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Seeking Input: Proposed Updates to the Operating Standards for Specific Reviews

23 December 2024
By
Theresa Swinehart

Theresa Swinehart

SVP, Global Domains & Strategy

Theresa Swinehart is the Senior Vice President of Global Domains and Strategy. In this role, she works with the community, contracted parties, stakeholders, and policymakers to ensure broad and inclusive engagement, consensus-based policymaking through ICANN’s multistakeholder model, and effective, accountable policy implementation. Her responsibilities include policy implementation, review operation, and cross-functional strategic initiatives such as ICANN’s compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. An expert in global Internet governance, Theresa also serves as co-deputy to the President and CEO. Her extensive industry experience, including nearly 20 years as a key contributor to ICANN’s growth and development, gives her a valuable perspective on how ICANN organization can work efficiently and collaboratively to better serve the global Internet community.

Theresa rejoined ICANN after three years as Executive Director of Global Internet Policy at Verizon Communications, where she specialized in emerging issues as well as stakeholder and policy engagement. Prior to this, she served as ICANN’s Vice President of Global and Strategic Partnerships, leading a team responsible for partnership reform, global engagement and outreach, and the participation in international forums. Before ICANN, Theresa was Director of Global E-Commerce at MCI, where she was responsible for such issues as Internet service provider liability, data protection, and participation in Internet-related forums, including the formation of ICANN. 

Theresa has a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of California, Davis, a graduate degree in international studies from the University of Vienna, Austria, and a juris doctorate from American University. She served on the Internet Society’s Board of Trustees and Internet Governance Forum’s Multistakeholder Advisory Committee. Theresa began her career in international human rights. She is fluent in German and is conversant in French.

As ICANN continues to evaluate how it can best maintain a healthy multistakeholder model, we continue to assess how to further streamline existing processes and develop operational efficiencies. This includes ICANN's execution of Specific Reviews.

The Operating Standards for Specific Reviews provide the processes and criteria by which reviews are conducted. These standards are periodically updated to reflect lessons learned and to implement necessary process changes.

Over the course of recent Specific Review cycles, the ICANN community, Board, and organization (org) have identified areas that pose challenges for the reviews to effectively fulfill their intended purpose. To address these areas and enable reviews to continue to be conducted in a transparent, predictable, and efficient manner, ICANN org developed a series of proposed process improvements and integrated them into an updated Draft Operating Standards for Specific Reviews.

Feedback from the community is essential. ICANN org has opened a Public Comment proceeding on the proposed revisions to the Operating Standards.

What Are Specific Reviews?

ICANN created Specific Reviews in 2009 as a way to measure how it was meeting its commitments in four specific areas: Accountability and Transparency; Security, Stability, and Resiliency of the Domain Name System; Registration Directory Service; and Competition, Consumer Trust, and Consumer Choice. These reviews were incorporated into ICANN's Bylaws in 2016.

Specific Reviews are led by community review teams and operate according to Section 4.6 of the ICANN Bylaws and the Operating Standards for Specific Reviews. Upon completion of a review, the Board assesses the results and considers recommendations accordingly.

What Are the Changes?

ICANN has proposed changes to the Operating Standards to address known challenges, enhance efficiency, and achieve improved review outcomes. The updates are focused on:

  • Improving review scope setting and planning.
  • Increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of review work.
  • Incorporating best project management practices into the larger Specific Reviews process.

For more information on these updates, please see the Public Comment proceeding.

Next Steps

The Public Comment proceeding on Draft Operating Standards for Specific Reviews is open until 10 February 2025. Following the Public Comment process, the ICANN Board will consider the proposed updates for adoption based on the input received.

The Operating Standards, with relevant updates, will support the next iteration of the  Accountability and Transparency Review (ATRT), expected to be initiated by the Board in April 2025. The next ATRT will include consideration of the future of Security, Stability, and Resiliency Reviews and Registration Directory Service Reviews.

We encourage you to review the proposed updates to the Operating Standards and provide your input via the Public Comment proceeding. Your feedback is essential and valued.

Authors

Theresa Swinehart

Theresa Swinehart

SVP, Global Domains & Strategy
Theresa Swinehart

Theresa Swinehart

SVP, Global Domains & Strategy

Theresa Swinehart is the Senior Vice President of Global Domains and Strategy. In this role, she works with the community, contracted parties, stakeholders, and policymakers to ensure broad and inclusive engagement, consensus-based policymaking through ICANN’s multistakeholder model, and effective, accountable policy implementation. Her responsibilities include policy implementation, review operation, and cross-functional strategic initiatives such as ICANN’s compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. An expert in global Internet governance, Theresa also serves as co-deputy to the President and CEO. Her extensive industry experience, including nearly 20 years as a key contributor to ICANN’s growth and development, gives her a valuable perspective on how ICANN organization can work efficiently and collaboratively to better serve the global Internet community.

Theresa rejoined ICANN after three years as Executive Director of Global Internet Policy at Verizon Communications, where she specialized in emerging issues as well as stakeholder and policy engagement. Prior to this, she served as ICANN’s Vice President of Global and Strategic Partnerships, leading a team responsible for partnership reform, global engagement and outreach, and the participation in international forums. Before ICANN, Theresa was Director of Global E-Commerce at MCI, where she was responsible for such issues as Internet service provider liability, data protection, and participation in Internet-related forums, including the formation of ICANN. 

Theresa has a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of California, Davis, a graduate degree in international studies from the University of Vienna, Austria, and a juris doctorate from American University. She served on the Internet Society’s Board of Trustees and Internet Governance Forum’s Multistakeholder Advisory Committee. Theresa began her career in international human rights. She is fluent in German and is conversant in French.

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