Strategic Plan
Strategic Plan
July 2006 - June2009
Table of Contents
ICANN's mission and values
Development of the July2006 -
June 2009 Strategic Plan
Key challenges and
opportunities for ICANN
Strategic objectives for
the next 3 years
- Organizational excellence in
operations
- Organizational excellence in Policy
Development
- Increasing international participation
in ICANN and the use of the Internet system of unique identifiers
- Increasing participation in
and efficiency of the ICANN multi-stakeholder environment
- Working towards a post-MOU ICANN
Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers
30
March 2006
To All Interested Parties:
I would like to
express my thanks to all those who contributed to this strategic plan. The
development of this plan has been based on many rounds of consultation with
the community through workshops at ICANN meetings, through Supporting
Organizations and Advisory Committees and through public forums on the
ICANN website. Members of the community have been very generous with their
time and we appreciate the work that they have done.
Based on
feedback that we received from the first draft plan, this July 2006 - June
2009 plan is a short, concise document. It gives a brief description of
challenges and opportunities that ICANN is likely to face in the next few
years and then outlines five strategic objectives for the ICANN community.
Each of those objectives is then described in more detail and goals and
targets have been set where appropriate. The strategic objectives in this
plan will form the framework around which the operational plan is
constructed. I look forward to working with the community in the coming
months to put the first year of this plan into effect through the 2006-2007
Operational Plan.
Yours sincerely
Paul Twomey
President and CEO
ICANN's Mission and
Values
The Internet requires a stable and
secure system of unique identifiers if it is to serve its global community
efficiently and reliably. ICANN has been established to serve the Internet
community in maintaining the stability and security of the Internet's
unique identifier systems, while fostering competition where appropriate to
give Internet users greater choice at optimal cost. While the core
functions were in the early years of the Internet (and its predecessors)
performed under auspices of the US Government, ICANN marks the transition
of these services from the responsibility of one national government to the
global Internet community. In ICANN's self-governance model, the policies
that create stable processes for IP address allocation and protocol
parameter recordation, as well as a stable, competitive domain name system
are able to be developed in a manageable, bottom-up, consensus-based
process involving global, multi-stakeholder representation. In short, a key
to accomplishing the strategic principles supporting ICANN's mission:
- ensuring the stability and security of the DNS,
- promoting competition and choice for users and registrants,
- facilitating the bottom-up, transparent policy development
process, and
- engaging the participation of the global
stakeholder community in the ICANN process
is the inter-relation among those principles. ICANN's work supporting
bottom-up coordination involving global stakeholder interests also
facilitates stability and competition. Similarly, facilitation of competion
and practices promoting stability and security will attract global
participants to the ICANN model and its policy development forums.
ICANN's Mission
Since its creation, the
Internet community has vigorously discussed and reviewed the mission and
values that guide ICANN's actions. This extensive, inclusive and bottom up
discussion has been encapsulated in ICANN's Bylaws, its Mission and Core
Values.
The limited and distinct mission of ICANN is clearly
set out in Article I of its Bylaws.
The mission of The
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") is to
coordinate, at the overall level, the global Internet's systems of unique
identifiers, and in particular to ensure the stable and secure operation of
the Internet's unique identifier systems. In particular, ICANN:
- Coordinates the allocation and assignment of the three sets of unique
identifiers for the Internet, which are:
-
Domain names (forming a system referred to as "DNS");
- Internet protocol ("IP") addresses and autonomous system ("AS")
numbers; and
- Protocol port and parameter
numbers.
- Coordinates the operation and evolution of the DNS
root name server system.
- Coordinates policy
development reasonably and appropriately related to these technical
functions.
These services were originally performed under U.S. Government
contract by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and other
entities. ICANN was created in 1998 through a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with the United States Department of Commerce to transfer the
management of the systems of unique Internet identifiers from the U.S.
government to core Internet stakeholders internationally. ICANN is an
international, non-profit, multi-stakeholder organisation. It has become
the globally authoritative body on the technical and organisational means
to ensure the stability and interoperability of the DNS, the continued
equitable distribution of IP addresses, and accurate recordation of
protocol parameters.
