Historical Resolution Tracking Feature » Completion of the Address Supporting Organization (ASO) Organizational Review
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Completion of the Address Supporting Organization (ASO) Organizational Review
Board accepts the final report from the Number Resource Organization (NRO) issued in the form of a letter to the Chair of the Structural Improvements Committee in November 2013 regarding the completion of implementation work resulting from the ASO Review.
Whereas, ICANN Bylaws Article IV, Section 4 call for a "periodic review of the performance and operation of each Supporting Organization, each Supporting Organization Council, each Advisory Committee (other than the Governmental Advisory Committee), and the Nominating Committee by an entity or entities independent of the organization under review";
Whereas, the Number Resource Organization (NRO) "shall provide its own review mechanisms" in reference to periodic review of the ASO, based on the terms of the ICANN Address Supporting Organization (ASO) Memorandum of Understanding dated 21 October 2004;
Whereas, the NRO completed the review of the ASO and the implementation work resulting from the recommendations offered by ITEMS International, the independent examiner engaged to conduct the ASO review.
RESOLVED (2014.11.17.06) that the Board accepts the final report from the Number Resource Organization (NRO) issued in the form of a letter to the Chair of the Structural Improvements Committee in November 2013 regarding the completion of implementation work resulting from the ASO Review. The Board thanks the NRO for its work in conducting the review and acknowledges the completion of the implementation work resulting from the recommendations received by the NRO during the review.
RESOLVED (2014.11.17.07) that the Board directs staff to provide support requested by the Chair of the NRO Executive Council, consisting of logistical staff support associated with ICANN meetings, allocation of time during ICANN meetings for ASO and NRO reports to the ICANN community, translation services and improved visibility on the ICANN web site.
This action is a component of ICANN's Organizational Review process, which is a key part of ICANN's commitment to accountability and transparency and continuous improvement. ICANN Bylaws Article IV, Section 4 calls for a "periodic review of the performance and operation of each Supporting Organization, each Supporting Organization Council, each Advisory Committee (other than the Governmental Advisory Committee), and the Nominating Committee by an entity or entities independent of the organization under review." Based on the terms of the ICANN Address Supporting Organization (ASO) Memorandum of Understanding dated 21 October 2004, the Number Resource Organization (NRO) "shall provide its own review mechanisms" in reference to periodic review of the ASO. In June 2011, ITEMS International was hired as independent review consultants to conduct the ASO Review. ITEMS International issued their final report [PDF, 3.75 MB] in December 2011, which was posted for public comment in March 2012. The report contained 26 recommendations, covering the following areas:
Clarifications and updates to the ASO MoU. These recommendations suggested that the NRO: clarify the purpose, mandate and objectives of the ASO; distinguish between the ASO functions to be undertaken by the Address Council and those to be undertaken by the NRO Executive Council.
Global Policy Development Process (GPDP). These recommendations suggested the development of various procedures related to initiation of GPDP and objections to policies by the ICANN Board.
Presence of the ASO during ICANN meetings. A set of recommendations advocated for changes in the nature of meetings, joint sessions with other structures, and improved agendas and presentations.
Enhancements to the ASO web site. Several recommendations proposed clarification of the ASO structure, addition of FAQs and history of the ASO, translations into other languages and improvements in quality control.
Enhancement of ASO procedures – Recommendations addressed the need for several new procedures: for appointment of NomCom members and Affirmation of Commitment Review members; procedure for advising the ICANN Board on the recognition of new RIRs.
NRO Executive Council related recommendations. Recommendations suggesting that the NRO Executive Council empowers the Policy Proposal Facilitating Teams (PPFT) and reacts to the ATRT report.
Two recommendations pertained to the ICANN Board. The Board is not required to take action on these recommendations based on the NRO's assessment of the recommendations and the processes already in place.
The ICANN Board should be urged to request advice from the ASO on policy issues regarding IP number resources other than global addressing policies. The Board has been following this recommended practice.
The ICANN Board should check if its Procedures for the Ratification of Global Addressing Policies are in conformity with the ATRT Report's recommendations in this regard. The procedures are contained inside the ASO MOU agreed to by the NRO and ICANN.
Complete listing of recommendations and NRO responses is available on the NRO web site.
As part of the public comment process, the NRO submitted its conclusions on the report to the Public Comment forum, taking into account the comments received (see Report of Public Comments). One additional comment was submitted by an organization that provides post-distribution registrar services. The commenter expressed a concern about the inherent structural conflict of interest built into the ICANN Address Supporting Organization Memorandum of Understanding and recommended that an independent entity be appointed by the ICANN Board of Directors to undertake a review of the conflict of interest that is unique to this Supporting Organization.
During the meeting on 26 and 27 Apr 2012, the ASO Address Council passed a motion to update the work plan to consider a review of the Global Policy Development Process (GPDP) and develop process in accordance with recommendations from the ASO Review Report. The NRO provided its response to the ASO Review Report on 30 April 2012. Subsequently, the NRO submitted a letter to the Chair of the Structural Improvements Committee (SIC) as a final report of the implementation work.
In the letter to the Chair of the SIC in November 2013 regarding the completion of implementation work resulting from the ASO Review, the Chair of the NRO Executive Council identified several areas requiring modest ICANN support in order to move the implementation of recommendations into standard operating processes. This support involves logistical staff support associated with ICANN meetings, allocation of time during ICANN meetings for ASO and NRO reports to the ICANN community, translation services and improved visibility on the ICANN web site. This is expected to have a minor resource implication on ICANN, but is expected to be performed within the allocated budget.
No security, stability or resiliency issues relating to the DNS are anticipated as the result of this action.