt Face-to-Face Meeting: Lise Fuhr & Jonathan Robinson

ICANN logoThe Cross Community Working Group (CWG) on Naming Related Functions met for a face-to-face in Frankfurt, Germany on 19 – 20 November 2014. The highly diverse CWG is one of the three groups submitting a proposal to the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) as part of the overall IANA Stewardship Transition process. As noted in the CWG Charter [DOC, 132 KB], the IANA stewardship transition process is taking place alongside a parallel and related process on enhancing ICANN accountability

ICANN logoThe Cross Community Working Group (CWG) on Naming Related Functions met for a face-to-face in Frankfurt, Germany on 19 – 20 November 2014. The highly diverse CWG is one of the three groups submitting a proposal to the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) as part of the overall IANA Stewardship Transition process. As noted in the CWG Charter [DOC, 132 KB], the IANA stewardship transition process is taking place alongside a parallel and related process on enhancing ICANN accountability.

The CWG began its work in October 2014, with regular weekly virtual meetings and a face-to-face meeting at ICANN 51 in Los Angeles, California. In addition to ICANN supported regular weekly CWG virtual meetings, and at the request of the Chairs, ICANN agreed to support a two- day face-to-face meeting to advance the work of the CWG. The CWG will produce a proposal for the ICG in response to the ICG Request for Proposals [PDF, 84 KB]. The Frankfurt face-to-face meeting was an essential step towards finalizing a consensus-based draft proposal to be issued for Public Comment on 1 December.

The CWG has structured its work in eight subgroups based on sections of the ICG Request for Proposals. Going into the Frankfurt face-to-face meeting, 5/8 subgroups had begun drafting and developing their sections of the Draft Proposal. 18 members (or their alternates) and 12 participants, collectively deriving from within and outside the ICANN community, attended the meeting. In addition, there was significant online participation. The meeting was conducted over two full days, including an evening session. Discussions were intense and substantial, as people shared different perspectives and proposals. The issues covered, including the diversity of views on them, are considered to be complex and challenging but, nonetheless, were addressed in a collegial and constructive manner.

Key Developments from the Frankfurt Meeting

The meeting focused on responding to the ICG RFP, broken down into its constituent parts or sections, inline with the approach the CWG has taken to date. These sections were further developed during the meeting, and will now be synthesized into a preliminary draft proposal for further review by the full CWG.

The first three components, which are the basis for the preliminary draft, are nearly complete and are available on the CWG Wiki.

Given the progress, the CWG concluded with reasonable optimism that the proposal will be developed sufficiently close to the ICG‘s target deadline.

The 19 – 20 November meeting was fully recorded and transcribed, as are all meetings of the CWG. To view the material from the meeting, including the publically archived mailing lists, please see the CWG Wiki meeting pages.

The CWG will conduct webinars on the Draft Proposal following its posting on 1 December.

Upcoming Dates & Opportunities for Engagement

Below is a list of upcoming dates for public engagement with the CWG and its work:

  • 1 December: expected publication date for Draft Proposal for Public Comment
  • 1 – 23 December: given the short timeframe ahead, the CWG developed a timeline with the minimum 21-day Public Comment period, and hope that interested parties will endeavor to submit comments on the Draft Proposal within the designated period
  • 4 – 6 December: the CWG will host 3 public webinars to present the Draft Proposal and engage with broader community about progress to date
  • 19 January: submission of CWG Final Proposal to chartering organizations
  • 31 January: CWG planned submission of Final Proposal to ICG

About the CWG

The CWG consists of 119 people, organized as 19 members, appointed by and accountable to chartering organizations, and 100 participants who do so as individuals. The CWG is an open group. Anyone interested in the work of the CWG can join as a participant. Participants may be from a chartering organization, from a stakeholder group or organization not represented in the CWG or currently active within ICANN, or self-appointed.

