SO/AC - GNSO Policy Development Process Working Group on next-generation gTLD Registration Directory Service (RDS) to replace WHOIS (Next-Gen RDS)
Overview: The GNSO Policy Development Process Working Group on next-generation gTLD Registration Directory Service (RDS) to replace WHOIS (Next-Gen RDS) has been tasked with defining the purpose of collecting, maintaining and providing access to gTLD registration data and considering safeguards for protecting that data. This WG is expected to establish consensus requirements for registration directory services, using them to determine if and why a next-generation RDS is needed and then establish a new policy framework to support those requirements.
Who should attend and why: Community members that collect, store, provide, or use registration data using the WHOIS system today have a vested interest in the outcome of this PDP. The WG is currently gathering available inputs and possible requirements for gTLD registration directory services. This session provides all interested parties with an opportunity to voice their concerns about WHOIS and needs for gTLD registration data, helping to augment and shape the possible requirements to be deliberated upon by this WG.
What to expect from this session: This session will be led by RDS PDP WG chair Chuck Gomes, supported by vice chairs David Cake, Susan Kawaguchi, and Michele Neylon and by ICANN Policy Staff members Marika Konings and Lisa Phifer. During this session, WG members will draw from their own experiences to share examples and invite attendees to join in a lively conversation about possible requirements which they believe should be supported by a next-generation RDS to replace WHOIS. Inputs gathered during this cross-community session are essential to inform this PDP WG’s phase 1 recommendations on whether a next-generation RDS is needed to replace WHOIS and why.
For further information about this PDP, please see https://community.icann.org/x/rjJ-Ag. A backgrounder to help community members prepare for this session will be posted on this page.
Agenda: https://community.icann.org/x/dRWOAw
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Staff Leader: Marika Konings

Overview: The GNSO initiated a Policy Development Process in February 2016 to review all the trademark-related rights protection mechanisms (RPMs) that had been developed for gTLDs to date. These are the longstanding Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) from 1999 and the additional RPMs that were created subsequently for the 2012 New gTLD Program Round. This new PDP will review all the RPMs in two phases, starting with the New gTLD RPMs in Phase One and going on to the UDRP in Phase Two. The Working Group that was chartered by the GNSO Council for this effort will need to coordinate its work with that of the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures PDP Working Group and other related efforts, such as the Competition, Consumer Choice and Consumer Trust Review Team.
Who should attend and why: Community members that have an interest in understanding, discussing, and providing feedback to the Working Group on the issues that the PDP should examine and the data that may be needed for a comprehensive and useful review. This session provides Working Group members and audience members the opportunity to discuss the Working Group’s proposed methodology and the issues to be tackled during Phase One of the PDP.
What to expect from this session: This session will be led by the Working Group co-chairs Kathy Kleiman, Philip Corwin and J. Scott Evans, and be supported by ICANN Policy Staff members Mary Wong and David Tait.
This an open session and all are welcome to participate. For further information about this Working Group and the PDP, please see http://gnso.icann.org/en/group-activities/active/rpm.
Agenda: https://community.icann.org/x/KhaOAw
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Staff Leader: Mary Wong

Cross-Constituency meeting between the IPC RySG
Who Should Attend? IPC and RySG members
Agenda https://community.icann.org/x/2BSOAw
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Staff Leader: Glen de Saint Gery

GNSO - Cross-Constituency meeting between the IPC Registrar Stakeholder Group (RrSG)
Who Should Attend? Intellectual Property constituency (IPC) and Registrar Stakeholder Group (RrSG) members
Agenda: https://community.icann.org/x/5BSOAw
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Staff Leader: Glen de Saint Gery

Charter for the Cross Community Working Group (CCWG) on Auction Proceeds
Overview: The new gTLD Program established auctions as a mechanism of last resort to resolve string contention (Competition between 2 or more applicants for TLDs).
Most string contention sets (approximately 90% of sets scheduled for auction) have been resolved through other means before reaching an auction conducted by ICANN through ICANN's authorized auction service provider, Power Auctions LLC. It was recognized from the outset that significant funds could accrue as a result of several auctions. As such, these auction proceeds have been reserved and earmarked until the Board authorizes a plan for the appropriate use of the funds. These proceeds are to be considered as an exceptional, one-time source of revenue.
The ICANN community has indicated that it wants to create a Cross-Community Working Group (CCWG) to develop a proposal(s) for eventual consideration by the ICANN Board on the mechanism that should be created to allocate the new gTLD Auction Proceeds. The proposed Charter for this CCWG, which is being developed by representatives of the different ICANN Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees as well as representatives from the ICANN Board, will be presented and discussed during this session.
Who should attend and why: Members and representatives from the different ICANN SO/ACs that may have an interest in serving as a Chartering Organization representative on the CCWG as well as any other individuals that may be interested in tracking the work of and/or participating in the CCWG, following the approval of the charter.
What to expect from this session: This session will be led by the Chair of the Drafting Team, Jonathan Robinson, with the support of the Vice-Chair, Alan Greenberg, as well as other members from the Drafting Team. The session will be opened by a brief overview of the proposed charter and identification of key issues requiring community input before finalization of the charter.
For further information about the Drafting Team and all relevant documents, please see https://community.icann.org/x/px6AAw.
Agenda: https://community.icann.org/x/dhSOAw
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Staff Leader: Marika Konings

