ICANN Board Committee Reports Sydney, Australia 26 June 2009 >> Ladies and gentlemen if you'd please take your seats, we'll good morning's board reports. If you'd take your seats, please. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome chairman of the ICANN board, Peter Dengate Thrush. [Applause] >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you very much and good morning and thank you for coming at a -- at this time to help us get things started. This is a session where the chairs of the various committees of the board have an opportunity to speak to their reports which have been published earlier in the week. Their reports deal with activities leading up to the week here in Sydney, and then I assume that some of the chairs will want to talk about some of the things that have happened while we've been here and they'll be happy to take questions. Let me introduce the committee chairs and explain -- and the committees. First of all, there's an Audit Committee that we're required to have to keep a check things in general but on finance in particular. The chair of that committee is Rita Rodin Johnston. Rita, as you know, suffered an injury and had difficulty traveling to Sydney, and Steve Crocker has filled in, so thank you, Steve. Nice to see you. The Board Governance Committee deals with all sorts of matters about helping to make the board more effective and one of its more important tasks is to prepare the slate of officers, so the chairman of the board, the vice chair, the chairs of the committees, and filling all the different slots is the job that this hard-working committee undertakes. Finance committee is chaired by Rajasekhar Ramaraj. This deals very closely with the finance staff, helps prepare finance policies, policies such as investments and Ram will be talking to their report. IANA committee, as the others s pretty self-explanatory. One of our most functions is to manage the IANA function under contract and Harald as the former chair of the IETF and a board member is well-placed to chair that committee. One of the newer committees that I'm very pleased that we have and very pleased with the work that it's been doing since it was formed recently is the public participation committee. So much of the work of ICANN depends on the diligent and constant work of volunteers, and also of interactions with the rest of the community. The ICANN community and the people who are not yet part of the ICANN community, and including people who are not yet part of the Internet. How do we deal with these -- this enormous world? And the public participation committee, amongst other things, grapples with that. Another new committee -- sorry, and chaired by Jean-Jacques Subrenat. The risk committee is analyzing the various risks that the corporation faces. Financial, strategic and others. And that's chaired by what must count in Sydney as a local boy, Bruce Tonkin from Melbourne I.T. Structural improvements committee is a new committee. It's taken the work that was originally being done very well by the Board Governance Committee, but not really sitting properly inside something that was focusing on board governance and it's really to do with structure of the entire organization, so the former chair of the BGC who was responsible for starting and carrying with a lot of that restructuring and review work, Roberto Gaetano now chairs the Structural Improvements Committee. Just some background information about the board committee reports that they are speaking to today and answering questions. They're up to Friday the 26th -- sorry, that's this session. This is how you can find them. The committee reports themselves, each committee has a page on the ICANN Web site, and, for example, that's the board governance one so it's effectively it's the slash en slash committees and then the name of the committees and on that, you will find the members of the committee, the charter of the committee. Each of these committees has a charter approved by the Board, explaining what the work of that committee has to be. Also, the minutes of the committee meetings. If you want to follow any particular committee, go to the minutes page. And also the reports, copies of all the reports that have been posted for this meeting and for previous ICANN meetings. So let's begin with the reports themselves, and let's go back to the list and why don't we work down that and ask the chair surrogate or delegate of the Audit Committee, Steve Crocker. Steve. >>STEVE CROCKER: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. So on behalf of the Audit Committee, I'm pleased to say that things are moving along, that there's no showstoppers or major problems, and the focus is on what I would call the general maturation and taking care of business. And so three specifics. The Audit Committee, of course, is responsible for oversight of the audit process. One of the standard rules of the game in audit is to make sure that everything is subject to review, including the auditors themselves, and that leads to a standard process of changing auditors periodically, not abruptly and not too frequently. That time is approaching, and so one of our points is to ask the -- the Audit Committee is asking to get requests for proposals from other audit firms for FY 2010 and as I said, this is all part of normal business. A second point is asking the chief financial officer's team to come up with a detailed process for validation of the cost recovery in the new gTLD process, and this is again sort of becoming -- doing our part as part of the team of supporting the gTLD process and taking care of that aspect. And finally, something else which is very much