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The Review Team is charged with assessing the effectiveness of the application and evaluation process. This may be informed in part by a set of program implementation reviews. The work described in above will provide an input to the Review Team in this area.

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The IAG-CCT determined that a subset of the metrics was best evaluated using a consumer survey. To capture an accurate baseline of end user and registrant attitudes and opinions before the New gTLDs saturate the domain space, ICANN conducted a globally representative survey conducted by the Nielson firm. The baseline was taken in early 2015 with a follow-on survey to be scheduled one year later to gauge changes in consumer trust and sense of choice in the DNS. Trust is being measured by asking for users' experiences with phishing, malware and spam, as well as experience in navigating the DNS, including reaching intended destinations online, and relative preference for mobile applications and other software that do not display URLs, like QR codes. Perceived sense of choice is to be gauged based on questions establishing respondents' understanding of how the DNS operates, including eligibility restrictions in TLDs, and general public awareness of the New gTLD Program. Taken .  In addition to these questions, registrants were asked about how they make decisions about registering domain names.  Taken together, these multiple metrics offer a multi-faceted picture of consumer trust based on opinion research, hard data on registrations in the New gTLDs as compared to legacy TLDs and ccTLDs, as well as on abusive activity in the DNS.

A second subset of metrics aims to measure competition in the New gTLD space based on an analysis of pricing data and other, non-price-related indicia. These two metrics [cks1] are sufficiently important to capture an accurate baseline of data before New gTLD prices begin to affect the marketplace. To that end, ICANN engaged the Analysis Group to conduct an economic study, with a target start date starting in early 2015. The study has two primary aims: gauge the pricing practices for domains in New gTLDs against those in the legacy space; and provide a qualitative analysis of other non-price competition indicators, like technical or other business innovations. Given the sensitivities surrounding the publication of pricing data, ICANN worked closely with the Analysis Group to ensure that price data was aggregated and anonymized, such that the analysis cannot be used to engage in collusion or other market manipulation.

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