Accountability and Transparency Review (ATRT)
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| ATRT3 Review Wiki Workspace Page | Introduction to Reviews Learn more about Reviews, their purpose and process for conducting and opportunities to participate |
| ATRT3 Implementation Progress | ATRT3 Fact Sheet |
Objectives of the ATRT Review
According to the Bylaws (Section 4.6(b)), the ICANN Board ‘shall cause a periodic review of ICANN’s execution of its commitment to maintain and improve robust mechanisms for public input, accountability, and transparency so as to ensure that the outcomes of its decision-making reflect the public interest and are accountable to the Internet community (“Accountability and Transparency Review”).’
The Bylaws continue to explain that ‘the issues that the review team for the Accountability and Transparency Review (the “Accountability and Transparency Review Team”) may assess include, but are not limited to, the following:
- assessing and improving Board governance which shall include an ongoing evaluation of Board performance, the Board selection process, the extent to which the Board’s composition and allocation structure meets ICANN’s present and future needs, and the appeal mechanisms for Board decisions contained in these Bylaws;
- assessing the role and effectiveness of the GAC’s interaction with the Board and with the broader ICANN community, and making recommendations for improvement to ensure effective consideration by ICANN of GAC input on the public policy aspects of the technical coordination of the DNS;
- assessing and improving the processes by which ICANN receives public input (including adequate explanation of decisions taken and the rationale thereof);
- assessing the extent to which ICANN’s decisions are supported and accepted by the Internet community;
- assessing the policy development process to facilitate enhanced cross community deliberations, and effective and timely policy development;
- assessing and improving the Independent Review Process.’
For additional information and guidelines on the ATRT Review, please refer to the Bylaws, Section 4.6 (b).
Review Progress and Milestones
The graphic below illustrates phases and status of each review - a 
indicates that all activities within a given phase have been completed. The chart that follows the graphic provides further details of key activities and milestones within each phase – you can view these details by clicking on each of the phases in the graphic. The table also contains links to relevant documents
.
| Phase | Activity | Description | Start Date | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assemble Review Team | Call for Volunteers | Call for Volunteers for the Third Review of ICANN Accountability and Transparency | 31 Jan 2017 | |
| Call for Volunteers Extension | Application extended for the Third Accountability and Transparency Review Team | 20 Apr 2017 | ||
| Appointment of Board Designee | Board appoints a member to the ATRT3 Review Team | 25 Oct 2018 | ||
| Announcement of Review Team Members | Selection of an 18-member team to conduct the third Accountability and Transparency Review (ATRT3) announced. | 20 Dec 2018 | ||
| Conduct Review | Terms of Reference and Work Plan | Review Team submitted Terms of Reference and Work Plan to Board | 14 Jun 2019 | |
| Public Comment on Draft Report | Third Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT3) Draft Report posted for Public Comment | 16 Dec 2019 | ||
| Draft Report | Draft Report for Public Comment | 16 Dec 2019 | ||
| Letter from Review Team Leadership to Board | Letter from Review Team Leadership to ICANN Board regarding delay in submission of Final Report | 3 Apr 2020 | ||
| Final Report | ATRT3 Review Final Report | 29 May 2020 | ||
| ATRT3 Final Report Executive Summary | Executive summary of the ATRT3 Final Report | 29 May 2020 | ||
| Board Action | Board receipt of the Final Report | Board receipt of the Final Report | 1 Jun 2020 | |
| Public Comment on Final Report | Final report and recommendations posted for Public Comment | 16 Jun 2020 | ||
| Board Action on Recommendations | Board approves five recommendations consisting of fifteen component parts within the Final Report | 30 Nov 2020 | ||
| Scorecard | ATRT3 Final Recommendations Board Action 30 November 2020 | 30 Nov 2020 |
Implementation of ATRT3 Recommendations
The Board approved five recommendations consisting of fifteen component parts as issued within the ATRT3 Final Report and specified in the Scorecard titled "ATRT3 Final Recommendations Board Action 30 November 2020." Further, the Board directed ICANN's President and CEO, or his designee(s), to take all actions directed to the ICANN org within that Scorecard, subject to the prioritization process.
The table below provides information relating to the implementation of Board approved recommendations. Implementation status of recommendations should be understood as follows:
- Complete: a recommendation implemented in full and for which implementation documentation is available.
- In progress: a recommendation for which work has started to address deliverables identified during the implementation design. Implementation design is the preparatory phase for implementation during which a cross-functional project team develops guidelines that include deliverables for implementation, costing out resources, risk assessment, as well as an inventory of existing work etc.
- Not started: Work has not started because of a dependency on another recommendation and/or process.
Where available, the priority level assigned by the community (where P1 corresponds to the highest priority and P4 to the lowest) is inserted in the table below. For more information on prioritization, see here.
|
Rec # |
Implementation Status |
Priority Level Assigned by the Community |
Description |
Implementation Update as of 15 November 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. |
|
|
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." |
|
|
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 |
Complete |
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. |
|
|
R3.2 |
In progress |
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. |
|
|
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 |
P2 |
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. |
For information on prior ATRT reviews, click here: