Accountability and Transparency Review (ATRT)

Rec #

Implementation Status

Priority level assigned by the community (where P1 corresponds to the highest priority and P4 to the lowest - See Pilot Prioritization here)

Description

Implementation Update as of 28 June 2022

R1.1

Complete

P2

To maximize the input from each Public Comment proceeding, ICANN org shall update the requirements per the following:

- Clearly identify who the intended audience is.

- Provide a clear list of precise key questions in plain language that the public consultation is seeking answers to from its intended audience.

- Where appropriate and feasible, include translations of the summary, key questions, and responses.

- Include results of these questions in the staff report.

Implementation documentation is in progress.

R1.2

Complete

P2

With regards to other types of public input ICANN org shall:

- Develop and publish guidelines to assist in determining when a Public Comment process is required vs. alternate mechanisms for gathering input.

- Develop and publish guidelines for how alternative mechanisms for gathering input should operate, including producing final reports.

- Develop a system similar to and integrated with the Public Comment tracking system for all uses alternate mechanisms to gather input.

- Publish the complete "Public Comment Guidelines for the ICANN Organization."

- Resolve the issue of blog posts collecting feedback information when the "Public Comment Guidelines for the ICANN Organization" state that they "will not be used as mechanisms for collecting feedback."

Implementation documentation is in progress.

R2

In progress

P4

ICANN org shall review the implementation of ATRT2 Recommendations in light of ATRT3's assessment and complete their implementation subject to prioritization (see recommendation on the creation of a prioritization process).

N/A

R3.1

In progress

P1

RDS Reviews:

- Given the final results of the EPDP process will certainly have an impact on any future RDS Reviews (and could even remove the need for any further Specific Reviews on this topic) and considering that ATRT3's final report will be published prior to the EPDP delivering its final report, ATRT3 recommends suspending any further RDS Reviews until the next ATRT Review can consider the future of RDS Reviews in light of the final EPDP report recommendations, the results of the Board's consideration of these, as well as any other developments which affect Directory Services.

N/A

R3.2

Not started

P1

CCT Reviews:

- There should be one additional and clearly scoped CCT Review.

- It shall start within the two years after the first introduction of the (possible) next round of new gTLDs to the root.

- It should be limited to a duration of one year.

- Additionally, a framework of data collection must be in place prior to the next round of gTLDs and the availability of all data sets should be confirmed prior to the selection of the review members and must be provided within 30 days of the review being launched.

N/A

R3.3

Complete

N/A

SSR Reviews:

- Given SSR2 will not be finalized prior to ATRT3 completing its work, ATRT3 recommends that SSR Reviews shall be suspended until the next ATRT Review (or any type of review that include current ATRT duties) which shall decide if these should be terminated, amended, or kept as is.

- This review could be re-activated at any time by the ICANN Board should there be a need for this.

The Board took action on 10 March 2022 to defer the Third Review of Security, Stability and Resiliency of the Domain Name System. See the Board resolution here. Implementation documentation is in progress.

R3.4

In progress

P1

ATRT Reviews:

ATRT Reviews should continue essentially as they are currently constituted but with the following enhancements:

- Shall start no later than two years after the approval by the Board of the first recommendation of the Holistic Review.

- Shall maintain responsibility to recommend to the Board the termination or amendment of other periodic reviews and the creation of additional periodic reviews (including reassessing reviews terminated by previous ATRTs).

- All pre-identified documentation that is required for the review, such as the previous ATRT's implementation report, shall be available at the first meeting of the review team.

- Terms of reference shall be established at the first meeting.

- Note: The Operating Standards for Specific Reviews shall be amended to allow review teams to obtain professional services, which are not covered by subject matter experts, should they require such services.

N/A

R3.5

In progress

P1

A new Holistic Review of ICANN shall be set up:

Timing considerations:

- The first one shall start no later than one year after approval by the Board of the first recommendation by ATRT3.

- The next Holistic Review shall start no later than every two-and a-half years after approval by the Board of the first recommendation of the latest ATRT Review[...].

- The launching of any other review activities should be suspended while a Holistic Review is active.

- Should operate based on Operating Standards for Specific Reviews and should be time limited to a maximum of 18 months.

Objectives:

- Review continuous improvement efforts of SO/AC/NC based on good practices.

- Review the effectiveness of the various inter-SO/AC/NC collaboration mechanisms.

- Review the accountability of SO/ACs [...].

- Review SO/AC/NC as a whole to determine if they continue to have a purpose [...], or if any changes in structures and operations are desirable [...].

