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Review of the ICANN Board of Directors
5 June 2009
ICANN appointed the Boston Consulting Group/Colin Carter & Associates to perform the external review of its Board of Directors. The Consultant delivered its review report, and presented it during a public workshop at the Cairo meeting. This report will be used to inform ICANN's effort to develop detailed proposals for improving the Board's structure and processes.
As with the other independent reviews of ICANN structures, the Board invited public input on the Report, and a public forum was opened on this topic. Comments received and their summary can be viewed at http://forum.icann.org/lists/board-review-report/.
Board Review Working Group
A Board Review WG was formed to help ensure that the evaluator's final report (independent review) contained the data and information needed to conduct the following work, and (primarily) to advise the Structural Improvements Committee and the Board on whether any change is needed for the Board.
The WG, considering the Independent Reviewer's final report, Board input, and comments from stakeholders and the public, issued an Interim Report that was presented at the ICANN meeting in Mexico City.
This Interim Report presented the WG's "initial thinking" on the questions under review following the publication of the external review report and further consultation.
The Interim Report is available in English [PDF, 124K]; Français [PDF, 136K], Español [PDF, 144K], Русский [PDF, 344K], 中文 [PDF, 380K], and العربية [PDF, 220K].
A public comment period followed to allow for further inputs from the community.
Following this second round of consultation the Board review WG continued its activity and presents now its second Interim Report [PDF, 133K]. Most issues related to the external reviewer's report have now been finalized, while the WG seeks further inputs from the community on three issues that remain outstanding, in view of the finalization of its report.
This second Interim Report [PDF, 133K] will be presented at the Sydney meeting, and a public comment period is now open until the 5 July 2009.
Background
As set forth in Article VI of the Bylaws, the ICANN Board of Directors ("Board") consists of fifteen voting members ("Directors"). In addition, six non-voting liaisons ("Liaisons") are designated by certain ICANN bodies. The Directors serve as individuals who have the duty to act in what they reasonably believe are the best interests of ICANN, and not as representatives of the entity that selected them, their employers, or any other organizations or constituencies.
The Directors shall consist of 8 voting members selected by the Nominating Committee; 2 voting members selected by the Address Supporting Organization; 2 voting members selected by the Country-Code Names Supporting Organization, and 2 voting members selected by the Generic Names Supporting Organization. The President of ICANN serves ex officio as a voting member.
The Board annually elects a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman from among the Directors, not including the President.
The criteria for selection to the Board include:
- Accomplished persons of integrity, objectivity, and intelligence, with reputations for sound judgment and open minds, and a demonstrated capacity for thoughtful group decision-making;
- Persons with an understanding of ICANN's mission and the potential impact of ICANN decisions on the global Internet community, and committed to the success of ICANN;
- Persons who will produce the broadest cultural and geographic diversity on the Board consistent with meeting the other criteria set forth in this Section;
- Persons who, in the aggregate, have personal familiarity with the operation of gTLD registries and registrars; with ccTLD registries; with IP address registries; with Internet technical standards and protocols; with policy-development procedures, legal traditions, and the public interest; and with the broad range of business, individual, academic, and non-commercial users of the Internet;
- Persons who are willing to serve as volunteers, without compensation other than the reimbursement of certain expenses; and
- Persons who are able to work and communicate in written and spoken English.
In order to ensure broad international representation on the Board, each of ICANN’s five Geographic Regions shall have at least one Director, and at all times no region shall have more than five Directors on the Board (not including the President). Each of the following is considered to be a "Geographic Region": Europe; Asia/Australia/Pacific; Latin America/Caribbean islands; Africa; and North America.
- Terms of Reference for the independent review of the Board
- Request for Proposals for the independent review of the Board
- Independent review report (EN; Executive Summary available in AR, FR, EN, ES, RU and ZH)
- Public comments to the independent review report
- Interim Report of the Board review Working Group [EN, PDF, 124K]
- Public comments to the interim Report of the Board review Working Group
- Second interim report of the Board review Working Group (EN, PDF, 133K]
- Public comments to the second interim report of the Board review WG