along that line is asking the staff to plan -- to incorporate best audit practices into board and management actions, as these actions are -- become defined and evolve over time. And that's the extent of the output from the Audit Committee at this time. >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you, Steve. Any questions? Of the Audit Committee? If thought, let's move to the Board Governance Committee chair, Dennis Jennings. Dennis, the Board Governance Committee. >>DENNIS JENNINGS: Thank you, Peter. The Board Governance Committee is responsible for the board governance activities and as you will be aware from recent activities and comments in the press, governance is becoming a very important issue in the corporate world, and that includes the not-for-profit world, and this is not only in the United States but internationally. You'll see from our charter what we're responsible for, and the key thing we're responsible for is improving the performance of the board and making sure that the board performs well and looks after its responsibilities. A number of housekeeping things. We look after like processes and procedures, standard operating procedures for how we do things. We are responsible for making sure the conflicts of interest policy is updated. There are changes in U.S. law that we have to take into account. And that all the board members and officers sign conflicts of interest policy -- documents and adhere to them. The key thing, as Peter has mentioned, is the selection of members of the committees, and in particular, at the handle general meeting of the chair and vice chair. We've updated the procedures to do that, and we've operated them for some -- for the two new board members who have joined at this meeting. In particular, we're looking at the board performance, and a couple of things we're doing. First of all, we're introducing a training program on various aspects of governance and other activities, finance and audit and so on, that board members need to be experts in. In particular, we're introducing -- and we will, by the end -- by the AGM next year -- not this year, but next year -- have introduced a two- day induction program for all new board members. So we're taking very seriously the responsibility of board members to get up to speed right from the very beginning. This adds to the workload of board members and the NomCom should be aware of this. And finally, we're -- we have tested and we're about with to undertake, over the summer, assessment of the board as a whole and of the chair, to get our own internal assessment to see how we -- what we're doing well and how we can improve things. So thank you, Peter. >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you, Dennis. Any questions of the chair of the Board Governance Committee, either of its report or of the recent work? Seeing none, we move on to the finance committee. Ram? >>RAJASEKHAR RAMARAJ: Thank you, Peter. Of the many activities that the board finance committee has been undertaking, I thought I'd touch upon three morning. The first is the operating plan and budget for the coming financial year, '10. That has been out there in the community for many months, and has had numerous comments, and we've tried to incorporate most of that, and that will come up for approval at the board meeting later today. A couple of highlights in that is that the budget has been restricted to under 5% from the previous year in terms of increase. In the past year, it's been about 30%, so we've tried our best to keep it at about 5%. We're also looking at the revenue being conservative, considering the market environment. So those were two things on the budget and the operating plan. The second initiative has been a continuing initiative on transparency and accountability and the kind of reporting that the BFC has been presenting on the dashboard functional reporting and at this meeting, we have introduced something called "EAG," which is the expense area group, showing where monies are getting spent under different expense heads. So these are a new way of reporting more and more clarity on where money is getting spent, so the community can understand and maybe give feedback as to where money should be spent. And lastly, we had the investment policy reviewed by an external agency. That report just came in at the start of this meeting. The BFC has not had too much time to look at it, and we'll do that shortly, but broadly, just looking at it, the investment policy review shows that the current policy has been done well and more or less should stay that course. And for your information, the investment fund -- our reserve fund -- is now doing better than market, and has recovered considerably since December. So those are the three points. Thank you, Peter. >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you, Ram. Good news about the fund. And all the other things. Any questions of the chairman of the finance committee? And again seeing none, let's move to the IANA committee, and I'll ask Harald to tell us about the activities there. Harald. >>HARALD TVEIT ALVESTRAND: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The work of the IANA committee is oversight of the IANA function, which means that it's in the business of asking questions and figuring out what the IANA does, so that we can feel reassured that it's being performed competently. Since the Mexico City meeting, we have had one change in membership. Demi Getschko has left the board and, therefore, also, of course, the committee. The reviews we have done have focused on the things that are urgent or important, or both. With perhaps the most urgent one being the implementation