ICANN's Core Values
ICANN's Bylaws detail ICANN's
core values as part of its Mission. In performing its mission, the
following core values should guide the decisions and actions of ICANN:
| 1 | Preserving and enhancing the
operational stability, reliability, security, and global interoperability
of the Internet. |
| 2 | Respecting the creativity,
innovation, and flow of information made possible by the Internet by
limiting ICANN's activities to those matters within ICANN's mission
requiring or significantly benefiting from global coordination. |
| 3 | To the
extent feasible and appropriate, delegating coordination functions to or
recognising the policy role of other responsible entities that reflect the
interests of affected parties. |
| 4 | Seeking and supporting broad,
informed participation reflecting the functional, geographic, and cultural
diversity of the Internet at all levels of policy development and
decision-making. |
| 5 | Where feasible and appropriate,
depending on market mechanisms to promote and sustain a competitive
environment. |
| 6 | Introducing and promoting
competition in the registration of domain names where practicable and
beneficial in the public interest. |
| 7 | Employing open and transparent
policy development mechanisms that (i) promote well-informed decisions
based on expert advice, and (ii) ensure that those entities most affected
can assist in the policy development process. |
| 8 | Making decisions by
applying documented policies neutrally and objectively, with integrity and
fairness. |
| 9 | Acting with a speed that is
responsive to the needs of the Internet while, as part of the
decision-making process, obtaining informed input from those entities most
affected. |
| 10 | Remaining accountable to the
Internet community through mechanisms that enhance ICANN's
effectiveness. |
| 11 | While remaining rooted in the
private sector, recognising that governments and public authorities are
responsible for public policy and duly taking into account governments' or
public authorities' recommendations. |
Development of the July 2006 - June
2009 Strategic Plan
Development of this strategic plan
began at the ICANN meeting in Luxembourg in July 2005. Extensive
consultation with the community was undertaken in workshops with the
Supporting Organizations (SOs) and Advisory Committees (ACs), and also in
general sessions conducted in English, French and Spanish. At the request
of the community, a further series of questions was posted for comment on a
public forum on the ICANN website.
Input from the public
forum and the Luxembourg sessions was collated into an issues paper which
was published in September 2005. Comments were sought through a public
forum on the ICANN website and also through SOs and ACs.
All
SOs and ACs were invited to send representatives to a meeting held in
Marina del Rey in October 2005. Some members of the Board and senior
members of staff also attended this meeting. The output of this meeting was
a summary of the key challenges and opportunities that faced the ICANN
community and a draft of strategic objectives for the next three years.
This material was posted on the ICANN website for comment.
At
the request of members of the community, the period for comment was
extended to the Vancouver meeting in December 2005. In Vancouver, a meeting
of chairs of SOs and ACs, the chairman of the Board and senior staff
further refined the strategic objectives. These were posted on the ICANN
website and comments were gathered in English, French and Spanish at public
forums during the Vancouver meeting. The public forum on the website was
kept open until mid-February to allow all those who were interested to
provide comments.
This plan is based on a bottom up,
multi-phase consultation with the ICANN community. It attempts to set out
the community's views of the priorities that the community needs to adopt
in the next three years as it continues to evolve as a global organisation
serving the Internet community in maintaining the stability and security of
the Internet's unique identifier systems.
Key challenges and
opportunities for ICANN
Any strategic plan is, by its
nature, setting a course through an unknown future. In considering the
issues that will face ICANN community over the next three years, the
following list of major challenges and opportunities was developed. It is
not an exhaustive list and issues are not necessarily in priority order.
The list is a summary of environmental factors that the community believed
will shape the future and they are therefore the issues that have shaped
this plan.
- The continued rise of the Internet as a truly
global means of communication and the need for ICANN to meet the needs of a
truly global stakeholder base
- Ensuring stability and
security in an environment of increased threats
- A wide
range of abusive behaviours in the Internet environment that may be placed
at ICANN's doorstep
- Maintaining stability given
expected increases in scale driven by the number of devices using the
Internet and the number of users
- Multiple complicated
changes to Internet operations or protocols that need to be managed in
parallel, including possible paradigm changes not yet anticipated
- Significant increases in the volume of policy and management
work that needs to be done
- Continuous evolution of
commercial applications and business models that use the Internet
- Possible fracturing of the current system perhaps brought
about by some users becoming dissatisfied with perceived restrictions
imposed by technical protocols or by actions of a government or
governments
- ICANN taking an appropriate role in the
broad group of international entities involved in Internet
functions
- Designing appropriate structures and
processes for a post-MOU and post-WSIS ICANN
Strategic Objectives for the
Next Three Years
Having considered the challenges and
opportunities that are most likely to present themselves over the next
three years, the following objectives have been identified by the ICANN
community for the ICANN community:
-
Organizational excellence in Operations: If ICANN is to continue
to serve a growing stakeholder base effectively, it must strive to further
improve its basic operational functions. Given expected increases in
activities related to meeting the core mission and continuing attention to
stability and security, operational excellence is critical to ICANN's
success. Accordingly, ICANN will continue to pursue and adopt adequate,
diverse forms of funding models.