Overview: The GNSO Policy Development Process (PDP) Working Group (WG) on New gTLD Subsequent Procedures has been tasked with reviewing the 2012 round of the New gTLD Program and recommending possible changes or adjustments to the principles, recommendations, and implementation guidance from the 2007 Final Report on the Introduction of New Generic Top-Level Domains, as well as possibly developing new policy recommendations.
Who should attend and why: Community members that have an interest in improving and/or expanding upon the existing new gTLD policy recommendations. The PDP WG has preliminarily considered a number of overarching topics and is currently gathering inputs from the community on these topics. In addition, the PDP WG expects to discuss community applications, geographic names, and other topics of broad community interest. This session provides PDP WG members and audience members the opportunity to consider and plan for new gTLDs from a holistic approach and to provide the PDP WG with critical guidance for its deliberations.
What to expect from this session: This session will be led by the PDP WG co-chairs Avri Doria, Jeff Neuman, and Steve Coates, and be supported by ICANN Policy Staff members Steve Chan and Julie Hedlund.
During this session, the PDP WG will focus discussion on a series of topics that are of broad community interest. This an open session and all are welcome to participate. For further information about this PDP-WG, please see https://community.icann.org/x/RgV1Aw.
Agenda https://community.icann.org/x/ABWOAw
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Staff Leader: Steve Chan

SO/AC Draft Framework of Principles for Future Cross Community Working Groups CCWGs
Overview: Cross Community Working Groups (“CCWGs”) have been used by the ICANN community to address issues that cut across more than one of ICANN’s Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees. However, at present there is no formal guidance for the formation, operation, decision making, and closure of CCWGs. This CCWG is tasked with developing a framework that will provide guidance for future CCWGs.
Who should attend and why: Community members that have an interest in understanding, discussing, and suggesting improvements to the framework developed by the CCWG. This session provides CCWG members and audience members the opportunity to discuss the proposed framework and provide guidance for the CCWG’s deliberations and development of a final framework.
What to expect from this session: This session will be led by the CCWG WG co-chairs Becky Burr and John Berard, and be supported by ICANN Policy Staff members Mary Wong, Bart Boswinkel, and Steve Chan.
During this session, the CCWG will focus discussion on a draft final framework that has integrated the input received via public comments. This an open session and all are welcome to participate. For further information about this CCWG, please see https://community.icann.org/x/zASOAw.
Agenda: https://community.icann.org/x/MBaOAw
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Staff Leader: Mary Wong

Overview: Over the years, the manifold of topics and issues to address in parallel within ICANN has increasingly stretched the capacity of many participants in the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees. In particular, stakeholders with limited resources available have significant problems in following what is going on and even more in actively participating in all ICANN work streams that would be relevant for them.
This poses a number of risks to the well-functioning of ICANN: If not all affected parties are adequately present and can make their voices heard during ICANN’s decision shaping and decision making processes and if not all relevant input is being fed into these, there is a risk that the resulting decisions will encounter resistance from at least parts of the community, as they may not have been made in the interests of the global community but only of those that have had the resources to be present in these processes. This in turn may be a risk for ICANN’s legitimacy as a global and inclusive organisation acting in the interest of the global Internet community.
Hence, solutions need to be found to better organize and if necessary prioritize the work streams underway in ICANN in order to help all stakeholders from all over the world to digest these work streams and to be able to actually participate.   What to expect from this session: The session will explore and discuss ideas about how to make the workload at ICANN more digestible and manageable for all members of the community.   There are several elements to this that may inspire the discussion:  - Improved planning through issuing annual objectives on key issues (based on the multi-year strategic and operating plans), including estimates of necessary resources, reporting and feedback loops for future planning
- Prioritizing of issues and annual objectives according to the estimates of resources necessary and available
- Improving accessibility of processes and work streams through improved, streamlined and simplified process management and monitoring (easier access of relevant work streams on website, more understandable naming of work streams and documents, “quick look mechanisms” for “outsiders” to find out where and how to get engaged, etc.)
- Improving cross-constituency-coordination and reporting in order to facilitate and simplify interaction between the “silos” in ICANN.
These elements may be discussed on two levels: - What can/should the “silos” do in order to improve accessibility and “digestibility” of ongoing work at ICANN?
- What can/should ICANN as a whole, including the Board and Staff, do to improve the situation?   Further, the concept of “volunteers” is another important element that needs to be taken into account when discussing workload and accessibility of work streams at ICANN and it should be noted that ideas to improve the sustainability of the “volunteer model” have been and are discussed in several fora within ICANN.   Who should attend and why: All community members are invited to participate and contribute to exploring and discussing ideas to improve accessibility and “digestibility” of ongoing work at ICANN. The idea is to have an interactive session allowing as many ideas as possible to float with a view to producing (or at least to start preparing) concrete recommendations for improving the situation. The session will be led by Thomas Schneider, Chair of the GAC.
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Staff Leader: Olof Nordling

ICANN56 is the first meeting to fall under the new "meeting b" format. In this session we will discuss what worked, what didn't work, and what we can improve on next year. We will also discuss planning for ICANN57 in Hyderabad, India.
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Staff Leader: Tanzanica King