R3.6

Not started

P1

Organizational Reviews:

Board and ICANN org shall evolve the content of Organizational Reviews into continuous improvement programs in each SO/AC/NC:

Continuous Improvement Program:

- ICANN org shall work with each SO/AC/NC to establish a continuous improvement program. [...]

These continuous improvement programs will include:

Annual satisfaction survey of members/participants [...]

Regular assessment of continuous improvement programs: [...]

- The Board should publish at least every three years a summary of its continuous improvements over that period. [...]

- This continuous improvement program is not meant to be a cost reduction activity vs current overall costs of Organizational Reviews over a 5-year period. [...]

- Regardless of the processes selected by the specific SO/AC/NC, this shall fit in the financial constraints available for such activities.

N/A

R4.1

Not started

P2

ICANN org in strategic plans and operational plans shall provide a clear and concise rationale in plain language explaining how each goal, outcome, and operating initiative is critical to achieving the results of the one it is supporting (e.g., For each strategic goal there must be a rationale as to how it is critical for its strategic objective).

N/A

R4.2

Not started

P2

ICANN org in its strategic plans and operational plans shall have a clearly articulated, in plain language, specific criteria defining success which shall be S.M.A.R.T (unless appropriately justified) for all goals (strategic or not), outcomes (targeted or not), operating initiatives, etc.

N/A

R4.3

Not started

P2

For the FY2021- 2025 Strategic Plan and FY2021 Operating Plan, ICANN org shall, within six months of approving this recommendation, produce a supplementary document using the criteria defining success in reporting on the progress of any relevant goal, outcome, operating initiative, etc. to create a listing of required rationales and specific criteria defining success (as defined by ATRT3 in this recommendation) for each goal (strategic or not), outcome (targeted or not), operating initiatives, etc. that are found in both of these documents and post it for public consultation prior to finalization. Once finalized ICANN org will append these to the FY2021-2025 Strategic Plan and FY2021 Operating Plan and use the criteria defining success in all reporting on the progress of any relevant goal, outcome, operating initiative, etc.

N/A

R4.4

Not started

P2

ICANN org shall publish an annual status report on all Strategic Plan and Operating Plan goals, outcomes and operating initiatives. This should clearly assess each of the elements presented in the Strategic and Operating Plans (goals, outcomes etc.) clearly indicating what progress was made vs the target in concise and plain language. Prior to being finalized the report will be submitted for Public Comment.

N/A

R4.5

Not started

P2

ICANN org shall publish an overarching report at the conclusion of a strategic plan starting with the 2016-2020 Strategic Plan. This should clearly assess each of the elements presented in the strategic plan; its text (objectives, goals, outcomes) clearly indicate if it was attained or not and justify that assessment in concise and plain language. The report shall conclude with a section distilling the results of the assessments and how this could be applied to following strategic plans or their revisions. Prior to being finalized the report will be submitted for Public Comment.

N/A

R5

In progress

N/A

ATRT3 recommends the following guidance for ICANN org in the creation of a community-led entity tasked with operating a prioritization process for recommendations made by review teams, cross-community groups, or any other community related budgetary elements the Board or ICANN org feels appropriate:

ATRT3 recommends that all SO/ACs should have the option of participating in this annual process. [...]The Board shall also take into account the following high-level guidance for the prioritization process:

- Shall operate by consensus [...].

- Is meant to have a continuous dialogue [...].

- Shall consider WS2 recommendations [...].

- Must be conducted in an open, accountable, and transparent fashion [...].

- Shall integrate into the standard Operating and Financial Plan processes.

- Can prioritize multi-year implementations, but these will be subject to annual re-evaluation to ensure they still meet their implementation objectives and the needs of the community.

- Shall consider the following elements when prioritizing recommendations:

- Relevance to ICANN's mission, commitments, core values, and strategic objectives.

- Value and impact of implementation.

- Cost of implementation and budget availability.

- Complexity and time to implement.

- Prerequisites and dependencies with other recommendations.

- Relevant information from Implementation Shepherds (or equivalents).

The Board acknowledged that the implementation of this recommendation is dependent upon the need to prioritize all of ICANN's work through the annual planning cycle, and the need for the development of a framework in collaboration with the community and ICANN org. During FY21, ICANN org launched the Planning Prioritization Framework project with the intent to run a pilot focusing on the prioritization of recommendations resulting from specific reviews. The prioritization framework pilot with community members was held in Q2 2022. While the Planning Prioritization Framework is comprehensive and includes all works/projects of ICANN, a subset of this framework will contribute to the design implementation phase of the Board-approved recommendation 5 of ATRT3 on prioritization of community recommendations.