-
Organizational
excellence in Policy Development: The continued evolution of the
Internet, especially the DNS, brings with it an increasing number of policy
issues of ever increasing complexity that need to be decided through the
ICANN process. Given this growth, the ICANN community needs to further
improve its policy processes to deal with these challenges.
-
Increase international participation in ICANN and the use of the
Internet system of unique identifiers: ICANN is a global forum for the
discussion of issues affecting the stability and security of the Internet's
unique identifier systems. At this stage of the evolution of the Internet
and of ICANN's own evolution as an organization, it is appropriate to
review and improve ICANN practices and procedures to ensure that they are
designed to serve and support a global audience as effectively as
possible.
-
Increase participation in and efficiency
of the ICANN multi-stakeholder environment: One of ICANN's great
strengths is the multi-stakeholder environment in which issues are debated
and resolved. ICANN needs to continue to build on that strength by
improving participation by key stakeholders in the process. As one of a
number of organizations that are concerned with Internet governance, ICANN
must clearly communicate its unique role and engage other organisations in
dialogue on matters of common concern.
-
Work towards
a post-MOU ICANN: ICANN currently performs under a memorandum on
understanding (MOU) from the United States Department of Commerce. ICANN
needs to engage the community now on developing options for how ICANN might
operate after the completion of the MOU.
Each of these objectives is covered in more detail in the following
sections. Wherever possible, goals and measures have been set based on
current performance and desired improvements. However, in some cases, the
first step in continued improvement is to put in place a measurement system
and to establish benchmarks against which future performance can be judged.
In other cases, the first step towards the further improvement is to
develop capability within ICANN to allow proper identification of issues
and scoping of a way forward.
In addition to the priorities
outlined here, ICANN staff are involved in "business as usual", the day to
day operational activity of ICANN. These activities are not described here
and are complementary to the strategic objectives contained in this
document.
1. Organisational excellence in operations
1.1 Operations
-
Operational
performance targets for IANA
In the five major areas of IANA
operation: Root Zone management; IETF services; IEFT drafts; protocol
management (e.g., port and PEN assignments); and .INT management, ICANN
will in
-
Year 1:
continue to work with customers to establish acceptable performance targets
and meet all of those targets;
- Years 2 and 3: after
meeting customer expectations fully, continue to improve so those targets
are routinely exceed and subsequently reset. Nominally, each year deliver
15% improvement on the targets established in the first year. Those reset
targets, will be mutually agreed by ICANN and its customers.
-
Operational performance targets for gTLD Registry tasks
In providing liaison and customer services to existing and new gTLD
registries such as: processing requests for new registry services,
and implementation of consensus policy, ICANN will in:
-
Year 1:
Manage new registry services requests in complete accordance with the
consensus policy guidelines, develop and implement effective feedback
reporting methodologies on new consensus policies, and implement the
capability for consideration of new TLD applications;
- Years 2,3: Continue to manage all new policy implementations in
accordance with the written implementation plan and in the cases of the
implementation of new TLDs, increase continually the rate at which new
applications can be competently considered by at least 15% and
improve performance by a similar amount in quantifiable areas.
-
Operational performance targets for gTLD Registrar tasks
In providing services to gTLD registrars such as: contractual compliance
activities; facilitating the activities of the registration market to
promote competition and choice; fostering innovation to develop additional
markets; and improving the accreditation process, ICANN will in:
-
Year 1:
Fully staff and equip the compliance function, fully implement consensus
policy regarding the designation of new TLDs, automate and strengthen the
accreditation process, introduce experimentally IDNs in TLDs;
- Years 2 & 3: deploy IDNs in the top-level; provide nominally
for 15% improvement each year on current performance in areas determined by
registrars.
-
Operational
performance targets for end user tasks
Making use of the
contacts made to ICANN by registrants and end-users, establish processes
and collect data in order to: effectively provide complainants with proper
direction, collect and analyse data to recognize trends and identify
potential problems areas associated with ICANN’s technical
coordination role, and inform the community of this information, ICANN will
in:
-
Year 1:
Establishment of processes (e.g., complaint handling processes) for dealing
effectively with end user issues; establishment of metrics
- Years 2 & 3: Monitoring of progress against identified measures.
