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Link to: Constituency Operations Work Team Board Recommendation Draft Checklist
CHARTER OF THE GNSO STAKEHOLDER GROUP AND CONSTITUENCY OPERATIONS TEAM:
GNSO STAKEHOLDER GROUP AND CONSTITUENCY OPERATIONS TEAM (GCOT) – CHARTER
(DRAFT 22DEC08)(as amended 28FEB09)(as amended 27MAR09)(as approved 13APR09)
Chair – Olga Cavalli
Vice Chair - Michael Young
I. TEAM CHARTER/GOALS
The GNSO Stakeholder Group and Constituency Operations Team will develop proposals for Council consideration based on the Board’s endorsement of recommendations outlined in the 3 February 2008 Report of the Board Governance Committee GNSO Review Working Group on GNSO Improvements (BGC WG Report). Those recommendations for improved inclusiveness, effectiveness and efficiency of the GNSO constituency and stakeholder group operations and their interactions with other GNSO structures (i.e., the Council) will include outreach efforts to encourage broader participation in stakeholder groups and constituencies by explaining the added value of ICANN participation to such groups; and enhancing constituencies per the BGC-WG Report. Recommendations considered from the BGC WG Report include, but are not limited to:
• Develop a global outreach program to broaden participation in current constituencies.
• Enhance existing constituencies by developing recommendations on the following:
o A set of top-level participation guidelines based on the principles as defined in the GNSO recommendations, while recognizing differences between constituencies and that one size may not fit all constituencies; and
o A“tool kit” of basic administrative, operational and technical services available to all constituencies
II. TEAM MEMBERSHIP GUIDELINES
The team will be composed of participants drawn from the GNSO Council, the GNSO constituencies and the larger ICANN/Internet community. It is recommended that:
1. There be a minimum of one GNSO Councilor and preferably two Councilors to serve as liaisons between this team and the Council.
2. The number of Councilors be limited to at most four to maintain separation between the team’s work and the Council’s oversight role.
3. There be at least one representative from each Constituency.
4. Each Advisory Committee and Supporting Organization be given the opportunity to have a representative (or representatives).
5. There be members from the community who are not associated with a Constituency or Advisory Committee (other than NomCom appointed Councilors).
6. Participation by team members on other teams should be minimized if not totally avoided so as to: spread the total GNSO Improvements Project workload across a wider group of people; minimize schedule conflicts that are more likely to occur when team members are involved in multiple groups at the same time; and encourage involvement by new community members.
7. The initial/interim chair of the team should be someone from the GNSO Operations Steering Committee (OSC).
8. The WT will elect a Chair and Vice Chair from its membership:
a. The Chair will become an ex-officio member of the OSC if not already the case.
b. The Chair will have primary leadership responsibilities for the WT.
c. The Vice Chair will fulfill the Chair responsibilities when the Chair is unavailable to do so.
d. The Chair and Vice Chair are encouraged to collaborate with one another and with Staff support personnel in leading the WT.
e. The Chair should consult with the Chair of the OSC as needed.
III. WORK TEAM RULES AND PROCEDURES
While formal and complete guidelines for Working Group (WG) operations are still to be developed by the Working Group Model work team, the following rules will apply for this Work Team (WT):
Statements of Interest: Each participant in the WT will provide a Statement of Interest including the following information:
• The participant’s current vocation, employer and position
• The type of work performed in bullet above
• Identification of any financial ownership or senior management/leadership interest in registries, registrars or other firms that are interested parties in ICANN policy or any entity with which ICANN has a transaction, contract, or other arrangement
• Identification of any type of commercial interest in ICANN GNSO policy development outcomes. Is the participant representing other parties?
• Describe any arrangements or agreements between the participant and any other group, constituency or person(s) regarding the participant’s selection as a WT member.
Decision Making: The WT shall function on the basis of “rough consensus” meaning that all points of view will be discussed until the Chair can ascertain that the point of view is understood and has been covered. That consensus viewpoint will be reported to the OSC in the form of a WT Report. Anyone with a minority view will be invited to include a discussion in the WT Report. The minority view should include the names and affiliations of those contributing to that part of the report.
