Open date: 5 September 2018

Close date: 5 October 2018

Publication of Public Comment Summary: 12 October 2018

See below or here for more information 

Brief Overview

Purpose: The purpose of this Public Comment is to provide further opportunity for consultation due to the limited number of comments received on the short-term and long-term options to adjust the timeline of reviews, and to confirm the way forward with the community, based on ICANN organization's understanding of the public comments, in coordination with the ICANN Board through the Organizational Effectiveness Committee (OEC).

Current Status: The public comment forum on short-term options pertaining to specific reviews was opened to address the current workload of the volunteer community and impact on ICANN resources; the comments received on this topic were limited in number, with support split across various options (see Summary of Public Comments [PDF, 225 KB]).

The public comment forum on long-term options provided more reasonable scheduling across ICANN reviews (Specific and Organizational), with the goal of meeting ICANN's accountability and transparency obligations in a more practical and sustainable manner. The long-term proposal garnered a number of comments, with general support for many of the principles, but no clear agreement on how to implement improvement (see Summary of Public Comments [PDF, 294 KB]).

The proposal "Consultation Paper on Next Steps on Reviews" [PDF, 120 KB] intends to confirm the way forward with the community, based on ICANN organization's understanding of the public comments, and in coordination with the ICANN Board through the Organizational Effectiveness Committee (OEC). We are providing further opportunity for consultation due to the limited number of comments received; to confirm whether the responses received to date are broadly representative of the multistakeholder community views; and to harmonize divergence of opinions expressed by the responders. This consultation paper is posted for 30 days, due to the timing considerations for Accountability and Transparency Review (ATRT3) and the importance of moving the work forward.

Next Steps: After this Public Comment closes, ICANN organization will analyze the comments received and coordinate with the Organizational Effectiveness Committee of the Board (OEC) in identifying recommendations to the Board on paths forward.

Report of Public Comments

Section I: Description and Explanation

On 14 May 2018, ICANN organization opened two public comment forums: short-term options pertaining to specific reviews to address the current workload of the volunteer community and impact on ICANN resources and long-term options to provide more reasonable scheduling across ICANN reviews (Specific and Organizational), with the goal of meeting ICANN's accountability and transparency obligations in a more practical and sustainable manner. In response to community requests, ICANN organization extended the deadline for comments until 31 July 2018, resulting in a 78-day public comment period.

For short-term options, eight comments were received, with support split across three presented options (see Summary of Public Comments [PDF, 225 KB]). Long-term proposal garnered 10 comments, with general support for many of the principles, but no clear agreement on how to implement improvements – see Summary of Public Comments [PDF, 294 KB].

This consultation paper proposes a path forward with regards to short-term options, specifically for ATRT3; the means by which Specific Reviews and Organizational Reviews could be streamlined and improved in the long-term; and next steps toward finalizing and adopting Operating Standards. It is important to note that this consultation paper does not propose solutions for streamlining and improving reviews; it articulates the issues to be considered and a process by which this work could move forward.

Section II: Background

The comments received on short-term options to adjust the timeline of reviews were limited in number, with support split across various options (see Summary of Public Comments [PDF, 225 KB]). The long-term proposal garnered a number of comments, with general support for many of the principles, but no clear agreement on how to implement improvement (see Summary of Public Comments [PDF, 294 KB]).

The proposal "Consultation Paper on Next Steps on Reviews" [PDF, 120 KB] intends to confirm the way forward with the community, based on ICANN organization's understanding of the public comments, and in coordination with the ICANN Board through the Organizational Effectiveness Committee (OEC). We are providing further opportunity for consultation due to the limited number of comments received, to confirm whether the responses received to date are broadly representative of the multistakeholder community views, and to harmonize divergence of opinions expressed by the responders.

Section III: Relevant Resources

Section IV: Additional Information

Section V: Reports


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