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Board Activities and Meetings

View records of actions and decisions made by the ICANN Board from recent activities and meetings.

Public Participation Committee (PPC) Meeting Minutes 16 December 2011

PPC Attendees: Sébastien Bachollet – Chair, Chris Disspain, Thomas Narten, Gonzalo Navarro and Kuo-Wei Wu

PPC Apologies: Mike Silber

Staff Attendees: David Olive – Senior Vice President, Policy Development Support; Samantha Eisner, Diane Schroeder, Alina Syunkova, and Filiz Yilmaz

The following is a summary of discussion, action taken and actions identified:

  1. Minutes of Prior Meeting: The PPC approved the minutes of its prior meeting in September 2011.

  2. ATRT Implementation Work: The PPC received an update from staff on the ATRT Implementation Work relating to the public comment processes, including a review of the focus group outcomes on the public comment enhancements and the testing of the comment-reply cycle.  Staff discussed the introduction of a fixed 21-day comment and 21-day reply cycle, implemented to address concerns that a 15-day reply cycle was too short, while shortening the initial comment period to make sure that the total comment period timing did not take too long.  ICANN staff is being provided with templates and guidelines to facilitate the revisions to the comment cycles, and the new comment-and-reply cycle will be in effect for documents posted on or after 1 January 2012. With this work, ATRT recommendations 15, 16, 17 and 21 will be implemented by 31 December 2011. Staff also discussed the testing of a wiki-based comment environment that allows for threaded discussion.  The test will run through 6 January 2012. 

    • Action:

      • Staff to report on outcomes of testing of wiki-based threaded comment environment.

      • Staff to provide the PPC with an update on the implementation of the public comment improvements.

      • Staff to provide update on Recommendation 18 (translation policy) prior to the next PPC meeting.

  3. PPC 2012 Meeting Schedule: The PPC discussed the proposed schedule for the meetings in 2012, considering the Board meeting schedule.  The PPC discussed the need to have regular meetings scheduled, any of which can be cancelled if it is determined that the meeting is not needed.  The PPC also discussed the need to make sure that if public comment is necessary for any item under committee discussion, the comment period closes sufficiently in advance of the meeting to allow for full discussion.

    • Action:

      • Chair to work with staff propose additional fixed dates for 2012 meetings.

  4. PPC Work Plan: Staff provided an overview of the proposed PPC work plan for the next year, including the focal points of work such as online participation tools, ATRT recommendations, outreach, and ICANN meetings enhancements.  Staff provided a proposed timeline for work and briefing to the committee on each topic.  The PPC discussed the need to have specific items considered for meeting agendas if there was a deadline for specific action or inputs from the community.  The PPC began a discussion regarding how the committee could solicit community feedback and input on the online tools, such as the community wiki and Adobe Connect, and will consider that work within its timeline.  The PPC also noted that the At-Large ICANN Academy proposal, as it is an outreach activity focused on engagement and participation, was appropriate for consideration on the PPC’s work plan.

    • Action:

      • Staff to revise the work plan to meet PPC comments.

  5. PPC Charter:  As called for within the Charter, the PPC initiated its annual review of the scope of its Charter.  The PPC chair suggested that the Charter reflect the PPC’s work in relationship to the reviews arising out of the Affirmation of Commitments.

    • Action:

      • Staff to provide proposed language to address the Committee’s goals.  PPC members to review proposed language and provide inputs on any additional changes.

  6. Meetings for the Next Decade: The PPC continued its discussion on meetings for the next decade, noting that input was sought from community members in Dakar.  Staff suggested that a heat matrix be produced regarding the community feedback, to help reach some decisions on the feasibility implementing some of the recommended changes.  The ad-hoc working group of PPC members needs to be updated and provide a summary of the status of its work.

    • Action:

      • Staff to provide a summary regarding the community’s input and potential recommendations for moving the discussion forward.

      • Obtain an update from the PPC member lead of the working group on the work remaining.