Status Report on Implementation of Evolution and Reform
15 July 2002

Committee on ICANN Evolution and Reform
Status Report on Implementation of Evolution and Reform

At its meeting in Bucharest on 28 June 2002, the ICANN Board adopted the following resolutions:

Therefore, it is resolved [02.75] that the Board adopts and endorses the ERC Blueprint for Reform, and the broad outlines of ICANN structural and procedural reform that it contains;

Further resolved [02.76] that the Evolution and Reform Committee (ERC) is directed to oversee further detailed implementation and transition work based on the Blueprint for Reform, with the continued involvement and participation of the ICANN community, to report to the Board at its next telephonic meeting as to its progress and schedule, and to provide its implementation recommendations to the Board and the community sufficiently prior to the Shanghai meeting so that the Board can take action at that meeting;

Further resolved [02.77] that the President is directed to provide all appropriate assistance and resources to the ERC and any transition teams or mechanisms that it creates to assist it in the transition process;

Further resolved [02.78] that the Board takes note of the importance to the community, as expressed throughout this reform process and in the Public Forum discussion at the Bucharest meeting, of the following issues, and instructs the ERC to take due account of these issues as it moves forward in the implementation process, namely, the need to:

• devise and incorporate specific measures to ensure, to the extent feasible, geographic and cultural diversity in all parts of ICANN structure, which have been key core values of ICANN since its inception, and remain so today, as expressed in the ERC Blueprint for Reform;
• consider the creation of an At Large Advisory Committee as a potential vehicle for informed participation in ICANN by the broad user community;
• ensure that the composition and operation of the Nominating Committee in fact represents a balance among all segments of the Internet community;
• collaborate with critical infrastructure providers and the technical community to further the establishment of effective working relationships; and
• ensure that ICANN's policy development processes enhance and promote a transparent bottom-up process.

Further resolved [02.79] that any further opportunities for strengthening ICANN's capacity to fulfill its mission that develop or are identified during the implementation process should be carefully reviewed and utilized as appropriate . . . .

Following the adoption of this resolution, the ERC has met on three occasions in person or by telephone, and anticipates meeting approximately weekly for the foreseeable future. The ERC continues to reach out to the community and encourages input from all interested persons, which can be sent to reform-comments@icann.org (Forum closed 18 August 2003). All comments received at this address will be posted on the ICANN forum website.

The ERC currently intends to provide a first Interim Implementation Report to the community on or about 1 August 2002, and another such Interim Implementation Report on or about 1 September 2002. A final set of ERC Implementation Recommendations will be posted on or about 1 October 2002. The Interim Implementation reports will set forth the ERC's then-current approach to implementation details, and will invite community comment on the matters discussed, probably generally following the format of the various ERC Working Papers that led up to the Blueprint for Reform. We strongly encourage continuous feedback on any specific details of the implementation effort.

There is much work to do, and little time in which to get it done. As a result, the ERC will from time to time ask for particular assistance in filling out the details of the Blueprint for Reform. Since we do not have the luxury of time to reargue decisions made by the Board in adopting and endorsing the Blueprint for Reform, any specific assistance sought is intended to seek help in crafting workable implementation details. It will represent only the assistance of those individuals from whom help is sought, and is specifically not intended to be a process for obtaining the formal views of particular groups or segments of the ICANN community, which can and the ERC hopes will be provided in the regular course in reaction to ERC postings. All input received in response to particular requests for assistance will be publicly posted, and considered by the ERC along with all other inputs in formulating its recommendations to the Board and the community for final implementation of the Blueprint for Reform. As noted, work in progress on those recommendations will be posted monthly, and final recommendations made available for public comment and review approximately one month prior to the next ICANN meeting, scheduled for 27-31 October 2002 in Shanghai.

Two such assistance efforts have been initiated. The ERC has asked Becky Burr to provide recommendations for implementing several specific aspects of the Blueprint dealing with accountability. These include suggestions for the charter of the Office of Ombudsman, the independent review arbitration process for alleged bylaw violations, and appropriate modifications of the Reconsideration Policy of ICANN. Ms. Burr is of course free to take input from others in the community for help in her work, on which a first status report is scheduled for 26 July 2002. The final input from Ms. Burr is scheduled for 16 August 2002, to allow the ERC time to evaluate the input prior to the issuance of its Interim Implementation Report at the end of August.

In addition, Rita Rodin has agreed to lead an assistance effort dealing with the names policy development process. The Blueprint for Reform makes clear that a structured policy development process is a critical element of ICANN reform. The Blueprint lays out some general parameters that such a process must meet, but defered the details to the implementation process, suggesting that a task force of representatives of the broad ICANN community should be established to recommend the details of such a process. The ERC believes this must be done rapidly. Thus, the ERC has asked the following people to work with Ms. Rodin to provide suggestions to the ERC, which will then take account of that input in making its recommendations to the Board and the ICANN community: Bret Fausett, Jeff Neuman, Marilyn Cade, Carolyn Chicoine, Phillip Sheppard, Guillermo Carey and Bruce Tonkin. The first status report from this group is also scheduled for 26 July 2002, with final input by 16 August 2002.

All interested individuals or groups are encouraged to provide suggestions and input on the implementation details of the Blueprint for Reform. In addition, other such ERC assistance efforts may be initiated, and if so they will be announced as they occur.

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