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Chair’s Blog: ICANN Board Highlights from October Board Workshop and ICANN72

15 November 2021
By
Maarten Botterman

Maarten Botterman

ICANN Board Member

Maarten Botterman is an independent strategic adviser on Internet governance and related issues with more than 25 years' experience in guiding governments and major organizations on the economic, business, and societal impacts of current and future Internet innovations and technologies. During those 25-plus years, he participated in and led more than 50 international projects and studies and published more than 80 peer-reviewed reports for governments and industry on Future Net issues with teams, including experts with advanced academic degrees from many disciplines, ranging from technology and mathematics to economics and law, and from many different countries and cultures.

Maarten was employed as Head of Unit and Senior Adviser to the Dutch Government (1987–1995) and as Scientific Officer to the Communications Technology Research program that was run by the European Commission (1995–1999). These years brought many insights about the public interest and governance aspects of the developing global, networked knowledge society. These insights were further deepened when working for RAND Corporation, setting up and running an Information Society policy practice in Europe (1999–2006), with an emphasis on policy evaluation and scenario planning. Since 2006, he has been working as an independent strategic adviser to governments and businesses in close cooperation with leading independent research institutions in Europe (including RAND Europe, TNO Netherlands, DTI Danmark, Inno France, and CIVIC Germany). Today, he is internationally recognized as a governance and future Internet expert and is a regular contributor to international Internet governance events such as the Internet Governance Forum, where he is leading the Dynamic Coalition for the Internet of Things.

Next to advising the Dutch government and the European Commission on Internet governance issues, he got deeply involved in ICANN's work as a Board member and Chairman of the Public Interest Registry (2008–2016), over time actively participating in more than 40 ICANN meetings. Having worked internationally since 1995, he has extensive experience in working with people from different national and cultural backgrounds, and is comfortable in engaging in English, German, French, and Dutch (mother tongue). He has a reputation as an independent, trustworthy, out-of-the-box thinker who is able to look at issues from several perspectives with strong awareness of the bigger picture. Having served on boards and having reported to boards, he has extensive experience with effective board governance and the responsibilities and obligations that come with a director's position on a U.S. nonprofit board. Over the years, he has been a frequent guest speaker and/or moderator, mostly at smart technology-related events.

Maarten holds an advanced degree in business economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam. He is a certified coach and has a certificate in medical-based knowledge, both of which help in better understanding of what drives people in decision-making and going through life. In addition, he has completed several board excellence trainings with internationally renowned institutions, including Harvard Business School, INSEAD, IMD, MIT, Yale School of Management, and Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. His areas of interest include government, civil society, and technology.

Maarten is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He was nominated to serve on the ICANN Board by the Nominating Committee in 2016 and served as Board Chair from 2019 until 2022. His third and final term will expire at the Annual General Meeting in 2025.

The ICANN72 Annual General Meeting (AGM) concluded with a clear focus of the job ahead. In our interaction with the constituencies over the week, prioritization was a frequent topic. The ICANN Community, Board, and Organization (Org) all have a role to play in how our work is conducted, and transparency in our processes is critical.

The Operational Design Phase (ODP) for complex projects, such as the potential next round of Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) (Subsequent Procedures) and the System for Standardized Access/Disclosure (SSAD), is an important mechanism to assure ongoing transparency while the Org assesses the operational impacts of the related recommendations.

By assessing these impacts ahead of our decision, we assure that our deliberations are fully informed, and that the work conducted will reduce unnecessary delays following the Board decision. In this, the Board appreciated the opportunity to hear directly from Community members about their concerns and priorities during ICANN72.

In the days leading up to ICANN72, the Board convened for its final workshop of 2021.

Board Workshop
The October Board Workshop was dedicated to preparing Board members for engaging with the Community at ICANN72. Here are some of the key topics we discussed:

Update on Returning to Normal Operations
On the first day of the workshop, ICANN President and CEO Göran Marby briefed us on the status of the Org’s planning on returning to normal operations to help inform the Board’s impending decision on the format for ICANN73, which was scheduled to take place in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The topic of inclusive and equitable Public Meetings was also on the agenda of an ICANN72 plenary session, where we heard from colleagues in the Internet governance ecosystem about how they are adapting their meeting formats. The Board appreciated the information we gained from the conversations and looks forward to the results of further work on how to effectively organize hybrid meetings.

On 4 November, after the conclusion of the AGM, the Board decided that, as a result of the ongoing pandemic, ICANN73 will be conducted as a virtual meeting. The Board also reaffirmed its intention to hold ICANN74 in The Hague, Netherlands as a hybrid meeting in June 2022.

Update on SSAD ODP
The Board received an update on the SSAD ODP. The delivery date for the resulting assessment has been extended to the end of February 2022. The extension was necessary due to the complexity of the issue and the inability to collect the necessary input over the last months. The data the team has gathered as part of the ODP has raised new questions and requires further discussion with the Community over the coming months. To ensure full transparency and gain additional input from the Community, the team is planning webinars in November and December 2021. I encourage you to take part.

Update on ccNSO Proposed Policy on ccTLDs
During the second day of our workshop, Nigel Roberts and Patricio Poblete walked the Board through the specificities of the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO)-proposed policy on the retirement of Country Code Top-Level Domains. The Board greatly appreciates the initiative by the ccNSO and looks forward to considering these policy recommendations following a Public Comment period for at least 40 days, as in accordance with our Bylaws.

