ALAC Statement on the Draft 2011-2014 Strategic Plan - Version 0.01
1 Intro
Comments on Process and Structure
ICANN Planning Cycle
The current planning cycle is designed to involve constituencies in the planning process at an earlier stage than it used to be. The new timing, as explained on the graphic supplied by ICANN, shows a FY12 first comment period on Nov 10 on the Strategic 2011-2014 Strategic Plan, then a second comment period in February 2011 for the FY12 Framework, and finally a FY12 Adopted Budget comment period in May 2011.
This will require adjustment of At Large planning cycle to become in sync with the FY12 development cycle.
New Plan Goals
At Large fully supports the new plan Goals of re-organise objectives to distinguish areas of control vs. influence as well as bringing in measureable objectives. It would be useful if ICANN kept track of those objectives and we are looking forward to see such tracking take place, alongside performance evaluation reinforcing accountability.
Response to Community Input
At Large is pleased to see the new process for engaging community input at an earlier time, and amending the plans according to the first round of such input. It is through such dialogue with the whole community that processes will attain better accountability and legitimacy with the community as a whole. In our view, this reinforces the notion of bottom-up process in ICANN.
Plan for getting Board Approval
The new plan for getting Board Approval is a great improvement over the process it replaces. The consultations with Working Groups and Constituencies have engaged constituencies immediately and helped bring ownership of the plan closer to the edges. At Large hopes that this process will be upheld in future Strategic Plan cycles and even reinforced through enhanced collaboration between itself and the planning team. We will strive to ensure better communication with At Large Structures so as for the edges of the At Large Organisational Structure have a greater voice and so as to enhance the process of global involvement in this novel governance model.
Comments on Content
Four Strategic Focus Areas:
1 DNS stability and security
ALAC input => DNS stability and security is of primary importance for end users who wish to use an Internet that is as reliable as can be. Any focus by ICANN to enhance stability and security is welcome.
The mention of IPv6 roll-out, adoption and engagement, at the three levels (Community Work, Strategic Projects and Staff Work) is a positive and welcome development.
However we are concerned that, as written, the Strategic Plan is preempting the outcomes and recommendations of the with the sentence in " ICANN will follow the lead of its community working groups to develop an approach to the establishment of solutions such as coordination of an emergency response team (DNS CERT) to address one of the issues of Internet security." ALAC recommends this text be deleted and the paragraph 4 of this section of the document would then read. "Increase international participation in unique identifier security. Attacks on the unique identifier system can come from anywhere around the globe. Strong international security systems and skills are first line deterrents to bad behavior. Staff and community work will focus on global security outreach and collaboration with Regional Internet Registries (RIR) operators to improve overall security. ICANN will follow the lead of its community working groups to to develop an approach to the establishment of solutions to address issues of Internet security. Also, community work needs to facilitate the acceptance of internationalized registration data in the Whois database."
Increase international participation in unique identifier security. Attacks on the unique identifier system
can come from anywhere around the globe. Strong international security systems and skills are first line
deterrents to bad behavior. Staff and community work will focus on global security outreach and
collaboration with Regional Internet Registries (RIR) operators to improve overall security. ICANN will
follow the lead of its community working groups to develop an approach to the establishment of
solutions such as coordination of an emergency response team (DNS CERT) to address one of the issues
of Internet security. Also, community work needs to facilitate the acceptance of internationalized
registration data in the Whois database.
AfRALO input=>
AFRALO acknowledges that the stability and security of the DNS is an important element for
ICANN and the global internet users. Therefore, it thinks that ICANN should prioritise the
support for the implementation of DNSSEC.
It highly appreciates the ICANN’s initiative to perform training for TLD operators.
AFRALO argues that ICANN should come up with a plan for Disaster Recovery and Business
Continuity for its own operations.<end>
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2.2 Consumer choice, competition and innovation
2.2.1 ICANN-identified stategic objectives:
2.2.1.1 More TLDs available in multiple languages (IDNs)
2.2.1.2 Increase regional participation in the industry
2.2.1.3 Mitigate Malicious conduct
2.2.1.4 Foster industry innovation
2.2.1.5 Promote fair opportunities
2.2.1.6 Implementation & deployment of the IDNS protocol to ensure IDNs operate as expected
2.2.2 ICANN At Large-identified Strategic Objectives
ALAC input => At Large re-iterates its comments made in previous years. We are very pleased that IDNs are providing consumer choice and hope that the new gTLD programme will be beneficial to healthy competition but also to an increase in regional participation in the industry. Choice does not only come from a select few regions of the world, but from having a local partner, accessible locally and understanding local cultures.