In producing the WT Report, the Chair will be responsible for designating each position as having one of the following designations:
• Unanimous consensus position
• Rough consensus position where no more than 1/3 disagrees and at least 2/3 agree
• Strong support (at least a simple majority), but significant opposition (more than 1/3)
• No majority position
In all cases, the Chair will include the names and affiliations of those in support of each position and for participants representing a group (e.g., constituencies, stakeholder groups, other groups) will indicate if their support represents the consensus view of their constituency/group.
If any participant in a WT disagrees with the designation given to a position by the Chair or any other rough consensus call, they can follow these steps sequentially:
1. Send an email to the Chair, copying the WT explaining why the decision is believed to be in error.
2. If the Chair still disagrees, forward the appeal to the OSC. The Chair must explain his or her reasoning in the response.
3. If the OSC supports the Chair, the participants may attach a statement of the appeal to the GNSO Council Report generated by the OSC. This statement should include the documentation from all steps in the appeals process and should include a statement from the OSC.
Restricting Participation: The Chair in consultation with the Vice-Chair may restrict the participation of someone who seriously disrupts the WT. Any such restriction may be appealed to the OSC. Generally, the participant should first be warned privately, and then warned publicly, before such a restriction is put into place; in extreme circumstances these steps may be bypassed.
Record Keeping: The WT will have an archived mailing list. The mailing list will be open for reading by the community. All WT meetings will be recorded and all recordings will be available to the public. A SocialText Wiki will be provided for WT usage. If the guidelines for WT processes change during the course of the WT, the WT may continue to work under the guidelines active at the time it was (re)chartered or use the new guidelines.
Reporting: The WT Chair will be asked to report on the WT status biweekly to the OSC. Reports may be submitted via email or orally in OSC meetings.
Milestones: WT Milestones shall be developed by the WT, proposed to the OSC for approval and added after OSC approval.
Modifications: At any time during the tenure of the WT, the Chair should communicate to the OSC if the WT believes that changes or clarifications are needed regarding the WT Charter, including these rules.
Working Group (WG) Members Status: Working Group (WG) Members shall be classified as “Active” or “Inactive”. A WG member shall be classified as “Active” unless it is classified as “Inactive” pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph. Members become Inactive by failing to participate in a Constituency Operations Team (GCOT) meeting or consensus process for a total of three consecutive meetings or voting processes or both. An Inactive member shall have all rights and duties of WG membership other than being counted as present or absent in the determination of a consensus position. An Inactive member may resume Active status at any time by participating in a GCOT meeting or by participating in the determination of a consensus position.
IV. CALENDAR/TIMETABLES
As the ICANN community considers the various recommendations set forth in the BGC WG Report, it is important to keep in mind that this is an evolutionary process intended to reflect the importance of the GNSO to ICANN and to build upon the GNSO’s successes to date. But at the same time, the Board expects to see significant and expeditious efforts being taken to implement the “improvements” recommendations. The team should develop a timeline for OSC review and approval. The detailed timetable, milestones and work program of the WT will be accessible at the following link on the OSC SocialText wiki -- constituency operations team.
V. STAFF SUPPORT
The ICANN Staff assigned to the work team will fully support the work of the team as directed by the Chair including meeting support, document drafting, editing and distribution and other substantive contributions when appropriate.
VI. ACTION ITEMS AND DELIVERABLES
Set forth below is a <preliminary list of deliverables for the GNSO Stakeholder Group And Constituency Operations Team (GCOT).
1. Election of Chair and Vice Chair
2. Schedule for recurring meetings
3. WT Charter
4. Regular Reports to the OSC (at least biweekly)
5. Identification of Key Projects*
6. Work Plan
7. Calendar
8. Final Implementation Plan
*Link to Constituency Operations Work Team Board Recommendation Draft Checklist developed from the ICANN Board Recommendations that may be useful for identifying key projects and for tracking progress on those projects.
