4. Recommendations re: Policy Development Process (PDP)
4.4 Conclusions
Our recommendations and proposed action items for improving the PDP include:• While the procedure for developing “consensus policies” will need to continue to be established by the Bylaws as long as required by ICANN’s contracts, Council and Staff work should together to propose new PDP rules for the Board’s consideration and approval. Once approved, the rules would become part of the GNSO Council’s operating procedures. They should be subject to periodic review by the Council, which may come back to the Board to recommend changes. The rules should better align the PDP with the contractual requirements of “consensus policies,” as that term is used in ICANN’s contracts with registries and registrars, and distinguish that procedure more clearly from general policy advice the GNSO may wish to provide the Board. In addition, the Bylaws should clarify that only a GNSO recommendation on a consensus policy can, depending on the breadth of support, be considered binding on the Board, unless it is rejected by a supermajority vote.
• In preparing the new PDP proposal, the implementation team should emphasize the importance of the work that must be done before launch of a working group or other activity, such as public discussion, fact-finding, and expert research in order to define properly the scope, objective and schedule for a specific policy development goal. The implementation team should also consider whether there are certain issues, such as the adjustment of timelines for PDP, where the Board could authorize the Council to make the decision. Proposed Action Item: The Board requests that the GNSO Council and constituencies work with Staff to develop a draft revised Policy Development Process within six months that incorporates the working group approach and is consistent with the considerations outlined above. The implementation team described above should be established for this purpose. The new PDP rules should consider how the GNSO Council’s policy development procedures can contain greater flexibility, consistent with ICANN’s contractual obligations to registries and registrars.
• Periodic assessment of the influence of the GNSO Council, including the PDP, is another important component of successful policy development. Frequent self- assessment by the Council and its working groups can lead to immediate improvements in the GNSO’s ability to make meaningful policy contributions. The Council should ask each working group to include in its report a self-assessment of any lessons learned, as well as input on metrics that could help measure the success of the policy recommendation.
Proposed Action Item: The Board requests:(i) The Council, with the support of Staff, to implement a self-assessment process for each working group to perform at the end of a PDP, which should contain metrics for evaluating the effectiveness of the policy and any lessons learned from the PDP. Subsequent review by the Council should discuss the extent to which the policy adopted has been implemented successfully and proven effective; and
(ii) The GNSO Council Chair to present an annual report to the ICANN community on the effectiveness of new GNSO policies using the metrics developed at the end of each PDP. The report should also contain a synthesis of lessons learned from policy development during the year with a view to establishing best practices. The report should be presented annually at an ICANN public meeting each year, and the material should be incorporated into the ICANN Annual Report prepared by Staff.
• The PDP should be better aligned with ICANN’s strategic plan and operations plan. A formal Policy Development Plan should be linked to ICANN’s overall strategic plan, but at the same time should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate changes in priority determined by rapid evolution in the DNS marketplace and unexpected initiatives.Proposed Action Item: The Board requests:(i) The Council, constituencies and staff to execute, within six months, a more formal “Policy Development Plan” that is linked to ICANN’s overall strategic plan, but at the same time is sufficiently flexible to accommodate changes in priority (establishing the above-described implementation team for that purpose); and
(ii) Staff to propose, within six months, metrics that can bring the PDP more in sync with ICANN’s planning. It should be noted that sufficient additional time will need to be allotted for the submission and consideration of public comments on the new draft PDP.