-
Operational performance targets for L root tasks
Build
on previous hardening of the root server: establish performance targets and
measure performance against them to ensure ongoing stable operations. ICANN
will in:
-
Year 1:
Establish performance targets and improve resilience as indicated. Provide
for geographical diversity of the root server in regional areas.
- Years 2 & 3: Continue to improve operations in accordance
with stable operating requirements.
-
Procedures for dealing with potential business failure of key
operational entities
Fully implement contingency plans and study
the effect of registry and registrar failover in order to appropriately
protect registrants. ICANN will in:
-
Year 1: Have in place a plan and components with no security
risk presented to the community.
- Years 2 & 3:
Fully implement all plans and conduct annual reviews.
-
Develop and implement an Emergency Response Plan
This
includes: responses for different emergency situations (internal and
external), ensuring agreed processes with key partners, ensuring full
operational redundancy, preparing messaging strategies. ICANN will
in:
-
Year 1:
Have in place a plan and components with no security risk presented to the
community.
- Years 2 & 3: Fully implement all plans
and conduct annual reviews.
-
Further improve accountability of the budget process and ensure
regularity of revenue flows consistent with ICANN mission and
objectives
In accordance with sound business practice ICANN
will continue to establish diverse, consistent sources for revenue. As
revenue levels increase, improved performance measurement and financial
metrics become more important. Therefore, ICANN will in:
-
Year 1:
Improve operational planning process to include project based budgets and
measurement of performance against those budgets. Survey of SOs and
ACs on accountability goals.
- Years 2 & 3:
Implement the results of surveys to provide responsive reporting. Continue
the annual survey process to determine success and future changes.
- By June 2009, recognizing the variation in renvenue flow is
due to the timing of various fee approval and collection systems, reduce
percentage variation in quarterly revenue flows to less than 10% from plan.
-
Improve response to requests for technical advice
In
order to build capability in local communities and take other steps to be
responsive to requests, ICANN will in:
-
Year 1: Build capability to respond to requests in developing
countries and undertake comprehensive study as required, providing
understanding, and establishing service metrics (such as turnaround
times).
- Years 2 & 3: Monitor against service
metrics and also monitor level of expertise in those areas where services
have been provided.
-
Develop and implement a workforce planning methodology for ICANN
staff to attract and retain high quality staff
ICANN will
in:
-
Year 1:
Develop workforce planning methodology, develop and improve recruitment and
retention processes, establish turnover targets.
- Years 2 & 3: Implement methodology and processes, monitor against
targets, provide training and other retention process.
1.2 Key issues to be addressed in this plan
ICANN will
prepare project plans to secure and allocate adequate resources for the
prosecuting the completion of:
- Deployment of
Internationalized Domain Names in top-level domains
- Implementation or addressing security aspects in the DNS: DNSSEC
and signing the root zone; aspects of root zone management, and name
hijacking concerns; of network resources
- Facilitation
and implementation of the consensus policy for the introduction of new
top-level domains
- Facilitation
and implementation of the consensus policy for WHOIS
functionality
- Taking action
(appropriate study and response) regarding market behaviours within IP
addresses and domain names
1.3 Sustainability
Analyse implications of increased demand on ICANN operations and
policy processes and develop ways of improving scalability ICANN
will in:
-
Year 1:
establish metrics for staff workload and SO and AC policy development
support work.
- Years 2 & 3: monitor workloads;
develop ways of improving scalability and deriving economies of
scale.
2.
Organisational excellence in Policy Development
ICANN will
in:
-
Year 1:
Put into place staff (i.e., Economist, Statistician/researcher), and
publish quality papers on relevant topics.
- Years 2
& 3: Continue publication of quality papers on relevant topics that
effectively inform policy debates and enable effective decision making and
debate.
- Identifying the policy work that needs to be done
- Work identified by all Supporting Organisations and
Advisory Committees at beginning of each year
-
Identifying which groups need to be working on which policy
tasks
ICANN will in:
-
Year 1:
Policy processes reworked to include early analysis of stakeholder
groups
- Annually thereafter: Survey to determine SO
and AC satisfaction that they have been involved in all relevant policy
processes
-
Developing core policies as reference points
ICANN will
in:
-
Year 1:
Identification of core policies; Timetable for development
- Years 2 & 3: Development of policies according to
timetable
-
Improving policy development processes
ICANN will in:
-
Year 1:
Determine metrics (which includes targets such as process times,
implementation times, effectiveness measures); Implement regular
reporting
- Years 2 & 3: Review against
targets
-
Developing a process for policy development where multiple
Supporting Organizations and/or Advisory Committees need to be
involved
ICANN will in:
-
Year 1:
Develop and implement process; Develop criteria for reviewing
process
- Years 2 & 3: Review process
-
Enhancing interaction between Supporting Organizations and Advisory
Committees
ICANN will in:
-
Year
1: Have liaisons in place between all SOs and ACs; Schedule for Board
dialogues with SOs and ACs established; Scheduled Board dialogues take
place
- Years 2 & 3: Review against
schedule
3.
