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Pursuant to a Resolution passed by the GNSO Council at its meeting on 23 June 2010, the community is invited to provide comments on a set of GNSO Improvements recommendations submitted by the GNSO Council Operations Work Team and the Constituency and Stakeholder Group Work Team submitted to the GNSO Council for consideration at its meeting on 23 June 2010 at the ICANN meeting in Brussels, Belgium.

Background/Explanation:

These recommendations are the product of two Work Teams (Sections A and B below) that were chartered by the GNSO’s Operations Steering Committee (OSC) in March 2009 to review and recommend implementation proposals concerning certain sections of the Board’s GNSO Improvements Report (3 February 2008).

1. The GNSO Council Operations Work Team (GCOT) was tasked with a cross-constituency effort to review the existing GNSO operating rules and procedures and to recommend changes consistent with the new GNSO Council's goal to become a strategic manager of the policy process. In June 2009, the Work Team developed a package of recommendations, particularly those necessary to seat the new GNSO Council at the ICANN meeting in Seoul, South Korea in October 2009. The GNSO Council approved the recommendations for new GNSO Operating Procedures on 28 October 2009. Subsequently, the GCOT identified additional recommendations for amending the GNSO Operating Procedures in accordance with the Board’s GNSO Improvements Report. These additional recommendations are the subject of this announcement. In particular, the Work team completed and submitted certain documents that it recommends be incorporated into the GNSO Operating Procedures (GOP) as follows:

Section 2.1-Council Member Term Limits [PDF, 132 KB]
Section 2.4-Board Seat Elections [PDF, 85 KB]
Section 3.8-Absences and Vacancies [PDF, 141 KB]
Chapter 4.0-Voting [PDF, 297 KB]
Chapter 5.0-Statements and Disclosures of Interest [PDF, 93 KB]

[Note that two sections, 5.3.2 and 5.3.3, are not approved pending further Staff action to be determined. These sections are footnoted in the document as “inactive” until subsequently approved by the OSC and Council.]

2. The Constituency and Stakeholder Group Operations Work Team (CSG-WT) was tasked with developing recommendations concerning Constituency and Stakeholder Group participation rules, operating principles, and member databases. Its recommendations are part of the overall GNSO Improvements effort and are designed to improve the GNSO Council Operating Procedures and enhance Constituency and Stakeholder Group operations. The Work Team divided this task into the following four subtasks:
   
• Subtask 1: Develop recommendations for a set of participation rules and operating procedures, to which all Constituencies should abide;
• Subtask 2: Develop recommendations for clear operating principles for Constituencies to ensure that they function in a representative, open, transparent and democratic manner;
• Subtask 3: Develop recommendations for creating and maintaining a database of all Constituency members and others not formally a part of any Constituency that is up-to-date and publicly accessible; and
• Subtask 4: Develop a “toolkit” of in-kind staff support and/or services for all Constituencies.

The Work Team completed the recommendations for Subtask 4 ahead of the other subtasks and submitted these recommendations separately to the OSC for review. The OSC approved the recommendations with modifications and submitted them to the GNSO Council, which voted to accept the recommendations on 17 December 2009 and staff work on implementation is underway.

The consolidated recommendations on the three subtasks are detailed in the following report: Recommended Common Operating Principles and Participation Guidelines for GNSO Stakeholder Groups and Constituencies; and Recommendations on a GNSO Database of Community Members [PDF, 453 KB].

At its 23 June 2010 GNSO Council directed the Staff to post for public comment for a 21-day period the recommendations of the GNSO Council and Constituency and Stakeholder Group Operations Work Teams for public review and comment. Community members are invited to review the recommendations and comment on all aspects of the recommended procedures.

Additional Document Links:

• GNSO Council Operations Work Team Wiki Space and Charter
• Constituency and Stakeholder Group Operations Work Team Wiki Space and Charter
• GNSO Council Resolution Inviting Public Comment
• The Board’s GNSO Improvements Report (3 Feb 2008) [PDF, 193 KB]

The Process From Here:

At the end of this Public Comment Forum period, ICANN Staff will review the comments submitted and prepare a summary analysis of the various submissions for Work Team and GNSO Council review.

Deadline and How to Submit Comments:

At the direction of the GNSO Council, the Staff is opening a 21-day public consultation forum, from 28 June through 18 July 2010 and invites community comments concerning this document.

• The formal Public Comment Forum Box is located here: http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201007-en.htm#gcot-csg-recommendations
• To submit comments: gcot-csg-recommendations@icann.org
• To view comments: http://forum.icann.org/lists/gcot-csg-recommendations/

Staff Responsible: Julie Hedlund