At Large supports the strategy defined in the document fully, with a special mention for promotion of local communities. It is our wish that the new gTLD programme benefits local communities directly.
Also emphasised is the notion of mitigating malicious conduct. At Large is ready to help drive the process of developing a Registrants Rights Charter in collaboration with the rest of ICANN.
AFRALO argues that in line with one of ICANN’s core values, which is introducing and
promoting competition in the delegation of Top Level Domains where practicable and
beneficial in the public interest, ICANN should make the application fee for new TLDs
within the reach of each applicant alike. Levying high application fees for all applicants
creates the disparity between the have and have-not’s. Therefore, we urge ICANN to
review the applicant guide book to reflect the almost unanimous wish regarding the
application fees expressed in all public comments on the previous versions, in the Working
Group 3 (at-large summit, Mexico) report approved by ALAC, and in the JAS working group
milestone report.
We note the positive initiative to provide effective program management for the successful
deployment of IDNs trough the new gTLD and ccTLD programs.
Conducting education and training programs in partnership with ISOC, local operators and
local internet communities is an excellent approach. However, AFRALO believes that part
or all of those programs could and should be conducted by ICANN constituencies, such as
At-Large structures and regional organizations for the part related to Internet users.
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2.3 Core Operations including IANA
ALAC input => * *At Large supports the decision of ICANN to submit a proposal for the IANA contract renewal based on ICANN’s track record and other factors including the confidence that ICANN’s multi-stakeholder model of bottom-up governance is a guarantee of good standing with regards to core operations.
The aim of improving the ongoing efficiency and effectiveness of policy development and implementation processes and the multi-stakeholder model that engages the community is fully supported by At Large. Furthermore, At Large agrees with the GNSO initiative to improve the PDP and also encourages and supports additional initiatives.
The continuous improvement process towards operational excellence is very welcome and At Large fully supports ICANN’s engagement with the technical community including the IETF and root server managers.
AFRALO takes positive note of the ICANN willing to provide the international Internet
community a transparent and collaborative model for root server operations.
It acknowledges the ICANN commitment to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of
policy development and implementation processes and the multi-stakeholder model that
engages the global community.
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2.4 A healthy Internet eco-system
At Large fully supports the recommendations contained in this sub-section. As a reminder, At Large is a core constituent of each one of the core strategic objectives outlined in this section. In particular, we welcome Internet Governance education and would urge ICANN to consider making better use of the power and outreach of At Large’s constituency organization of Regional At Large Organisations (RALOs) and At Large Structures (ALSes) present in over 80 countries around the world.
3. Core operations including IANA
ALAC input =>
AFRALO agrees that continued internationalisation of ICANN is crucial to maintaining a
single, global interoperable Internet and a single Internet zone file used globally.
It takes positive note that ICANN will formalize a cross-stakeholder model, and will also
formalize input from the At-Large community into Board discussion.
While recognizing the ICANN effort for a multilingual working environment, AFRALO
considers that for an international organization, more commitment is needed to translate
the most of the ICANN documents, and to implement simultaneous interpretation for the
most of the meetings (face to face or telephonic). This interpretation is urgently needed
for the fellowship program which is now restricted to the English speakers only.
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4. Healthy Internet eco-system
ALAC input =>
AFRALO highly appreciate the commitment to provide Internet governance education to an
expanding group of international participants and to promote programs that enhance global
participation. The AFRALO ALSes really need this kind of education to reach an effective
participation in the ICANN policy development process.
The ICANN participation in the Internet Governance events such as IGF and WSIS forum
is of high importance. AFRALO thinks that this participation shouldn’t be limited to nice
formal speeches, or an ICANN parallel event, but needs to be more effective by organizing
substantial workshops addressing actual subjects and involving the large population of the
forum. This kind of participation will give ICANN more visibility and better credibility. The
impact of the so-called substantial workshops will be greater if they are organized by the
ICANN constituencies rather than the ICANN staff and/or Board.
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