of DNSsec in the root zone and other zones for which ICANN is responsible such as ICANN.org. We've done some work on looking at initial work regarding possible consultation and allocation of remaining slash 8 addresses to the RIRs. This is an ongoing activity that is going on in partnership with the various RIRs. We looked at status and deployment plans related to root zone management automation, including how the new processes will be reviewed and validated. And we had laid out work plans to ensure that all aspects of IANA's work is duly reported on and overseen by the committee. Including the approach to changing process, the signing plans as I mentioned, and an approach to the review of the process. That is all from the IANA committee. >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you, Harald. Any questions about the IANA or the IANA committee? No? Excellent. Thank you. Jean-Jacques, exciting work going on in the Public Participation Committee. Your turn. >>JEAN-JACQUES SUBRENAT: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First I would like to inform the community that the committee has been enlarged and will be taking on two new members. So the new composition will be Dennis Jennings, Thomas Narten, Thomas Roessler, Mike Silber, Katim Touray, and myself. So in the course of the past few months since this committee was formed in November 2008, actually we began working in earnest only end of January of 2009, and we had a full slate to take care of. I would just like to signal six points. The first is about document deadlines. We did realize that for you, the community, for us all, document deadlines was a very important feature in order to make the whole exercise of international meetings of ICANN palatable but also efficient. And therefore, we have been on working setting out the reasons for which sometimes deadlines are not respected and how to improve the situation. We took also on board the remarks and suggestions we made, especially at the last international meeting in Mexico. And this has helped us improve the system. Briefly, language has also been very much in your minds. So we are looking at advising the board on expanding progressively the tools for both interpretation and translation, and to make documents available in various languages. Calendar of meetings is the third point I wanted to bring up in front of you, because it was felt, and often repeated to us on the board, that the lack of visibility over the horizon was, for busy people, a major drawback. And I am happy to announce on behalf of the committee that we are working with the help of staff on presenting to you a calendar which will be visible until 2013. I think you will agree that that's quite an improvement. And Nick Tomasso here, the director, the general manager for meetings, is largely responsible for this improvement. My fourth point is about public comment process. And you notice that I say "process" rather than just public comment periods, because it's not only about the time you have for that. It's also about the way this is used for the sake of transparency and accountability of this organization. And we're working on that and hope to present to you some new features in the very near future. My fifth item is public forum. As you may have noticed yesterday, when our chairman conducted the session yesterday morning, there were some new features, the way of giving a voice, greater voice, perhaps, to those who are not physically here with us today or yesterday but who would like to participate with us in a remote fashion, and to take their points of view as well. And there were the two lines of microphones for different subjects. You noticed that. Of course, this is an ongoing work, so if you have further comments or suggestions, we would be very glad to know them, and you can get in touch, among others, with Kieren McCarthy here, the general manager for public participation, who will be very at tentative to your views. Finally, the last thing is electronic tools for public participation. And we are looking at means of enhancing, especially remote participation, in order to make sure that at a time when the overall Internet is characterized by a huge expansion, both geographic but also in cultural and social diversity and the users of the Internet, we thought it was appropriate that we should also look into appropriate tools to allow for better and wider participation. So those were my conclusions, Mr. Chair. >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Many thanks, Jean-Jacques. I am going to skip the Risk Committee. Bruce has been detained with other business and asked to go last. So we come to the Structural Improvements Committee report, chaired by Roberto Gaetano. Roberto. >>ROBERTO GAETANO: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Well, the Structural Improvement Committee is also undergoing changes in the composition, but those changes will be part of a board decision later on, so I will keep the suspense until then. The activities since the Mexico meeting and during this meeting have gone through two main acts. On one hand, we have worked about the process. One of the objectives was to streamline the process of managing the structure of reviews. When we have started doing the reviews, you have noticed that we didn't have a well-established procedure, and I think that now, with the experience of several reviews, we have right now eight going on in parallel, I think that there are certain things that we can say so that the next cycle of reviews will be done in a better way. So one direction is to improve the process of the structure of reviews. Another area of activity, more