Welcome to the ALAC/At-Large Improvements Workspace

This new Workspace is the hub for all updates, documents, and work related to the ALAC/At-Large Improvements Implementation project.

Announcements

27 March 2011

Using feedback received during the Silicon Valley Meeting, the four Improvements are currently (i) finalizing their implementation proposals to be made to the ALAC and (ii) beginning the Improvements Project final report.

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25 March 2011

WT B's plan to roll out individually tailored wiki pages for ALSes is being discussed on this month’s RALO calls. The first versions of these wikis have been prepared by staff; Marilyn Vernon will be working with the ALSes to refine their wiki pages.

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18 March 2011

ICANN's Silicon Valley Meeting concluded today with a public session held by its Board. In this session, the Board approved the opening of the public comment period on the ICANN Bylaw amendments proposed as part of the ALAC/At-Large Improvements Project. The primary goals of these amendments, as established in the Final Report of the ALAC Review Working Group on ALAC Improvements (Final Report; 9 June 2009), are two-fold:

To affirm that the ALAC, as the representative body of At-Large, is the primary organizational home for the individual Internet user within ICANN; and
To reflect the ALAC’s continuing purpose within ICANN (i) in providing advice on policy, (ii) in providing input into ICANN’s operations and structure, (iii) as part of ICANN’s accountability mechanisms, and (iv) as an organizing mechanism for some of ICANN’s outreach.

These amendments were developed by At-Large Imrpovements Work Team A (on the ALAC's continuing purpose within ICANN), the ALAC, the At-Large Staff, and the Office of the General Counsel. The At-Large Staff and Office of the General Counsel proposed the public comment period on the amendments shortly before the Silicon Valley Meeting.

The public comment period is expected to open in April.
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17 March 2011

At ICANN’s Silicon Valley Meeting today, as part of its ALAC & Regional Leadership Wrap-up Meeting, the four ALAC/At-Large Improvements Work Teams (WTs) presented the bulk of their draft implementation proposals to the ALAC and regional leadership. This marked a major milestone for the current phase of the Improvements Project.

Notable examples of these implementation proposals include the following:

A proposal by WT A (on the ALAC’s continuing purpose) that the ALAC request the At-Large Staff to submit to the Board a set of ICANN Bylaw amendments developed collaboratively by the WT, the ALAC, and the Office of the General Counsel, aimed at clarifying the continuing purpose of the ALAC within the ICANN structure;
A proposal by WT B (on ALS participation) that the ALAC initiate a training and education program, to coincide with ICANN Meetings, for new ALS members;
A proposal by WT C (on ALAC planning processes) that the ALAC initiate, develop, and maintain an institutional knowledge management and retention system for At-Large; and
A proposal by WT D (on ALAC’s policy advice development) that the ALAC adopt a new Policy Advice Development process (PAD) incorporating (a) earlier document translation and education of the ALSes about policy issues, (b) multiple points at which extensions of the public comment period may be requested, and (c) the development of a Staff Policy Review Committee (PRC) to inform the Community of upcoming policy comment periods.

Immediately after the Silicon Valley Meeting, the WTs, in collaboration with the At-Large Staff, will begin preparing their final report to the ALAC on the Improvements Project. This report will contain the WTs' formal proposals for the ALAC's consideration. This phase of the Improvements Project is scheduled to conclude early in the second quarter of 2011.
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13 March 2011

At ICANN’s Silicon Valley Meeting today, as part of the ALAC and Regional Leadership Working Session 1, the four ALAC/At-Large Improvements Work Teams (WTs) presented their draft implementation proposals to the broad At-Large Community -- that is, to the RALOs and their ALSes. The purpose of this session was for the Community to give the WTs its feedback; overall, the draft proposals were met with widespread approval and enthusiasm.

