Board Governance Committee (BGC) Minutes
11 February 2009
Committee members present: Roberto Gaetano, Demi Getschko, Dennis Jennings – chair, and Steve Goldstein
Committee member not present and sends apologies: Rita Rodin Johnston
Staff Members Present: Samantha Eisner, John Jeffrey, Diane Schroeder and Amy Stathos
The following is a summary of discussion, actions taken and actions identified:
- Discussed and approved minutes from prior meeting.
- Reviewed progress on action items arising from prior meeting.
- Discussed revisions to language common to all committee charters and unanimously approved standard language.
- Discussed committee charters provided by various committees for approval by the BGC and unanimously moved to recommend that the Board approve all charters subject to certain minor revisions and to conforming common charter language as approved by BGC. Action: Staff to circulate BGC edits to committees for review and present to the Board for consideration and approval in Mexico City.
- Discussed revision of Conflicts of Interest Policy. Action: Staff to review BGC comments and provide revised version for discussion in Mexico City.
- Discussed Board member training. Action: Staff to provide detailed list of suggested areas of training and questionnaire to Board members for consideration in anticipation of scheduling training sessions. Staff also to review training during induction process.
- Discussed Ombudsman Framework and Ombudsman’s response to previously suggested revisions, and, subject to revision of jurisdiction section, unanimously moved to recommend that the Board approve the Ombudsman Framework. Action: Staff to revise Framework per discussion and present to Board for approval.
- Discussed and agreed that the BGC is the proper Board committee to serve as a point of contact for the Ombudsman, and unanimously approved amending BGC charter to reflect that responsibility. Action: Staff to revise BGC Charter to include reference to Ombudsman before submitting to Board for approval.
- Discussed BGC work plan for upcoming year. Action: Staff to review work plan and provide timeline indicating when tasks reasonably can be completed.
- Discussed process for performing assessment of Board Member contributions to the Board, as requested by the Chairman of the Board. Action: Committee chair to review information provided by staff and committee member comments, coordinate with staff and provide further direction.
- Discussed BGC role in monitoring relations and communications between ICANN and stakeholders and the concept of Stakeholder Relationships. Action: Staff to provide report on communication current practices and initiatives.