practical, I would say, is to go forward with different reviews. What I would highlight is the fact that we came now to almost a conclusion. For the ALAC review, we have a final report that is in front of the board for approval today. And one other thing that I would like to mention was the great step forward that we had at this meeting with the GNSO improvements. The SIC has spent a lot of time with the community, with the different constituencies, of the GNSO, for the formation of the stakeholder groups. And I would like to really thank very much the participant to the GNSO, the members of the constituencies that have shown an incredible flexibility and ability to understand the charter's reason. And I think we are very close to a consensus in order to have the review completed, and we are proceeding with the objective of having a GNSO Council seated in Seoul with the new structure. And, of course, if there are any questions, I'm here to answer them. >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you, Roberto. Are there any questions of the Structural Improvement Committee chair? And I see that there is. Steve. >>STEVE GOLDSTEIN: Not so much a question, Chair, but since Bruce has not yet come, perhaps I could fill about 30 seconds of time or something. In the United States, there is a law which often undergoes modification, change, improvement, and so forth, about the governance of corporations, public corporations, corporations for which their stock is being traded and so on, this is called the Sarbanes-Oxley Law, or SOx, it's sometimes abbreviated as SOx. And what it deals with is corporate transparency, accuracy, truth- telling, evaluation, and things like that. Nonprofit corporations such as ours are not required to adhere to the provisions of SOx, but I am exceedingly pleased, as a board member, to note that our senior management has undertaken to comply with all of the applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley as possible, and has worked closely with the board do so. And one of the requirements, for example, is periodic board self- evaluation, which we have just -- as you have heard, which we have just undertaken to do. So basically, I just wanted you to know that, and I wanted you to know that as a board member, I am very delighted with our senior management and the cooperation between the senior management and the board to be able to do this. Thank you, sir. >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you, Steve. Those of us who live and practice outside the United States are delighted that the trend in the United States is to move in the direction of that concentration on corporate governance. Thank you for that. What I would like to do, then, is close and move to the next session, and we will fit Bruce in when he comes to report on the Risk Committee. The purpose much this session, however, is just to stress the openness and transparency portion of the operation on the one hand and to make it easier for you to keep track of the board committees and to know who the chairs are, so that if you have issues, you can approach them. I would like to thank them all for the extremely hard work that they all do. In addition to their ordinary board duties and their other activities, chairing these committees is a considerable burden. There are additional phone calls, which those of you who live in this world happen at the most inconvenient time. They work very hard. They are also very well supported. I think the other thing to say is it's intended to assure you that the board is supervising the crucial elements that go to make up the work of ICANN. These are the key areas of responsibility for taking the corporation forward, and these chairmen are leading the board's work in that way. And let me agree with something I think Steve said. All of these committees are extremely well supported by very diligent and hard working staff. The constant temptation, of course, as a director is to get down in the weeds and get involved. Rest assured that we are not attempting to become the managers, we are not attempting to supplant the staff, and we constantly check ourselves to make sure we are acting as directors, not as administrators or managers. So with that, I will thank you again, ask you to thank the chairs of the board committees for all of their hard work, and invite them to go and have a cup of coffee. [ Applause ] >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: We move, then, to the next report. One of the more important functions that we have at ICANN is the role of the ombudsman. For dealing with any complaint about activities or alleged activities or issues that are raised by any member of the community, affected by any administrative decision of the corporation. And many of you who have attended before will have met the ombudsman and will know the work of that group. The ombudsman, Frank Fowlie, has been unfortunately detained by some family -- unfortunate family circumstances, but his adjunct, his assistant, Herb Waye is here, and I would like to introduce Herb now invite him to speak on behalf of Frank. >>HERB WAYE: Thank you. Mr. Chairman, Peter Dengate Thrush, President Paul Twomey, members of the Board of Directors and liaisons, esteemed members of the ICANN community, ICANN staff, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for this opportunity to make this brief address. My name is Herb Waye and I am the ICANN adjunct ombudsman, and I am filling the role of the ombudsman, Dr. Frank Fowlie, at this meeting. I would like to express Dr. Fowlie's deepest regrets at being absent from this Sydney ICANN meeting, but an urgent family medical crisis