PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Background
Reviews are an important accountability tool required by the ICANN Bylaws and are critical to maintaining a healthy multistakeholder model. They serve as checks and balances and help ICANN evolve to meet the emerging needs. Reviews assess how certain aspects of the ICANN ecosystem are performing, including how ICANN fulfills various commitments and remains accountable. There are two review types:
- Specific Reviews are conducted by community-led review teams which assess ICANN's performance in reaching its commitments.
- Organizational Reviews are conducted by independent examiners to assess the effectiveness of ICANN’s supporting organizations and advisory committees.
Challenge
Over the course of several review cycles, ICANN has identified problems inherent to the reviews process that are preventing reviews from effectively fulfilling their purpose.
Solution
ICANN org initiated the Lifecycle of Reviews Project to better understand the current problems faced by reviews and effectively introduce improvements to the reviews process.
PROJECT UPDATES
Progress
- Compiled the problems and proposed improvements articulated by community, Board and ICANN org over the past 5+ years.
- Analyzed and organized this information into targeted improvements.
Next Steps
A Thought Paper was developed to outline the current state of the reviews process and provide an overview of potential improvements that could increase its effectiveness. It serves as a means for highlighting the existing problem areas and introducing targeted improvements to the Board and community.
WORK IN PROGRESS
The Lifecycle of Reviews Project: Evolving the Specific Reviews Process
Following an analysis of over five years of input on Specific Reviews from across ICANN, ICANN org developed a series of proposed improvements. Read more on our latest blog post here.
