Minutes | Board Governance Committee (BGC) Meeting 25 June 2017

BGC Attendees: Rinalia Abdul Rahim, Cherine Chalaby, Chris Disspain (Chair), Asha Hemrajani, Markus Kummer, and Mike Silber

BGC Member Apologies: Ram Mohan

Other Board Member Attendees: Becky Burr, Ron da Silva, Khaled Koubaa, and Lousewies van der Laan

ICANN Organization Attendees: John Jeffrey (General Counsel and Secretary), Elizabeth Le (Senior Counsel), Wendy Profit (Manager, Board Operations), Lisa Saulino (Board Operations Senior Coordinator), and Amy Stathos (Deputy General Counsel)


The following is a summary of discussions, actions taken, and actions identified

  • Update on Nominating Committee (NomCom) Expressions of Interest (EOI) for 2018 NomCom Chair and Chair-Elect - The BGC received an update on the Call for EOI for 2018 NomCom Chair and Chair Elect. The BGC was advised that, as of the date of this meeting, no EOI has been submitted. The BGC discussed ways to increase awareness in the call for EOI. The BGC noted that the deadline to submit an EOI is 7 July 2017. Given that the EOI period is longer than in previous years, the BGC opted to maintain the current deadline rather than to extend the EOI period.
  • Update on Community Priority Evaluation Process Review (Review) - The BGC received a briefing on the status of the CPE process review. The interview process of the CPE provider personnel that had involvement in CPEs is currently in progress. FTI Consulting Inc.'s Global Risk and Investigations Practice and Technology Practice, the consultants performing the Review, is also working with the CPE provider to obtain the reference materials for the evaluations that are the subject of pending Reconsideration Requests. The ICANN organization noted that it will be publishing a further update(s) on the status of the Review as they become available. The BGC noted that the ICANN Board and the ICANN organization have received numerous inquiries for documentation and information about the Review. These inquiries have been and will continue to be addressed through ICANN's Documentary Information Disclosure Policy (DIDP).
    • Action: ICANN organization to continue providing the BGC with updates on the status of the review, and publish update(s) as appropriate.
  • Board Member Evaluation Cadence - The BGC considered different cadence options for peer evaluations for Board members. The BGC agreed that conducting a review at 12 months after a Board member's first term, and then every 18 months thereafter would provide the most meaningful feedback for Board members. The BGC discussed the feedback/evaluation component of the review process
    • Actions:
      • ICANN organization to prepare a schedule of reviews based upon a 12 month and 18 month cadence.
      • ICANN organization to ask TTG consultants if they can facilitate the feedback component of the review process.
  • Board Committee and Leadership Selection Procedures - The BGC reviewed and discussed the current Board Committee and Leadership Selection Procedures and necessary changes. The BGC also discussed the annual slating process for the Board leadership, which the BGC plans to undertake at its meeting during the September 2017 Board Workshop.
    • Actions:
      • BGC Chair to finalize survey questionnaire and circulate to Board members for completion.
      • ICANN organization to provide BGC with proposed timing to complete questionnaire.
      • ICANN organization to facilitate completion of peer survey for Board Committee and Working Group leadership to inform the slating recommendations.
  • Any Other Business
    1. Board Committees Charter Review and Standardization – The BGC discussed conducting a review of Board Committee charters to include a requirement for a succession plan if the requirement is not already specified in the charters. The BGC also discussed undertaking an overall charter review to ensure that all of charters are still consistent with each other in the standard language provisions.
      • Action: ICANN organization to evaluate the charters and provide the BGC with a proposal of what elements have become inconsistent and may need to be made uniform again, and which charters need to be amended to include succession plan requirement.
    2. Reconsideration Request 17-2 - The BGC received a brief summary of Request 17-2 and an overview of the next steps in the Reconsideration process. Pursuant to Article 4, Section 4.2(k), the next step is for the BGC to evaluate Request 17-2 to determine if it is sufficiently stated.
      • Action: BGC to facilitate completion of evaluation to determine if Request 17-2 is sufficiently stated, and then decide next step.

Published on 27 July 2017.