Structural Improvements Committee (SIC) Meeting - Minutes 13 March 2011

SIC Attendees: Bertrand de La Chapelle, Ray Plzak – Chair, George Sadowsky, Reinhard Scholl, and Mike Silber.

Other Board Attendees: Sébastien Bachollet

Staff Attendees: David Olive – VP, Policy Support; Samantha Eisner, Rob Hoggarth, Olof Nordling, and Ken Shiu.


The following is a summary of discussions, decisions, and actions identified:

  1. The meeting was called to order at 12:35 local time in San Francisco, California (USA).

  2. Agenda: Reviewed and revised.

  3. ASO Review: The SIC received an update on the work of the ASO review, which is being coordinated by the ASO pursuant to the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding between ICAN and the ASO. The Chair noted that he and and staff would be attending a meeting with the ASO to establish the ground rules for SIC oversight over the ASO review activities.

  4. ccNSO Review: The SIC received an update on the work of the review of the ccNSO, noting that the Final Report of the review working group was posted for public comment, and is ready for forwarding to the Board for acceptance and approval. The SIC approved making a recommendation to the Board that the Board should accept the Final Report of the working group, dissolve the working group and thank the working group members for their contributions. After the Board receives the report, the next step is for the SIC to review an implementation plan.

    • Actions:

      • Staff to forward resolution recommending acceptance of the Final Report to the Board for action;

      • When the Final Report is received by the Board, staff to include a review of an implementation plan on the SIC workplan.

  5. SSAC Review Implementation: The SIC received a report on the re-submission of a proposed resolution to the Board regarding the amendment of the ICANN Bylaws to remove task area one, as recommended in the Final Report of the SSAC review working group, as well as the submission of a resolution directing the work noted in within task area one should continue to be performed within the ICANN structure.

  6. ALAC Improvements: The SIC received a report regarding the collaboration between ICANN staff and the ALAC to reach proposed Bylaws amendments addressing recommendations arising out of the ALAC review working group’s final report. The SIC agreed to recommend the Board to approve posting the proposed Bylaws amendments for public comment.

    • Action:

      • Staff to forward resolution recommending posting Bylaws amendment for public comment to the Board for action.

  7. GNSO Constituency Recognition Process: The SIC discussed the status of public comment on the proposed new process for recognition of new GNSO Constituencies and its implications for the Non-Contracted parties’ house. The SIC agreed to recommend to the Board to extend the public comment process to encourage further community input to contribute to Board consideration at its meeting in April. SIC members also discussed how evolution of the GNSO policy development process may impact the overall Constituency model and process within the GNSO. Members confirmed the significant value of having broad and substantive community input at the early stages of policy development work. The SIC noted that deeper consideration of the GNSO’s policy development process may not be within the committee’s purview.

    • Action:

      • Staff to prepare and forward a draft resolution recommending extension of the public comment period to the Board for action.

  8. TLG Review: Received an update on the status of work arising from the review of the TLG and the focus on enhancement of technical expertise available to the Board. The SIC Chair discussed the proposed next steps, including asking the Board Governance Committee to comprise a recommendation for a working group to review the provision of technical expertise to the Board, and the SIC to propose a charter for the work of that group. The SIC’s recommendation is that the working group be comprised and the charter available for Board approval at the Board’s meeting in April. The aim is to have the TLG dissolved by the 2011 Annual General Meeting, after work has been completed to address how technical expertise will be provided to the Board. The SIC approved these next steps as a recommendation to the Board.

    • Actions:

      • Staff to confirm the Board has a resolution recommending the BG C work to comprise a working group on this topic, and the SIC work to form a charter for the group.

      • After Board action on the resolution, SIC members to begin consideration of the items necessary for the charter, and complete charter drafting in time for consideration at the Board’s April meeting.

  9. NCSG and CSG Charter Updates: Staff provided an update to the SIC on the work arising out of the GNSO Improvements efforts to develop permanent charters for the NCSG and the CSG. After discussions among the NCSG, staff and the SIC, the NCSG charter is awaiting final edits and is otherwise ready for posting for public comment. The SIC agreed to recommend that the Board approve the posting of the NCSG Charter proposal for public review and comment for a minimum of 30 days. The SIC discussed the interdepencies between the proposed new Constituency process and both the NCSG and the CSG Charters. SIC members acknowledged, that the previously-filed pending new GNSO Constituency proposals (for Consumers and Not-for-Profit Operational Concerns) are not formally subject to the new process under consideration. The SIC returned to the broader topic of the continuation of Constituencies as set forth in the Bylaws, and noted different roles for Constituencies within the CSG and NCSG respectively. SIC members also acknowledged that the GNSO was close to adopting a new working group model for policy development in the GNSO.

    • Actions:

      • Staff to develop and forward a draft resolution recommending posting of the proposed NCSG Charter for public review and comment to the Board for action.

      • Staff to coordinate and confirm final edits to NCSG proposed Charter prior to public comment forum posting.

      • Staff to coordinate meeting with NCSG on the proposed Charter.

  10. SIC Calendar and Workplan: The SIC discussed some of the upcoming items for the SIC, including planning for the next cycle of organizational reviews and confirming that the current implementation items from reviews, such as the GNSO, are completed in advance of a new review cycle. The SIC also discussed other upcoming areas, including bringing all ongoing review work to a close, as well as remaining available if any work arising from the recommendations of the Accountability and Transparency Review Team should be addressed by the SIC. Additional topics for work items include an initial evalution of the impact of the ATRT recommendations on the GNSO Policy Development Process to determine where this issue should be addressed; and an initial review of a question of the creation of an advisory committee on competition issues, to determine if such work is feasible and within the role of the SIC.

    • Actions:

      • Staff to circulate proposed committee meeting schedule.

      • Chair to meet with staff to produce a proposed workplan for the year.

      • SIC member s to provide written discussion regarding the potential evolution of structures within ICANN to address the launch of New gTLDs, for further discussion.

  11. The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 PM local time in San Francisco.