Structural Improvements Committee (SIC) Meeting - Minutes 11 March 2012

SIC Members: Ray Plzak – Chair; Sébastien Bachollet; Bertrand de La Chappelle; Thomas Roessler; Judith Duavit Vazquez

Other Board attendees: Mike Silber

Staff Attendees: Akram Atallah, Chief Operating Officer; David Olive, Vice President, Policy Development Support; Samantha Eisner, Rob Hoggarth, Olof Nordling, Amy Stathos, and Alina Syunkova


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

The meeting was called to order at 4:28 pm local time in San Jose, Costa Rica.

  1. ccNSO Review Implementation Status: The SIC received a report on the status of the ccNSO Review Implementation, noting that implementation is expected to be completed in June 2012.

  2. NomCom Review Implementation Status: The SIC received a report that the NomCom Review implementation items were completed, though some items are of a recurring nature, such as a regular survey.

    • Action:

      • Staff to provide recommendation to the SIC on steps needed to report to the Board on the completion of implementation work arising out of an organizational review.

  3. At-Large Review Implementation Status: The SIC received a report that the At-Large Review implementation is expected to reach completion in June 2012, and that the At-Large team leading the implementation work is interested in having a meeting to discuss the format of the final conclusions and report.

    • Action:

      • Staff to circulate time for the meeting with At-Large regarding the projected conclusion of implementation work.

      • Staff to provide report on meeting to the full committee at the next SIC meeting.

  4. RSSAC Review Implementation Status: The SIC Chair provided an update on the status of conversations with the chair of the RSSAC regarding the ongoing implementation items.

  5. ASO Review Status: The SIC received a report on te review of the ASO that has been undertaken by the NRO, noting that the independent review has been completed and discussions are ongoing regarding the next steps.

  6. Future Organizational Reviews – Planning: The SIC began discussions about the next cycle of organizational reviews including the work to issue terms of reference and encouraging the entity under review to have discussions with the reviewers, in place of the Board working group. The SIC noted that further detail still needs to be discussed for each step of the organizational review process going forward, including a process for considering realistic scope of implementation work. The SIC noted that some of the criteria developed to assess the constituencies within the GNSO could be transferable to a more general, objective list for reviewers to consider. The SIC noted that there may be shifts in the organizational structure among supporting organizations given the New gTLD Program and the ongoing efforts to increase cross-community work, though a cross-ICANN review is not necessarily within the organizational review program remit. The SIC also began discussions of how to acknowledge in a cross-community fashion the work that is coming to completion on the first cycle.

    • Action:

      • SIC member to provide some additional thoughts on potential mechanisms for cross-ICANN dialogue and review on this cross-fertilization issue.

  7. SIC Workplan: The SIC briefly reviewed its workplan for the year in order to meet the SIC’s objectives, including completing the current round of reviews, facilitating any restructuring that may arise from those reviews, completing the derived tasks and developing plans for further reviews. The SIC acknowledged that additional Board-assigned tasks may arise.

    • Action:

      • SIC members to provide comments regarding the proposed outline of work.

  8. Provision of Advice to ICANN: The SIC began a discussion, arising out of the TLG Review, of how does ICANN get the advice that it needs when it needs it, and briefly discussed each of the advisory committees within ICANN and the Board-liaison functions, as well as staff advisory roles and ad hoc advice seeking mechanism.

    • Action:

      • SIC members to continue consideration of discussion as framed.

  9. Role of Nominating Committee Appointments: The SIC began a discussion regarding the role of NomCom appointees to ICANN Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees, contrasted with encouraging liaison relationships among the SOs and ACs.

    • Action:

      • The SIC will continue this discussion at a later meeting, after additional input from Sébastien Bachollet on this issue.

  10. Evolution of GNSO Because of New gTLDs: The SIC began a discussion regarding the potential of evolution of the GNSO and the far-reaching effects throughout the ICANN community. The SIC noted that identifying a common list of challenges throughout the community may help prepare for a community-wide discussion, and considered how this idea could be introduced for more general discussion.

    • Action:

      • Bertrand de La Chapelle to provide more information on this item for discussion at the next SIC meeting.

      • Staff to identify some of the items raised on this topic at the Board’s meeting with the GNSO during the Costa Rica meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 5:52 pm local time.