Over the next four days in San Francisco, the WTs will incorporate the Community's input into their proposals. The WTs will then present their revised proposals to the ALAC and regional leadership during Thursday's ALAC & Regional Leadership Wrap-up Meeting,

Of course, today was not the first time the Improvements WTs received input from the RALOs and ALSes. Perhaps the most strking aspect of the overall ALAC/At-Large Improvements Project has been the extensive “bottom-up” approach taken in its work. The Project has truly been conducted and led by the At-Large “edges” – that is, by the regional ALSes and their members. Of the eight WT co-chairs, the majority (five) are not ALAC members; furthermore, the majority of WT members, by far, come straight from the ALSes.

Since the goal of the At-Large Improvements Project is no less than the enhancement of the ways in which the ALAC and At-Large conduct their business, the RALOs’ and ALSes’ leadership of this Project has ensured their widespread – and very beneficial – influence on our Community for years to come.

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For earlier announcements regarding the ALAC/At-Large Improvements Project, please click here.

At-Large Improvements Work Teams

The goal of the ALAC/At-Large Improvements project is to review and improve both ALAC/At-Large’s participation in ICANN and the ALSes’ participation in At-Large. This will be done through the implementation of the 13 recommendations outlined in the At-Large Review Work Group's Final Report and detailed in the Simplified At-Large Improvements Implementation Outline.

We have divided these recommendations into four groups, each of which has been assigned to a work team consisting of ALAC members and regional representatives. These work teams, along with the recommendations for which they are responsible, are listed below; Please click on the name of each team for more detailed information.

Work Team A: Work team on ALAC’s continuing purpose
Rec 1: ICANN bylaws to reflect ALAC's continuing purpose
Rec 10: ALAC/At-Large is home of individual Internet users
Rec 11: Board statement recognizing Rec 10

Work Team B: Work team on ALS participation
Rec 3: Remove any obstacles in ALS-RALO-ALAC structure
Rec 4: ALS education and engagement
Rec 7: ALAC should choose its own communication/collaboration tools
Rec 9: ICANN should strengthen its translation/interpretation tools

Work Team C: Work team on ALAC planning processes
Rec 5: ALAC should develop strategic/operational plans as part of ICANN’s planning process
Rec 6: At-Large should develop accurate cost models

Work Team D: Work team on ALAC’s policy advice development
Rec 8: ALAC may request public comment period be extended to 45 days
Rec 12: Consumer representatives should have input into decisions and policy advice
Rec 13: ALAC/At-Large policy advice mechanisms should be strengthened

At-Large Improvements Recommendations

Here (click above), we have dedicated an individual wiki page to each of the At-Large Improvements 13 recommendations. Each page contains a summary of the specific work underway in the implementation of that recommendation. Specifically, the following is listed:

A summary of the recommendation itself (as stated in the Final Report);
The list of At-Large community members on the work team(s) assigned to the recommendation;
A summary of the steps or tasks planned for implementing the recommendation; and
The target completion period for the recommendation as a whole.

In addition, on these pages, visitors can leave comments regarding the implementation of any one of the recommendations.

Finally, each of these pages will link, as needed, to tailored pages that each work team can use in conducting its actual ongoing implementation work (for example, some will link to pages used to collect specific information requested from the At-Large community).

Following are direct links to the individual wiki page for each recommendation:

Recommendation 1: ICANN bylaws to reflect ALAC's continuing purpose
Recommendation 2: At-Large-selected ICANN Board member
Recommendation 3: ALS-RALO-ALAC structure to remain
Recommendation 4: ALS education and engagement
Recommendation 5: Strategic and operational plans
Recommendation 6: Accurate cost models
Recommendation 7: Choice of communication and collaborative tools
Recommendation 8: Public comment period
Recommendation 9: Translation and interpretation processes
Recommendation 10: ALAC/At-Large is home of individual Internet users
Recommendation 11: Board statement recognizing Rec. 10
Recommendation 12: Input from consumer representatives
Recommendation 13: Policy advice mechanisms to be strengthened

General Meeting Notes

Records of the individual At-Large Improvements work teams' calls can be found on the workspaces of the work teams themselves (see above). Below are posted the records of meetings or calls involving multiple work teams.