ICANN Blogs

Read ICANN Blogs to stay informed of the latest policymaking activities, regional events, and more.

Improving Our Public Meetings: Timelines and Milestones

24 November 2020
By and

In an October 2020 blog post, ICANN President and CEO Göran Marby outlined the steps that the ICANN Board and the organization (org) are taking, at the community’s request, to help facilitate a dialogue on improving our support for ICANN Public Meetings. Through this engagement, we will assess the effectiveness of our Public Meetings, determine which meeting improvements are needed to support the community's work, and outline features that should be integrated into our return to in-person meetings going forward. The goal is to deliver the recommendations to the Board for their consideration, and implement the approved recommendations accordingly.

Methodology in Seeking Community Feedback

The org worked with the Board and the community to provide the following avenues by which the community could share its input into improving Public Meetings:

  • A survey was developed and distributed to the Supporting Organization and Advisory Committee (SO/AC) chairs. Each chair then distributed the survey to their respective members. The members, in turn, completed the survey.
  • The results of the survey have been shared with the SO/AC chairs.
  • During ICANN69, the Board hosted a session to gather feedback from the community.

In addition, the org, the SO/AC chairs, and their representatives participating in the ICANN Meetings Community Planning Group, have had ongoing discussions about the ways in which the virtual Public Meetings held in 2020 have impacted the community’s work and the need for org support.

Results of the Survey and ICANN69 Meeting Session

We want to thank our community members for taking the time to complete the survey. More than 170 community members completed the survey, representing a range of the SO/ACs and the regional and constituency groups. We also want to thank all those who attended the ICANN69 Focus on Meetings session. Over 340 stakeholders participated in all or part of the session, making it the seventh most attended session of ICANN69. Your feedback is critical to the evolution and improvement of our Public Meetings.

Timeline on Survey Result Analysis and Board Recommendations Paper

As outlined above, we have completed three important milestones in this process and the following steps remain:

  • The SO/AC chairs are analyzing the results of the survey on behalf of their members and will share a consolidated response for each SO/AC, based on the results of their internal discussions with the org and one another.
  • Using these consolidated results, the org will draft a report of the recommendations for further discussion with the SO/AC chairs.
  • The org will incorporate feedback from the SO/AC chairs and share a final report with the community.
  • In January 2021, the recommendations report will be shared with the Board for review and discussion.

Again, we want to thank the community for your participation and contributions to this important effort. We know that the virtual meeting format has been challenging; it’s not easy to participate in back-to-back Zoom calls to get our work done. The dedication, patience, and adaptability you all have shown during this difficult time is inspiring, and the Board and the org are committed to improving your meeting experience.

Public Meetings are a critical part of our multistakeholder model and we are steadfast in our obligation to make the types of noticeable improvements that will matter most to all of you.

 

 

 

Authors

Sally Costerton

Sally Costerton

Sr. Advisor to President & SVP, Global Stakeholder Engagement and Interim President & CEO
David Olive

David Olive

SVP, Policy Development Support & Managing Director - Washington, D.C.