Dear Members: I believed that this has been forwarded to all of you, but upon looking for it I haven¹t been able to see it. As a result here it is (apologies in advance if this is a duplication). The below should be self-explanatory. ------ Forwarded Message

From: Denise Michel <denise.michel@icann.org> Reply-To: Denise Michel <denise.michel@icann.org> Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2008 01:59:12 -0800 To: Cheryl Langdon-Orr <cheryl@hovtek.com.au> Cc: Peter Dengate Thrush <peter.dengatethrush@icann.org>, John Jeffrey <john.jeffrey@icann.org>, Wendy Seltzer <wendy@seltzer.com>, "ALAC-excom@atlarge-lists.icann.org" <alac-excom@atlarge-lists.icann.org>, ICANN Board of Directors <icann-board@icann.org>, Nick Ashton-Hart <nick.ashton-hart@icann.org>, Robert Hoggarth <robert.hoggarth@icann.org> Subject: Re: ALAC AC Statement to the Board on GNSO Stakeholder Group Openness and Note to BOD regarding accountability and transparency

Cheryl,

Regarding your inquiry about At-Large Advisory Committee statements to the Board this year, Staff has compiled the following summary of input and Board action. Please let me know if Staff can be of any further assistance.

Regards, Denise

------- Denise Michel ICANN VP, Policy denise.michel@icann.org +1.408.429.3072

Summary of ALAC Submissions to ICANN Board in 2008

* 24 September 2008 - ALAC Statement on Stakeholder Group Openness This statement was provided to the Board and noted by Staff in advance of the Board's 1 October meeting at which the Board took action on GNSO Restructuring issues.

* 14 September 2008 - ALAC Provides Comments to the Consultation on the ALAC Review Final Report These comments were received and included in the summary/analysis of the public comment forum, which is being considered by the Board Governance Committee ALAC Review Working Group. The Board receives periodic updates on the ALAC Review and follow-up activities. The summary/analysis will be posted for public review when translated.

* 14 September 2008 - ALAC Statement to the Board of ICANN on Amendments to the Registrar Accreditation Agreement The statement was incorporated in the summary/analysis of comments on this proceeding and posted for public review on 20 October 2008. The Board receives periodic updates on the RAA Amendments and related community discussions.

* 14 August 2008 - ALAC Statement to the Board of ICANN on the Structure of the GNSO Council The original version of this statement was included in the Report of the Working Group on GNSO Council Restructuring (WG-GCR) and was shared with the Board in advance of their August meeting at which GNSO Restructuring issues were discussed. Staff brought the ALAC's revised statement to the Board's attention when addressing community reactions to the WG-GCR work efforts and it was discussed at subsequent Board meetings, ­ particularly with respect to the role of individual Internet users in the GNSO.

* 27 June 2008 - ALAC Statement to the Board of ICANN on the New GTLD Policy's Objections Provisions According to the ALAC correspondence web page, this statement was presented directly to the ICANN Board during the Public Board Meeting on 26th June 2008 as part of the Report of the ALAC to the Board. These comments were factored into the Staff's implementation work, which is now the subject of community discussion.

* 5 April/5 May 2008 - At-Large Advisory Committee Statement To the ICANN Board on Public Consultation Related to Development of a Travel Policy The statement was reviewed and summarized by the COO as part of the travel policy evaluation process, and was included in the summary/analysis published 10 July 2008 and brought to the Board's attention.

* 5 April/5 May 2008 - ALAC Statement on the Draft Operating Plan for FY 2008-2009 The ALAC statement was received and evaluated by Staff as part of the operating plan development with the Board.

* 5 April/5 May 2008 - ALAC Statement on GNSO Improvements Revision The public comment forum on GNSO Improvements was re-opened to accommodate late-filed ALAC comments. A summary/analysis of comments received was publicly posted. The ALAC position also was summarized and brought to the Board's attention in advance of their 29 May Board meeting at which they received an update on this issue.

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On Fri, Oct 17, 2008 at 12:54 AM, Cheryl Langdon-Orr <cheryl@hovtek.com.au> wrote:

...

