Dear Members of the ALAC, I have been asked to take on the task of managing the ALAC Candidate Endorsement Process for the ICANN Accountability and Transparency Review Team 2 (ATRT2). I am triggering this process now in my capacity as Interim Chair of the ALAC ATRT2 Candidate Endorsement Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee in accordance with the decision of the ALAC meeting on 27 November 2012. *Scope of Work* The selection of ALAC candidates to the ATRT2 will be done by the ICANN Board Chair and the GAC Chair. The responsibility of the ALAC ATRT2 Candidate Endorsement Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee is to review the list of candidates who have applied as representing the ALAC, assess their suitability for the work of the ATRT2, and rank the ones whom we believe to qualify in a preferred order - this is referred to as the endorsement process, which informs the selection by the ICANN Board Chair and the GAC Chair. The endorsement process requires an assessment of candidates based on the set of criteria specified in the ATRT2 Call for Volunteers as well as additional criteria specific to the ALAC. It is known that a minimum of one ALAC candidate will be selected to the ATRT2 and it is expected that more candidates will be selected though the exact number has not been revealed. Given this uncertainty, and there may not be any certainty until the actual selection is made by the Chairs of the ICANN Board and the GAC, we will proceed by reviewing and ranking all the ALAC applicants from the list that the ATRT2 Staff will provide. The following are immediate issues for the ALAC's attention: *1. The **ALAC ATRT2 Candidate Endorsement Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee Call for Members *- The ALAC Chair will issue a call for membership for this ad-hoc sub-committee, which will include information regarding composition, qualification and selection criteria. - It is proposed that the sub-committee be small for manageability (given the tight deadlines) and regionally balanced. - Note: The Chair of the Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee will not count in the regional balance and will not assess the candidates, but rather focus on facilitating the process. The deadline for the sub-committee formation is 10 Dec 2012. *2. Candidate Assessment and Endorsement Tool (Matrix)* - A matrix as a tool to help the sub-committee assess the candidates has been developed and posted for ALAC comments here: At-Large ATRT2 ALAC Endorsement Process Workspace <https://community.icann.org/x/A4lEAg>. - The matrix incorporates the set of criteria specified by the ATRT2 Call for Volunteers as well as two additional criteria specific to the ALAC (i.e., accountability to the ALAC and trust of the ALAC). The deadline for ALAC comments on the matrix is 10 Dec 2012. I urge you to be as concrete and as constructive as possible in your comments and I particularly welcome concrete suggestions on the proxy indicators in the matrix for consideration by the sub-committee. - Note: The development of the matrix as well as the overall endorsement process draw from past experiences and involved consultations with previous coordinators of the process. *3. **ALAC Chair's Candidacy to the ATRT2* - The ALAC Chair has announced that he is applying for the ATRT2. A decision is needed as to whether the ALAC Chair should be endorsed as the primary (first preference) candidate to the ATRT2 by ALAC consensus. *The ALAC is requested to provide feedback on this matter a.s.a.p.** and the ALAC Vice Chairs are requested to manage the call for consensus if deemed necessary. *- Note: If the ALAC Chair is endorsed by consensus, he will be exempt from assessment by the sub-committee and will be able to participate in the sub-committee as an observer. *4. Confidentiality Policy * - The confidentiality policy for the Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee is that the assessment information will only be shared among the sub-committee members for the purpose of making the endorsement decision and no record will be kept after the decision has been announced. - Due to the need for confidentiality, the wiki workspace will be restricted to members of the sub-committee and staff after 11.59pm UTC 10 December 2012 UTC. The workspace is currently open for ALAC comments on the matrix until then. *5. Limits of Information in Decision Announcement* - The decision announcement will reveal only the names and preferred order of the endorsed candidates. * Timeline for the Endorsement Process *Please note that these deadlines have had input from the ATRT2 staff as well as the At-Large staff. Due to time constraints, these deadlines will be held as inflexible.* * 27 Nov 2012 Tabling of Key Decision Points to the ALAC 05 Dec 2012 Deadline for submission of Application and Statement of Interest by candidates to the ATRT2 staff 10 Dec 2012 Deadline for ALAC comments on candidate assessment matrix 10 Dec 2012 Deadline for Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee formation 11-15 Dec 2012 Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee discussion and agreement on matrix proxy indicators 12 Dec 2012 Deadline for receiving list of ALAC candidates from ATRT2 Staff 20 Dec 2012 Deadline for Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee members to submit individual assessment 21 Dec 2012 Staff aggregates and circulates results to Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee members 03 Jan 2012 Ad-Hoc Sub Committee Meeting to review results and decide on candidate preference ranking 04 Jan 2013 Announcement and submission of ALAC endorsement decision to the ATRT2 Staff 07 Jan 2013 ATRT2 candidate selection by ICANN Board Chair and GAC Chair This is not at all an easy task, but I look forward to working with you in identifying the best possible ALAC candidates to the ATRT2. Best regards, Rinalia