Increasing international participation in ICANN and the use of the Internet
system of unique identifiers
-
Improve the
ability of stakeholders to participate in ICANN processes, including in
languages other than English
ICANN will in:
-
Year 1:
Develop and implement translation policy that meets the other objectives of
the organisation; develop and implement attendance program; establish
metrics for participation by region
- Years 2 & 3:
implement further programs to improve stakeholder participation; measure
against identified metrics
-
Redesign ICANN
business and policy development support practices and processes to meet the
needs of a global audience
ICANN will in:
-
Year 1: Review of practices and processes; change plan
produced
- Years 2 & 3: change plan implemented;
annual review with subsequent changes implemented as required by changes in
the environment
-
In
each region, work with cc managers, local Internet communities (including
governments, private sector and civil society ) and regional organizations
to develop and monitor outreach programs for their region to improve
capabilities in IP address, domain name and root management services
ICANN will in:
-
Year 1:
Establishment of plan for each region (to include active ongoing liaison
with regional orgs and declaration of intent for programs in each region);
working with the ccNSO, develop recommended minimum standards for technical
aspects of DNS management in ccTLDs
- Years 2 & 3:
Implement and monitor performance against this plan
4.
Increasing participation in and efficiency of the ICANN multi-stakeholder
environment
-
Improve and
deepen participation in the ICANN process by stakeholders, including end
users, governments, the business community, technical and industry experts
and developers of new business models that use the Internet
ICANN will in:
-
Year 1:
understand stakeholder groups and set targets; develop plans for each
group
- Years 2 & 3: implement plans, measure
against targets
-
Develop and implement a communications plan that clearly explains
ICANN’s mission and communicates ICANN’s activities and
achievements
ICANN will in:
-
Year 1: develop and implement plan, establish metrics
- Years 2 & 3: refine plan and report against metrics
-
Implement a programme to enhance and develop relevant skills and
knowledge in existing participants and in the next generation of ICANN
leadership
ICANN will in:
-
Year 1: Undertake skills gap analysis and develop plan;
establish metrics
- Years 2 & 3: implement plan,
report against metrics
-
Develop a knowledge management program to institutionalize
corporate memory and communicate core ICANN values
ICANN will
in:
-
Year 1:
Develop and implement plan
- Year 2 & 3: Implement
plan
-
Strengthen relationships with key partners as needed to assist
ICANN in carrying out its mission
ICANN will in:
-
Year 1:
Identify key partners, develop plan for each partner
- Year 2 & 3: Implement plan; review key partnerships
-
Identify key forums with which ICANN should interact to assist in
dealing with issues that are related to but not in ICANN’s
ambit
ICANN will in:
-
Year
1: Identify target forums and engage with each
- Year 2 & 3: Implement plan; review key forum list
-
Develop mechanisms to report on ICANN’s openness,
transparency, inclusiveness and its multilateral and multi-stakeholder
environment
ICANN will in:
-
Year 1: Develop report format; implement first audit
- Years 2 & 3: Annually audit
5.
Working towards a post-MOU ICANN
- Satisfy
remaining MOU objectives
- All MOU objectives to be satisfied by agreed timeframe; with at least
quarterly report to Board on progress
-
Engage the
community in the analysis of issues and scenarios for post-MOU
governance
ICANN will in:
-
Year 1: Scenarios developed, consultation process undertaken
and issues paper produced: definitions depending on community response
- Review the ICANN structure to determine whether it is appropriate for
a post-MOU ICANN, and make the changes that are necessary for stable strong
and secure future whilst maintaining the full and meaningful participation
of multiple stakeholders including governments, private sector, civil
society groups, the broad set of Internet users, the technical community
and business users.
Reviews of SOs, ACs and the Nominating Committee are to be
scheduled and undertaken as scheduled. ICANN will in:
-
Year 1:
Consult with the community and implemented; as appropriate, change plan in
accordance with that developed with the community
- Years 2 & 3: Implement changes in the model in accordance with
feedback and performance