has required his presence at home. He sends his warmest greetings, and he would also like me to express his pleasure that the adjunct ombudsman role has worked so successfully in this time of crisis. My ability to attend in his stead at such short notice can be credited to ongoing support of the adjunct position by the board and the diligent work of the ICANN staff in getting me here at the last minute. My presence has enabled the office of the ICANN ombudsman to continue operations, seamlessly maintaining service to the organization, its stakeholders, and its clients. The ability of the office of the ICANN ombudsman to have an experienced, trained, and independent person to provide at any time the necessary community contact, is critical to effective and timely dispute resolution. During my presence here at Sydney, I have been able to meet with many people for Dr. Fowlie, and have continued his work towards the resolution of various complaints filed with our office. Dr. Fowlie's Sydney public forum comments have been posted online. I highly recommend reviewing them at the link indicated on the slide. Is there a slide with the link? >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Yes. >>HERB WAYE: Anyway, we will get that up there for you. Dr. Fowlie will be publishing in the near future his fifth annual report. If there are any questions or comments, I would be pleased to forward them to the ombudsman for his attention. Thank you. >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you, Herb. Are there any questions now for the ombudsman? Excuse me, for the adjunct ombudsman, either about the report or the about the office of the ombudsman? Herb, do you want to explain whereabouts you can be found if anybody does want to see you? >>HERB WAYE: Yes, we do have an office downstairs on Level 1, Room 7, so it will be open for the remainder of the day. If anybody would like to drop in, I would be more than pleased to sit down and chat either about the role of the ombudsman or mediation and dispute resolution in general. Thank you very much. >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you. We move then to the next report. Another one of the very significant volunteer roles in ICANN is the chair of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee, as you know, is charged with filling a slate of representative offices and other offices around the corporation, including seats on the board, the council and so forth. The current chair, I am pleased to say, is Tricia Drakes, former board member, who has been leading that group. Tricia. >>TRICIA DRAKES: Thank you very -- I think I might I can this up. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Is my report up there? Fantastic. I suppose, as we begin to have our important selection committee, which actually is taking place after the conclusion of the board meeting, it's as well to remind ourselves in terms of what it is we're looking to deliver. And this time, as per the presentation, if the first slide can go up there -- actually, no, the first slide, actually, will tell you what we are looking for. Which is -- Sorry? >> That was the first slide. >>TRICIA DRAKES: Okay. I apologize. Firstly in terms of the activities of what we have done so far. And as the chairman said, with all of the committees, there's a huge amount of work which takes place. And we kicked off with the Nominating Committee after the conclusion of the annual meeting last year in Cairo. And our first meeting -- Actually, could you pass me the remote mic? It would be easier for me to hold that. Apologies. Rather than keep turning around with my back. Unfortunately, I have been born with being short, and that was very tall, which obviously most of the people are going to be. So that's better. So basically, after the Cairo meeting when we started our work, we had our kickoff meeting over a few days. In the period between Cairo and now, there have been 11 teleconferences. We also have done really quite extensive outreach. And I think it's probably the first time that the Nominating Committee themselves have actually come out of the box to show who they are. And in fact, the red lanyards show that, but we have done extensive outreach. The period -- The nomination period started in November and closed in the middle of April. As with last year, we have been supported by a professional firm, OdgersBerndtson. In fact, the they are the same firm as last time but they changed their name and organization. We now commence our work of make being the selections, and that, I think, is going to be a very interesting and challenging few days. And in fact, the committee has, just before coming here, participated in the fellows breakfast and really began that task as well. Due diligence then takes place, and we announce the candidates in September. And I'm under instructions from the chair that he would really like the candidates announced in time for a board retreat that's taking place. So we're taking note of that, Mr. Chairman. >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you, Tricia. >>TRICIA DRAKES: So reminding, then, on to the -- what we're selecting, which is the next one, Nancy, you're right. We're actually doing three board seats. Basically, three ALAC seats, one for Africa, one for Latin America, and one for Asia. Two GNSO Council seats. And in fact, picking up from what Roberto said, we're also going to try and see how we can take into account some of the changes for the new organization, if it were to be approved. And basically one ccNSO Council seat as well. Next slide. Just to give you an idea in terms of the split of the applications. We received 60 statements of interest, which was just marginally above the level of the previous year. 71 males and 15 females. So there are still not enough ladies participating. And perhaps collars women in DNS and other things might help increase the level of interest on those. Ten from Africa, 24 from Asia-Pacific, 23 from Europe, 12 Latin America, and 17 from North America. So I think a good spread, although it would be good to have, I think, more from Africa and the upcoming regions there. And final slide. Sorry. I think just to explain, I think what's happened is there was an earlier version of the presentation that's been posted. So in the final one was actually giving the stage of what's happening there. But the correct one will be posted onto the system. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you, Tricia. And thank you for the work that goes into the Nominating Committee and thank you for your chairing of it. Any questions about the nominating process or any other aspects of the Nominating Committee's work? Thank you to those who have volunteered and are going through that process. Now, I see Dr. Bruce Tonkin is in the room. Bruce, can I ask you to come and be available in case there are any questions about the Risk Committee report that was posted. And perhaps, you know, if you would like to speak to that report and explain what the committee has been doing perhaps while you are here in Sydney. >>BRUCE TONKIN: Okay. Is this live? Okay. Yes, so from the perspective of the Risk Committee, what we're trying do is put in an enterprise risk management framework into ICANN itself, and so we're looking at each of the sort of three broad areas that ICANN works in. One is a functional area around the IANA function. One is a policy development area. And the third main area is around compliance activities with respect to people's compliance to the rules that are developed within ICANN. So within each much those areas, we are breaking down what are the types of risk. So there are reputational risk, so that if ICANN does something wrong with IANA, then it's obviously a major loss of reputation for the organization, so we want to make sure that IANA has got a lot of redundancy, that we have duplicated systems and things like that to make sure the whole thing is very reliable. Then we're looking at sort of normal organizational risks, like what are the risks to buildings, various assets the organization has, what are the human resources risks, what happens if we lose key staff, have we got succession planning and so on. So for each of the sort of normal things you do with enterprise risk management, we are going use an outside consultant to help set up a framework for the organization that the staff can work in, and then we will be able to report back to the community on that overall risk analysis for the organization. The other thing we have been looking at is project risks. So the major projects ICANN has in its operating plans, things like introduction of new gTLDs, introduction of internationalized domain names, et cetera, for each of those major projects, the ICANN staff have done a risk analysis, and for the major risks that they identify for each of those projects, put in place some form of risk mitigation. So there's risk at the project level, and risk at the overall organizational level in getting some external assistance in setting up that risk management framework. So that's pretty much a summary. >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you, Bruce. Any questions about the Risk Committee or its work? If not, that makes a clean sweep. That's a wonderful show of confidence that all of the board committees, not a single question. Ah, just to break the deck, Marilyn has a question. Thank you, Marilyn. >>MARILYN CADE: My question was can I ask a question, and I got my answer, yes. And here is my question. It's to Bruce. I would really like to have you in my sights when I ask you a question. It's a scary thought. [ Laughter ] >>MARILYN CADE: And I really want to say how much I appreciate the work of the Risk Committee. What I'm looking for is, if you could, so I'm hearing about the risk assessment. Could you say a word about the then horizontal nexus? Or maybe I leave the word horizontal out and I say tell me about, then, how you create the nexus between the various risk assessments and when we would see that. >>BRUCE TONKIN: Okay. So let me just make sure I understand your question. You say the nexus between various risk assessments. What are you defining as each risk assessment? >>MARILYN CADE: So we are doing a risk assessment on IANA functions. >>BRUCE TONKIN: Right. >>MARILYN CADE: We are doing a risk assessment on projects. >>BRUCE TONKIN: Yes. Okay. Okay, that makes sense. So the -- At an enterprise level, what you are trying to identify is what are the key functions the organization does. So IANA is one, and then the -- I guess the global policy and the compliance is another. So you identify what are the major areas of risk. And then within each of those areas, you then identify individual risks. And you give those risks a risk rating. So a risk might be rated as having a high consequence, but a low likelihood. And so that's something that we need to monitor, but it's not an immediate concern for the organization. Conversely, you might have something that's a high likelihood, but the consequence is relatively minor. So there's a likelihood that the board session might go over time, but the consequence is probably not the end of the world. >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Never. Never, never, never. [ Laughter ] >>BRUCE TONKIN: So we don't have a major issue there. So what we