Thank you for your prompt and thoughtful reply Peter, I would certainly value the opportunity to catch up with you in Cairo, and I can assure you and your Board, that the ALAC as well as the wider At-Large community, stand ready to assist and cooperate with, the proposed Board Committee on Public Participation you mentioned, in any way that it can, so that we get the various processes you outline to become a 'best practice model' for the grass roots participation in the multi-stakeholder model that is so necessary for ICANN, as it transitions to a post JPA environment.

Cheryl

From: Peter Dengate Thrush [mailto:peter.dengatethrush@icann.org] Sent: Friday, 17 October 2008 8:25 AM To: cheryl@hovtek.com.au Cc: John Jeffrey; Denise Michel; Wendy Seltzer; ALAC-excom@atlarge-lists.icann.org; ICANN Board of Directors Subject: Re: ALAC AC Statement to the Board on GNSO Stakeholder Group Openness and Note to BOD regarding accountability and transparancy

Cheryl,

Thank you for the statement, and the reference to the the rules of procedure adopted by the ALAC.

As to previous statements from ALAC, and their treatment by the board, I am going to leave that to the ALAC Liaison to the Board to reply.

I regret that I simply don't have time to review the status of ALAC input to the board and provide you with a report. I am sure staff will also assist the Liaison if required.

In relation to future statements, I shall ask staff to ensure that, routinely, acknowledgments of receipt of ALAC correspondence are sent in a timely fashion.I had assumed that to be the case.

As to reporting outcomes, the board receives input on most matters from many sources which go into its deliberative mix.

The current procedure for reporting to the community on those deliberations is via early notice of the date and agenda of each board meeting, the prompt publication of a very detailed report of each board meeting. The very detail of that report has been the subject of some comment by outside reviewers, but as one of the originators of that policy, I believe that the community has a right to see hows its input is treated by the board. To be fair, that policy is in part a response to the much more limited reporting policy of the past, and we may look at somewhat lessening the reporting burden on staff.

It is not current practice to write, in addition, to all the contributors to the debate, giving them an individual report on matters of concern to them.

I think that is an unwarranted burden, and the Meeting notes and Minutes are sufficient for those purposes.

In the context of the wider issue of acknowledging and responding to input into policy debate, I have been discussing the matter with the CEO. The board has also agreed to form a Board Committee on Public Participation, about which some formal steps are expected at the Cairo meeting. I expect that Committee to address, as an early topic, the policy on acknowledging, processing and responding to public comment. Getting this right is, to me, the essence of being an industry led organization, using transparent, bottom-up processes.

I look forward to catching up with you in person in Cairo soon.

My regards

Peter Dengate Thrush

Chairman of the Board of Directors,

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

+64 4 4998959 (DDI)

+64 21499888 (mobile)

+64 4 4710672 (fax)

On 16/10/2008, at 9:33 PM, Cheryl Langdon-Orr wrote:

Dear Peter:

On behalf of the ALAC I have the duty to provide you with the following Statement of the ALAC on GNSO Stakeholder Group Openness.

We trust that the attached will inform the board's continuing discussions related to the restructuring of the GNSO.

May I note that the Stakeholder Group Statement, is the latest in a considerable list of AC statements transmitted to the Board this year. We have yet to see any evidence that any of them has been distributed to the Board, let alone discussed. The ALAC has become increasingly concerned over this matter, and we will be raising at again in Cairo no doubt; but could you, as Chairman, please note we would like to know what the status of our previous statements is, if they have been distributed, and if not, why not. Further we would also like to have some response from the Board in relation to their contents ­ as well as a straightforward confirmation that in future advice sent will be acknowledged, discussed, and the results of that discussion transmitted to us, we assume by some form of email correspondence with at least the ALAC ExCom and of course via our Liaison to the Board.

Kindest regards,

Cheryl.

<AL-ALAC-ST-0908-2 Statement on Stakeholder Group Openness - EN.pdf><16 10 2008 note to BOD on Accountability.pdf>

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