Structural Improvements Committee (SIC) Meeting - Minutes 4 December 2012

SIC Members: Ray Plzak – Chair; Sébastien Bachollet; Bertrand de La Chapelle; and Francisco da Silva

Staff Attendees: Megan Bishop, Michelle Bright, Samantha Eisner, Alice Jansen, Olof Nordling, and Diane Schroeder

SIC Apologies: Judith Duavit Vazquez


The following is a summary of discussions, decisions, and actions identified:

The Meeting was called to order at 17:04 UTC

  1. TLG Review:

    The SIC discussed the status of the formation of a recommendation arising out of the TLG review. The SIC discussed the proper timing of the resolution to allow for any changes in the Bylaws.

    • Action:
      • Staff to coordinate the presentation of a recommendation to the SIC by April 2012.
  2. RSSAC Review:

    The SIC discussed the ongoing work to bring the RSSAC review to a close, including the efforts of a Working Group formed to guide the completion of implementation of the recommendations. The Working Group drafted a proposed Charter for the RSSAC that is more aligned with the Charter of the SSAC, as embodied in the ICANN Bylaws. The next action is for the change to the Bylaws to be presented to the Board for publication for public comment and consideration by the Board. The SIC also discussed the need to consider whether some of the operational issues that are within the Bylaws be moved into procedural documents. The SIC recommended that the proposed ICANN Bylaws changes regarding the RSSAC be presented to the Board for consideration.

    • Actions:
      • SIC Chair to send a letter to the Board Governance Committee regarding the need to separate some of the procedural issues out of the ICANN Bylaws.
      • Staff to forward the SIC recommendation to the Board for consideration at its next meeting.
  3. Nominating Committee Review:

    The SIC considered the question of whether it is the appropriate time to initiate a formal review of the Nominating Committee. The SIC discussed a proposed submission to the Board on the initiation of the Review. The SIC agreed to recommend to the Board that the necessary actions be taken to commence a review of the Nominating Committee in 2013.

    • Actions:
      • Staff to revise the submission to the Board in line with the SIC comments, working with SIC members on the appropriate wording.
      • Staff to forward the recommendation to the Board upon completion.
  4. Any Other Business:

    The SIC discussed the initiation of a GNSO review and the need to finalize the structure of that review in time to start in 2013. The SIC Chair proposed that the SIC meet on this issue in January 2013, and requested that staff continue its work to address some of the budgetary and other formative questions for SIC considerations. The SIC noted that the review is anticipated to initiate at some point before June 2013.

    The SIC Chair noted that he is working on the development of the SIC work plan for 2013 and that staff will be submitting a request to the other SIC members for inputs.

    The SIC began a discussion of whether it would be appropriate for the Board to review its decisions not to follow some of the recommendations that arose out of prior organizational reviews. The SIC agreed that it would discuss this issue further at its next meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 17:35 UTC.