Starting this month, ICANN launches its new Quarterly Stakeholder Call. This call builds from the quarterly shareholder call model used by public companies to provide factual, detail-based reporting on the organization's performance. A key difference between the stakeholder call and a shareholder call is that at ICANN, we do not evaluate our results in sales revenue or competitive position. Instead, we measure our success in relation to our mission as the coordinator of technical parameters, Internet Protocol address space and the Domain Name System.
I think of this call like a regular check-up visit to the doctor's office. You make the appointment to see your doctor not because you are feeling ill but because you want to maintain good health. In this check-up visit, you may have your blood pressure checked, your weight measured and other tests that enable you and your doctor to monitor your overall health and look for any trends. The doctor may suggest you lose weight or exercise more or keep doing what you are doing. (Somehow I always hear I should exercise more.)
Routine and regular check-ups take discipline and planning, and are a sign of maturity and responsibility whether they are for our personal health, or for our organization. These check-ups allow us to pause and take stock of our progress, and ultimately enable us in evolving and thriving.
Our first Quarterly Stakeholder Call will take place on Thursday, 20 November at 14:00 UTC. You can find more details here: https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-10-28-en. As a reminder, ICANN's fiscal years run from 1 July to 30 June, and during this call we will focus on the first quarter period which is 1 July – 30 September 2014.
In recognition of ICANN's coordination role, you will hear updates on the latest policy and implementation developments. We'll also update you on the organization's operational achievements and financial standings for this period. And of course we will leave plenty of time for questions and answers.
I hope that you will join us as we launch this effort to continue to foster accountability and transparency through regular, open calls. Your scrutiny is key to our accountability, and these regular check-ups will provide a reliable window into our activities and financial health. And I promise you it will be less painful than a regular doctor's visit! At least we won't tell you to exercise more.