Of the 119 CWG members and participants, there are 41 countries represented. The regional representation is as follows:

  • 38 Asia/Asia Pacific
  • 34 Europe
  • 26 North America
  • 11 Latin America
  • 10 Africa

Of the 119 CWG members and participants, the stakeholder group representation is as follows:

  • 40 (no affiliation)
  • 27 GNSO
  • 18 ccNSO/ccTLD
  • 17 At-Large
  • 15 GAC
  • 2 SSAC

In addition, there are 6 ICG members who participate in the CWG.

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2-2014-11-20-en

ICANN: Update from Public Experts Group

ICANN logoThe Public Experts Group (PEG) continues its deliberations on Advisors for the Enhancing ICANN Accountability Cross Community Working Group (CCWG). The PEG expects to deliver the names of up to seven Advisors by the end of November

ICANN logoThe Public Experts Group (PEG) continues its deliberations on Advisors for the Enhancing ICANN Accountability Cross Community Working Group (CCWG). The PEG expects to deliver the names of up to seven Advisors by the end of November.

The PEG acknowledges the distribution of the Enhancing ICANN Accountability CCWG proposed charter [DOCX, 67 KB] on 3 November 2014 and is conscious of the timeline for community adoption of the charter and the expected beginning of deliberations the CCWG in late November or early December.

The PEG last issued a statement on 14 October 2014, after meeting during the ICANN 51 meeting. The PEG members, Jeanette Hofmann, Janis Karklins, Larry Strickling and Brian Cute, discussed and agreed to the areas of expertise and evaluation criteria they would use in the selection process. The areas of expertise are as follows:

  • Board Governance and Corporate Management (for example operational, finance, risk management)
  • Global Accountability and Transparency – theoretical, practical, tools and metrics
  • Global Ethics Frameworks and Human Rights (for example consumer protection)
  • Governmental Engagement and Relations and Multistakeholder Governance
  • International Law/ Jurisprudence (for example choice of law)

The PEG is also considering the need for diversity (for example, geographic, gender) in the Advisors when evaluating candidates.

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-11-12-en

ICANN: GNSO Review Supplementary 360 Assessment!

ICANN logoTo provide further input on the GNSO, a Supplementary 360 Assessment has been launched! This Supplementary Assessment will provide survey takers with a mechanism to give valuable input into the GNSO‘s Working Groups. The GNSO Working Groups are one of the cornerstones of the ICANN Policy Development process, proving input on them is vital to a successful review

ICANN logoTo provide further input on the GNSO, a Supplementary 360 Assessment has been launched! This Supplementary Assessment will provide survey takers with a mechanism to give valuable input into the GNSO‘s Working Groups. The GNSO Working Groups are one of the cornerstones of the ICANN Policy Development process, proving input on them is vital to a successful review.

Participate in the GNSO Review Supplementary 360 Assessment!

The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) serves an important function – it is responsible for developing and recommending to the ICANN Board substantive policies relating to generic top-level domains.

The GNSO Review is part of ICANN‘s commitment to continuous improvement, accountability and transparency. It uses mechanisms and measures to maintain public confidence in the viability, reliability and accountability of ICANN.

ICANN‘s Bylaws1 require that its structures, including the GNSO, be reviewed on a five-year cycle. The purpose of the review is to evaluate organizational effectiveness of the GNSO, acknowledge areas that are working well, identify areas that need improvement and affect needed changes.

The quality, validity and acceptance of the GNSO Review and the resulting improvements depend on relevant and useful feedback from a diverse and representative group of people. This is the cornerstone of ICANN‘s bottom-up multistakeholder model.

The 360 Supplementary Assessment, a new component within the organizational reviews, is designed to gather data for an independent examiner, Westlake Governance, to use in the review process and may also inform GNSO self-improvement efforts.

The 360 Supplementary Assessment is an easy-to-use online tool for the GNSO community, other ICANN structures and community members, the Board and staff to provide valuable feedback to the independent examiner regarding Working Groups.

