Volunteers needed by 15 October 2013
ICANN is revising its previous call for volunteers to clarify that:
1) The actual Affirmation of Commitments (AoC) review of Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice (CCT) will not occur until the AoC requirement has been met ('If and when new gTLDs … have been in operation for one year, ICANN will organize a review that will examine the extent to which the introduction or expansion of gTLDs has promoted competition, consumer trust and consumer choice, as well as effectiveness..")1; and
2) That the current metrics and data gathering advice for which volunteers have been requested, will be separated from a future call for volunteers to serve on a CCT Review Team, which will give volunteers more certainty regarding the timing of their commitment.
The group of volunteers to be convened this year will serve for a limited duration and scope—focusing exclusively on evaluating the proposed metrics for data gathering to support a future AoC review. As this will be a precursor to help inform the future review, the volunteer team for this initial activity will be referred to as the "Implementation Advisory Group for Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice."
The Implementation Advisory Group for CCT is expected to conduct its work December 2013 – July 2014 (estimated time). The Affirmation of Commitments CCT Review Team will be organized "If and when new gTLDs … have been in operation for one year," and the dates have not yet been established. Similar to previous AoC reviews, a call for volunteers will be issued for the CCT Review at the appropriate time and individuals who served on the CCT Independent Advisory Group are welcome to apply; they are not obligated to participate.
The CCT Review, as stipulated by the AoC, "will examine the extent to which the introduction or expansion of gTLDs has promoted competition, consumer trust and consumer choice, as well as effectiveness of (a) the application and evaluation process, and (b) safeguards put in place to mitigate issues involved in the introduction or expansion." The work of the Implementation Advisory Group for CCT, and the subsequent data gathered, will help inform the review, along with other relevant research and data gathering that the review team deems useful.
Interested in volunteering?
Individuals interested in serving on the Implementation Advisory Group for CCT are encouraged to email iag-cct@icann.org by 15 October 2013. The work of this group is detailed below and involves developing recommendations for the set of metrics to be collected by ICANN in preparation for a future review relating to New gTLDs1. Once the proposed metrics are delivered to the Board, the Implementation Advisory Group's work will be concluded. As directed by the Board, ICANN will develop the systems and collect the metrics approved through this process.
The Implementation Advisory Group for CCT will be responsible for:
Evaluating the feasibility, utility and cost-effectiveness of adopting the recommendations of the GNSO Council [PDF, 203 KB] and the At-Large Advisory Committee [PDF, 491 KB] (ALAC) with respect to the metrics to be used in conducting the review;
Evaluating other inputs, including historical data regarding metrics used to evaluate earlier rounds of new gTLDs (2000, 2004);
Engaging in outreach with the GNSO, ALAC and other interested ICANN stakeholders on the proposed metrics;
Evaluating the staff analysis to be delivered to the CCT Implementation Advisory on the feasibility and utility of each of the proposed metrics, and whether the implementation costs are reasonable in light of the value of the information to be revealed;
Proposing to ICANN a set of metrics to be compiled by ICANN in advance of the AoC review of the New gTLDs, if and when such review team is to be convened.
Where the Implementation Advisory Group's proposed metrics differ from those recommended by the GNSO Council or the ALAC, the Group is expected to consult with the GNSO and ALAC to share its rationale, and determine whether the collective set of metrics recommended by the Group sufficiently address the goals of the GNSO and the ALAC.
In line with these requirements, ICANN invites interested individuals to volunteer to serve on the Implementation Advisory Group for CCT by sending an email to iag-cct@icann.org by 15 October 2013. The Advisory Group will be conducted in a public, transparent manner and membership is open to any interested Community member. The work of the Implementation Advisory Group is expected to be conducted via conference calls and emails.
1 Affirmation of Commitments, 9.3: "ICANN will ensure that as it contemplates expanding the top-level domain space, the various issues that are involved (including competition, consumer protection, security, stability and resiliency, malicious abuse issues, sovereignty concerns, and rights protection) will be adequately addressed prior to implementation. If and when new gTLDs (whether in ASCII or other language character sets) have been in operation for one year, ICANN will organize a review that will examine the extent to which the introduction or expansion of gTLDs has promoted competition, consumer trust and consumer choice, as well as effectiveness of (a) the application and evaluation process, and (b) safeguards put in place to mitigate issues involved in the introduction or expansion. ICANN will organize a further review of its execution of the above commitments two years after the first review, and then no less frequently than every four years."