Answer: Following another successful implementation of the Community Regional Outreach Pilot Program (CROPP) in FY17, the “pilot” program label was removed and the program is now part of the the core activities under the annual Policy Development Budget, coordinated by Policy staff in collaboration with the Global Stakeholder Engagement (GSE) team. The Program was therefore titled the Community Regional Outreach Program (CROP) with effect from FY18.

Answer: It is understood that certain elements of an Outreach Strategic Plan may be replicated for the next fiscal cycle; however, the content should be based upon a fresh perspective as to outreach goals, plans, and objectives and, where applicable, it should dovetail with Global Stakeholder Engagement (GSE) regional strategies. In every case, a new Outreach Strategic Plan template must be completed including confirmations and approvals per the CROP Procedures and Guidelines.

Answer: Yes, the templates may be completed at any time; however, no action (e.g., travel booking) will be taken officially until all of the necessary reviews, confirmations and approvals required for the Plan have been received.

Answer: In efforts to ensure that ICANN supported travelers and ICANN Org have the same expectations of service deliverables, the following explains why we have instituted a 6 week requirement for fully approved CROP proposals to be provided to the Travel team. While ICANN Org understands that some travel arrangements can be done quickly where others are more complex, employing a clear and consistent time frame ensures equal treatment for all travelers in a transparent manner.

Answer: Trip allocations were authorized only to the five (5) recognized GNSO Constituencies. You may petition either the NCUC or NPOC and, if either Constituency agrees to sponsor your trip with one or more of their allocated slots, that usage will be acceptable within the Program guidelines.

Answer: ICANN envisions the Trip Assessment Report to be a joint responsibility:

• The traveler(s) or host(s), consistent with the structure's internal procedures, prepare(s) the information about the trip and how its original goals and outcomes were realized.
• The designated Program Coordinator (PC) reviews the form for completeness.
• The applicable regional GSE team concurs that the assessment represents a satisfactory report of the trip as it relates to its originally proposed goals/outcomes.

Answer: After testing and assessing a pilot outreach event capability in FY17, it was determined that CROP should revert to focusing on regional travel for all eligible communities, rather than outreach events. All communities will be able to use their trip allocations o maximize their outreach and engagement opportunities, in accordance with their Outreach Strategic Plans. 

Answer:  There are no fixed, uniform criteria applicable to all regions at this time. The expectations and activities within each geographic region are likely to vary from time to time, and region to region, depending on the status of the various regional strategies. Eligible community groups are strongly encouraged to collaborate with the GSE regional VPs and their teams in developing their annual Outreach Strategic Plans as well as in planning possible trips using their CROP allocations.

Answer: Although there are 5 official ICANN regions for purposes of Board diversity and ICANN Meeting rotations, the GSE team operates in a larger number of regions (8). The CROP program respects the operational design of the GSE team and its various regional teams. Program Coordinators (PC) should connect with the GSE regional VP responsible for the city/country in which the trip will take place. If there is any possible confusion about which VP is responsible, please contact the CROP Staff to facilitate the connections.

Answer: Regional strategies can be found on this Wiki under the GSE tab/category, then Regional Strategic Plans-Final.