At-Large Workspace: Proposed Incremental Changes to the ICANN Meetings Strategy

Comments Forum

Brief Overview

Purpose: This Public Comment seeks community input on proposed incremental changes to the current strategy for ICANN Public Meetings. The proposed changes were developed by community leaders during a call on 17 August 2017 and detailed in a subsequent report prepared by ICANN.org.

Current Status: Community Leaders reviewed the report on proposed incremental changes at a meeting held 2 November 2017 during ICANN61 in Abu Dhabi and approved the publication to gather public comments.

Next Steps: ICANN.org will provide community leaders with a summary of feedback received from this public comment proceeding to facilitate a final decision on proposed incremental changes to the current strategy for ICANN Public Meetings.

Section I: Description and Explanation

The Meeting Strategy Working Group (MSWG) recommendations adopted by the ICANN Board in June 2014, defined the focus and length of ICANN's triannual public meetings as follows:

1. Community Forum (Current Duration: 6 Days)
   • Timing of this meeting would be the first meeting in the three-meeting annual cycle
2. Policy Forum (Current Duration: 4 Days)
   • Timing of this meeting would be the second meeting in the three-meeting annual cycle
   • Focused on SO/AC policy development work as well as cross community interaction and outreach
3. Annual General Meeting (Current Duration: 7 Days)
   • Timing of this meeting would be the third meeting in the three-meeting annual cycle and would include the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and would have a focus on showcasing ICANN’s work to a broader global audience.
   • Days should be optimized to allow some groups to conduct their activities over a shorter duration within the overall meeting timeframe.

Proposed Incremental Changes

Community leaders and representatives were asked what consideration, if any, should be made for changes to the meeting duration.

1. Community Forum

   There were no recommendations for change to the duration of the Community Forum.

2. Policy Forum

   Input suggests one additional day dedicated to outreach should be added for the mid-year Policy Forum for a total of five days.

3. Annual General Meeting

   Community leaders raised concerns about the underutilization of the last day (Day 7) at the Annual General Meeting. They also ask that the announced meeting dates of the official ICANN Public Meetings guarantee constructive use of the participants’ time. Thus, we have two potential recommendations for the Annual General Meeting:

   • Keep the Annual General Meeting to seven days, but reorganize the work so that there is better use of participants’ time on day seven.

   Or

   • Reduce the official dates published for the Annual General Meetings to six days, while keeping day seven available for the community to hold internal working meetings and wrap-ups.

Section II: Background

On 17 August 2017, ICANN.org hosted a call with community leaders to discuss questions about the criteria for ICANN Meeting venue selection, and potential updates to the current strategy for ICANN Public Meetings, which was approved by the ICANN Board in 2014 (See https://community.icann.org/display/soaceinputfeedback/Event+Calendar.)  Community leaders and representatives on the call included: At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) and RALO Chairs, Commercial Stakeholder Group (CSG), Country Code Names Supporting Organization(ccNSO), Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG), Registrar Stakeholder Group (RrSG), Registry Stakeholder Group (RySG), Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC), Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC), and the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) .

ICANN.org prepared a summary of the discussion which included proposed incremental changes to the current meeting strategy. Fundamental changes to the meeting strategy were also discussed, however participants agreed to wait for a more comprehensive review of the current meeting strategy with the community to examine those issues and make informed recommendations for change.

ICANN.org presented the paper to community leaders on 13 October 2017 and solicited feedback from the group at a meeting on 2 November 2017 during ICANN60 Annual General Meeting in Abu Dhabi. As a result, community leaders directed ICANN.org to seek further input from the community via this public comment proceeding.

Section III: Relevant Resources

Meeting Strategy: Incremental Changes for Community Review: https://community.icann.org/download/attachments/45744715/Meeting-Strategy-Incremental-Changes-FINAL_13Oct17.docx?version=1&modificationDate=1513201758768&api=v2

Section IV: Additional Information

Section V: Reports

Staff Contact

Tanzanica King
tanzanica.king@icann.org