FY22 CROP Procedures and Guidelines

I. Goals of the Program:

The Community Regional Outreach Program (CROP) strives to

1. Build local/regional awareness to recruit new community members
2. More effectively engage with current members or "reactivate” previously engaged community members
3. Communicate the mission and objectives of ICANN to new audiences

Based on community feedback received on the draft FY21 budget and operating plan and further consideration of how to support community outreach efforts while remaining within appropriate budget limits, the FY21 budget allocates US $50,000 for CROP. 

Most features of CROP remain unchanged for FY21. This is in line with the ICANN Board request that CROP should continue to meet its goals in a cost-effective manner while facilitating community outreach efforts that are directly and demonstrably related to ongoing ICANN policy, technical, or advisory work. 

The launch of the FY21 CROP does not reverse existing ICANN org travel restrictions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. ICANN org encourages eligible community groups to plan for FY21 CROP trips after ICANN69 at the earliest. ICANN org will update its travel guidance as global public health conditions permit.

II. Scope of CROP (Who is Eligible, What Principles Apply to Determine Approvals):

Community Groups Eligible for CROP Funding:

1. The five Regional At-Large Organizations (RALOs) (i.e. AFRALO, APRALO, EURALO, LACRALO, and NARALO); and
2. The following GNSO Constituencies: Commercial Business Users (BC), Intellectual Property (IPC), Internet Service & Internet Connectivity Providers (ISPCP), Non-Commercial Users (NCUC), and Not-for-Profit Operational Concerns (NCUC) Constituencies.

Criteria for CROP Funding:

1. Each RALO and eligible GNSO Constituency is allocated up to three (3) individual regional trips, to be utilized within a financial year (FY), and in accordance with the goals, strategies, and expected activities and outcomes detailed in each RALO’s and Constituency’s Outreach Strategic Plan.  
2. The three allocated trips must be within the applicable geographical region for each RALO and eligible Constituency (as determined by the GSE list of countries and regions); and must be applied in the following manner:
   1. If, during the current FY, there is an ICANN Public Meeting or an ICANN-organized event occuring in the relevant region, at least one trip must be allocated either to that ICANN Public Meeting or ICANN-organized event.
   2. The remaining trip allocations must be used for events in the relevant region that are:
      1. Directly and demonstrably related to ongoing ICANN policy, technical, or advisory work, such as a Regional Internet Registry meeting
      2. Consistent with the ICANN org strategic plan for that region as directly assessed by the relevant regional GSE vice president
3. For clarity, if there is no ICANN Public Meeting or ICANN-organized event taking place in the relevant region during the current fiscal year, all three trip allocations may be used in accordance with the criteria outlined in 2.b.

Travel Allocations:

1. The ICANN Community Travel Support Guidelines apply to all CROP trips. 
2. Transportation (most economical routing in economy class only), lodging, and per diem for a maximum of four days/three nights, must be booked through the ICANN Travel Support team. This ensures transparency and that any financial outlays are optimized to the maximum extent possible.
3. Supported travelers shall be financially responsible for any itinerary changes that occur after travel bookings are made.
4. Supported travelers shall be financially responsible for lodging and all other expenses if they choose to travel on a date different from the approved dates of arrival or departure.

Visa Fees:

• Travelers will be reimbursed for visa fees (actual cost or up to $200 USD, whichever is less). 

Registration Fees:

1. Unless expressly approved by either the Vice-President for the SCOPE team in consultation with the relevant regional GSE Vice-President, conference registration fees are generally not covered by CROP funding.
2. Any approved conference registration fees will be on a reimbursement basis and will generally count toward the overall trip cost (e.g.  the traveler may be funded for a shorter trip duration than requested). 