Update on the EPDP
We received an update on the status of the Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP) work on Specific Curative Rights Protections for Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs), noting that there are still issues on which the EPDP team remains divided. There is also standing Governmental Advisory Committee advice on this.

Update on DNSTICR
The Board discussed a proposal to expand the Org’s Domain Name Security Threat Information Collection and Reporting (DNSTICR) to provide reports on registered IGO-related domain names that are used for phishing or malware distribution.

Update on FY21 Audited Financial Statements
Last, but not least, Sarah Deutsch facilitated a session where the Board was presented with the FY21 Audited Financial Statements, which are available here. Our thanks to the Org Finance team for its ongoing excellent work, as confirmed by the auditors, and the Board Audit Committee for its work on this important governance requirement.

Board Meeting
On the final day of the AGM, the Board held two meetings – a regular meeting and an organizational meeting – during which a number of resolutions were approved. Below are highlights:

Regular Meeting

  • Acting on a recommendation from the Board's Strategic Planning Committee, the Board resolved to keep the Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2021-2025 in force and unchanged at this time. The analysis and conclusions from this year’s strategic planning process have been compiled in the FY23 Strategic Outlook Trends Report. 
  • The Board acknowledged the completion of the second organizational review of the ccNSO, which is part of a Bylaw-mandated series of reviews to assess that the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees each have a continuing purpose and are operating effectively within ICANN's multistakeholder model. The Board also initiated a ccNSO-recommended Bylaws amendment process to enable inclusion of Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) ccTLD managers in the ccNSO.
  • As a result of a recommendation from Org and the Board Finance Committee, the Board approved a US$10 million transfer from the Operating Fund to the Reserve Fund and a US$5 million transfer from the Operating Fund to the Supplemental Fund for Implementation of Community Recommendations (SFICR).

Organizational Meeting
During this meeting, we conducted our AGM requirements. I am grateful to be selected again as Chair of the Board and look forward to another year working with León Sánchez as the Vice-Chair. We also agreed on the new composition of our Board committees, as proposed by the Board Governance Committee, and confirmed ICANN's officers for the coming year.

We also met one of the important governance requirements over our controlled affiliate that performs the IANA functions on ICANN's behalf by convening our annual sole member meeting for Public Technical Identifiers (PTI). This included the election of the PTI President.

Thanks again to the Community for your work in preparation of and during ICANN72, and to the Org for their relentless support. I look forward to working and meeting with you all over the coming weeks and months.

ICANN is the sum of its parts – only together can we get the work done.

Authors

Maarten Botterman

Maarten Botterman

ICANN Board Member
Maarten Botterman

Maarten Botterman

ICANN Board Member

Maarten Botterman is an independent strategic adviser on Internet governance and related issues with more than 25 years' experience in guiding governments and major organizations on the economic, business, and societal impacts of current and future Internet innovations and technologies. During those 25-plus years, he participated in and led more than 50 international projects and studies and published more than 80 peer-reviewed reports for governments and industry on Future Net issues with teams, including experts with advanced academic degrees from many disciplines, ranging from technology and mathematics to economics and law, and from many different countries and cultures.

Maarten was employed as Head of Unit and Senior Adviser to the Dutch Government (1987–1995) and as Scientific Officer to the Communications Technology Research program that was run by the European Commission (1995–1999). These years brought many insights about the public interest and governance aspects of the developing global, networked knowledge society. These insights were further deepened when working for RAND Corporation, setting up and running an Information Society policy practice in Europe (1999–2006), with an emphasis on policy evaluation and scenario planning. Since 2006, he has been working as an independent strategic adviser to governments and businesses in close cooperation with leading independent research institutions in Europe (including RAND Europe, TNO Netherlands, DTI Danmark, Inno France, and CIVIC Germany). Today, he is internationally recognized as a governance and future Internet expert and is a regular contributor to international Internet governance events such as the Internet Governance Forum, where he is leading the Dynamic Coalition for the Internet of Things.

Next to advising the Dutch government and the European Commission on Internet governance issues, he got deeply involved in ICANN's work as a Board member and Chairman of the Public Interest Registry (2008–2016), over time actively participating in more than 40 ICANN meetings. Having worked internationally since 1995, he has extensive experience in working with people from different national and cultural backgrounds, and is comfortable in engaging in English, German, French, and Dutch (mother tongue). He has a reputation as an independent, trustworthy, out-of-the-box thinker who is able to look at issues from several perspectives with strong awareness of the bigger picture. Having served on boards and having reported to boards, he has extensive experience with effective board governance and the responsibilities and obligations that come with a director's position on a U.S. nonprofit board. Over the years, he has been a frequent guest speaker and/or moderator, mostly at smart technology-related events.

Maarten holds an advanced degree in business economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam. He is a certified coach and has a certificate in medical-based knowledge, both of which help in better understanding of what drives people in decision-making and going through life. In addition, he has completed several board excellence trainings with internationally renowned institutions, including Harvard Business School, INSEAD, IMD, MIT, Yale School of Management, and Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. His areas of interest include government, civil society, and technology.

Maarten is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He was nominated to serve on the ICANN Board by the Nominating Committee in 2016 and served as Board Chair from 2019 until 2022. His third and final term will expire at the Annual General Meeting in 2025.

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