are looking for is especially around the moderate things, where there is a moderate likelihood of something happening and a moderate consequence and that's where we need to resolve a risk action. So what you are going to see in the next couple of years going forward in the cycle, is after we have done a thorough risk assessment of the organization, we then prioritize those risks, and that's where that nexus starts to happen. Because then what you will see in the next operating planning cycle, in the following year, is to say here is a set of, say, four or five significant risk mitigation projects that we need to resource. In other words, we need to spend significant money to mitigate those risks. So it's been done a little bit on an ad hoc basis so what you are seeing in this current operating planning is some allocation of budget funds in the areas of security, areas of strengthening the IANA function. So it's in there, but it's being done at almost a sort of project-by- project level. So what you will see going forward, once there is an overall risk framework, you then rank the risk and then you say as part of operating planning, and we will be quite transparent about this, here are three or four risks that we identify as being moderate or somewhat critical that we actually are going to seek support from the community to spend money on. So that's where you will see that nexus, is where you actually see where we are going to spend the money to mitigate the most important risks. Does that answer the question? >>MARILYN CADE: So I know where you are going to spend the money. I think I feel comfortable, Bruce, with what you are telling me. But I would also, then, because you have identified the risk in various areas, would you then be able to map that back to the cross- implications. >>BRUCE TONKIN: Yes. >>MARILYN CADE: And I think -- >>BRUCE TONKIN: Those are risks -- when we are doing that risk assessment, it's a ranking of the risks for the whole organization. It's not done on a perception basis. So you have a framework to identify your functions, but then they roll up to a single risk management framework which is ranked. So the highest risk might be in compliance, for example. And the next risk might be some issue that our policy development is too slow and that damages our reputation. >>MARILYN CADE: I am even more impressed by the risk management committee's work. >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: You have opened the floodgates and I see a flood of questions. I see Mike Palage. Michael, your turn. >>MICHAEL PALAGE: I was going to be quiet but Marilyn did break through the barrier. I sat there. I had a couple of questions and I didn't say anything. Quick question, Bruce. Earlier this week, Kurt Pritz, in talking about the new gTLD, he mentioned a standalone evaluation organization to process the new gTLD applications. So my question is is this evaluation organization a separate legal entity or not? Will it be part of ICANN staff? And does this fit into the risk assessment in bifurcating the potential lawsuits that might -- >>BRUCE TONKIN: There's two parts to you question. The first part I can't answer right now and it's not really in the purview of the Risk Committee to decide that. But what the Risk Committee would be doing in terms of an organizational thing, when the staff is looking at different options, and let's say they are investigating that option, they would provide a risk assessment of perhaps one or two options that they put forward towards the board. So what the Risk Committee is doing is making sure we have a framework so that when a particular policy or particular implementation choice is available, we might say this is what the staff is recommending to implement. We have option one and option two. And here is the risk assessment of option one and option two. So the Risk Committee is making sure that a risk assessment is done. The Risk Committee is not making a decision on option two and option two. That would be for the board or for whatever responsibility it is for that implementation. >>MICHAEL PALAGE: It would be nice, since this standalone evaluation organization is the first time I have ever heard of it in the many years, perhaps the board could discuss that during its session on new gTLDs this -- >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Okay. We have to close down. We just need - - These are reports. >>STEVE GOLDSTEIN: Just quickly, Michael, among the risks we are looking at, they do include litigation risks. So for example, we would look at mitigation measures. So for example, we could say maybe we could get or rent some kind of an ocean-going vessel, invite all the lawyers to an ocean-going cruise. No, no, we wouldn't sink it. We would just sail it off the coast of Somalia. [ Laughter ] >>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: We do need to move on, so, Bruce, thank you for that, and the brevity, and thank you for the questions. While we're talking about questions, it is all very well to joke about not asking questions, and remember this is an open session and questions are possible. But I am also aware that for many people, the fear of public speaking is greater than the fear of death. And there are a lot of people for whom standing up at a microphone and asking questions at any of these sessions is very difficult. So do remember we have the question box. And Kieren has explained and if you need any further information, Kieren can help. You can post your questions online and we will deal with them and we will answer them. You don't have to come to the microphone if for whatever reason you prefer to ask it in a different way.