To participate in this survey and make your voice heard, please click here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GNSO_review_working_group

The 360 Assessment will be live from 27-October-2014 23:59 UTC to 10-November-2014 23:59 UTC.

Please click here to download a PDF copy of the 360 Supplementary Assessment [PDF, 200 KB].

Translated versions of the survey will be posted shortly.

To contact the Independent Examiner with any questions or comments, please email Westlake Governance at the following email address: gnsoreview@westlakegovernance.com

Additional Information – GNSO Review 2014

Participation Opportunities

Interested SOs/ACs Interested Individuals
GNSO Review Working Party
360 Assessment Participate in the 360 Assessment https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GNSOREVIEW360SURVEY Participate in the 360 Assessment https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GNSOREVIEW360SURVEY
Independent Examiner Provide feedback to Westlake Governance gnsoreview@westlakegovernance.com Provide feedback to Westlake Governance gnsoreview@westlakegovernance.com
Public Comment Public comment period in November 2014-January 2015 Public comment period in November 2014-January 2015
Structural Improvements Committee Provide feedback here Provide feedback here
Staff Provide feedback – larisa.gurnick@icann.org or matt.ashtiani@icann.org Provide feedback – larisa.gurnick@icann.org or matt.ashtiani@icann.org
The Domain Name Industry

For users wishing to view the survey before completing it, a copy of the English version of the survey can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here [PDF, 1.03 MB].


1Article X of ICANN Bylaws provides further detail. ICANN‘s Bylaws require that its structures, including the GNSO, be reviewed on a five-year cycle. According to the Bylaws, the goal of the review is “to determine (i) whether that organization has a continuing purpose in the ICANN structure, and (ii) if so, whether any change in structure or operations is desirable to improve its effectiveness.”

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-10-27-en

ICANN: Summary of Public Experts Group Meeting October 14

ICANN logoOn October 14, 2014, the Public Experts Group (PEG) met to discuss evaluation criteria for the selection of Advisors to the Cross Community Working Group (CCWG) in the ICANN Accountability Process

ICANN logoOn October 14, 2014, the Public Experts Group (PEG) met to discuss evaluation criteria for the selection of Advisors to the Cross Community Working Group (CCWG) in the ICANN Accountability Process.
The PEG members, Jeanette Hoffman, Janis Karklins, Larry Strickling and Brian Cute, discussed and agreed to the areas of expertise and evaluation criteria they would use in the selection process. The PEG agreed it was important to ensure that certain areas of expertise are brought into the work of the CCWG and that it should focus on areas of expertise that complement expertise brought by the Community participants in the CCWG.

[Audio of the full meeting is available online here.]

As such, the PEG identified the following areas of expertise:

  • Board Governance and Corporate Management (for example operational, finance, risk management)
  • Global Accountability and Transparency – theoretical, practical, tools and metrics
  • Global Ethics Frameworks and Human Rights (for example consumer protection)
  • Governmental Engagement and Relations and Multistakeholder Governance
  • International Law/ Jurisprudence (for example choice of law)

A broader list of areas of expertise had been made available to the PEG for consideration. There were certain areas of expertise that are readily available in the ICANN Community (for example, Internet Technical Operations). The PEG believes that it need not duplicate expertise such as this through the appointment of Advisors. After agreeing to these areas of expertise, the PEG began to review the list of candidates presented to conduct and initial screening. We note that some candidates were put forward or are well-connected to existing ICANN Community structures. Since the Advisors will play a purely advisory role in the process, and whereas these candidates may be able to participate more fully in the CCWG, the PEG recommends that these candidates avail themselves of the Community-based mechanism for participation in the CCWG.

The PEG will also consider the need for diversity (for example, geographic, gender) in the Advisors when evaluating candidates. The PEG will review the biographic materials presented by candidates and will conduct its own research as well. The PEG anticipates that it will complete its work by the end of October.

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2-2014-10-16-en