III. Rules & Conditions for CROP Travel Allocations:

A. General 

1. All trips must be completed before the end of FY21. Specifically, supported travelers must have returned to their originating destination on or before 30 June 2021.  
2. All eligible groups are responsible for
   1. Ensuring that trip proposals and approvals fulfill any and all criteria that the group may have developed for CROP, including ensuring that all necessary information is provided in sufficient detail to allow for reasonably informed consideration
   2. Tracking the number of trips that were proposed, taken, and remain in the fiscal year 
   3. Tracking which community members have been supported by CROP 
   4. Submitting all required trip reports within the prescribed time frame. 
3. While ICANN org can and will assist with logging trip proposals, assessments, and reports in a timely fashion, it is not the responsibility of ICANN org to remind an eligible group of any remaining trip allocations, deadlines, or events, or to liaise on a group’s behalf with the relevant regional GSE team.  
4. A trip that has been allocated, but not taken, will not carry over to the next fiscal year.
5. Trips must originate and conclude within the same region and must be taken by someone located in the region where the meeting is taking place. No out-of-region travel will be permitted.
6. Multiple persons may attend the same event; however, each supported traveler is counted as utilizing one of the allocated trips for that community group and must submit a separate trip request and trip assessment report to facilitate tracking.

B. Eligibility & Process Requirements 

1. To participate in CROP, each eligible community group must comply with all the following requirements: 
   1. Create an outreach and strategic plan for that fiscal year. The plan (to be developed based on the template provided by the CROP administrator) must include details of the group’s outreach goals, strategies, and expected activities and outcomes for that fiscal year in sufficient detail to permit coordination of the group’s specific activities with the appropriate GSE team.
   2. Obtain concurrence on the plan from the appropriate regional GSE vice president(s), following review by the community group’s leadership. Each group’s appointed program coordinator will certify, within the template, when these reviews have taken place and communicate those results to the CROP administrator.
   3. Submit all trip requests by the deadlines.
   4. Submit all trip assessment reports by the deadlines.
2. No CROP trip request will be entertained prior to the finalization and concurrence of a group’s outreach and strategic plan. All eligible community groups are strongly encouraged to collaborate proactively with the appropriate regional GSE teams, to ensure that their outreach and strategic plans are, as much as is feasible, directly and demonstrably related to ongoing ICANN policy, technical, or advisory work and consistent with the ICANN org strategic plan for that region.
3. All trip requests must be submitted for the requisite concurrence by the relevant regional GSE vice president as well as approved by the applicant’s community group (in accordance with any criteria developed for CROP) no less than seven weeks before the start date of the proposed trip. No exceptions will be allowed. This period is the absolute minimum time and is not to be considered a "best practice." 
   1. Notice to and planning with the appropriate regional GSE team should therefore take place as much in advance of the trip as possible. To ensure that there is sufficient time for ICANN Travel Support to book the trip, concurrence from the relevant regional GSE vice president should be received no later than one week following submission of the trip request. This will allow a minimum of six weeks to confirm the trip and book travel. 
   2. By way of illustration, if the requested travel date begins on Monday, 26 October 2020, the first day of the six-week travel deadline (and thus the last day for obtaining the necessary concurrences and approvals) will be Monday, 14 September 2020 and the last day for submitting the concurrence/approval request will be Friday, 11 September 2020.  
4. For each trip taken, the supported traveler must submit a trip assessment report to abr-reports@icann.org within three weeks of the end of the trip as booked by ICANN Travel Support. The trip assessment report should clearly and specifically include the following details: 
   1. If/how the original purpose(s) and outcome(s) were realized
   2. Details of the supported traveler’s activities at the event, including sessions attended, written or oral contributions made to specific sessions, etc.
   3. Specific plans for follow-up activities to enhance and continue the objectives of the trip for the community group
5. ICANN org will track all trip assessment reports, including the dates that they were submitted. If a trip assessment report is not submitted, or is submitted after the due date, it may impact the allocations available to that community group in future fiscal years.
6. If an approved trip is voided or cancelled for some unanticipated and/or extraordinary reason, a replacement trip may be allocated to the affected community group within the same fiscal year, subject to available funding. Where the cancellation involves a trip for which funds have already been disbursed, it will not be possible to reallocate the trip.
7. Trip "compounding" or "splitting" of expenses or any other strategy with a goal of increasing the number of individual trips assigned to a community group is strictly not permitted.