CANN

News Alert

https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2017-04-20-en

Call for Volunteers for the Third Review of ICANN Accountability and Transparency (ATRT3) Extended

20 April 2017

Represent the global stakeholder community by participating in ICANN Reviews. Apply today to join the team of global experts that will help improve the transparency and accountability of ICANN, and ensure it meets its commitments to the global community.

ICANN is seeking volunteers to serve on the third review of ICANN Accountability and Transparency (ATRT3). To apply, please click here [PDF, 2.78 MB] to fill out your Statement of Interest. You may also print out the Statement of Interest form and submit it to reviews@icann.org.

The ATRT3 Call for Volunteers was scheduled from 31 January to 21 April 2017. This call is now extended to Friday, 2 June 2017, 23:59 UTC to give more time to community members to learn about this review and submit their applications. The goal is to have a pool of diverse and skilled applicants for the SO/ACs to select from. All applications and supporting materials will be published as they are received on the public ATRT3 wiki page.

Selection of the Review Team

Under the new Bylaws, each SO/AC will have an opportunity to nominate up to seven applicants to serve on the Review Team. An applicant's name will only be presented to the SO/AC identified by the applicant for consideration. After SO/AC nomination process concludes, all nominations will be provided to the SO/AC leaders to conduct the selection process for the Review Team according to the specified expertise and geographic and gender diversity from the nominations received. The Review Team may contain up to 21 members, plus an ICANN Board member (designated by the ICANN Board).

For candidates that are seeking a nomination of an SO or AC, we suggest that you communicate and establish a relationship with the leadership of the respective SO or AC.

Context and Chronology

The specific objectives for the ATRT3 are to review ICANN's execution of its commitment to maintain and improve robust mechanisms for public input, accountability, and transparency to ensure that the outcomes of its decision-making reflect the public interest and are accountable to the Internet community.

ICANN's Accountability and Transparency Review originated under the Affirmation of Commitments in 2009. Effective 1 October 2016, ICANN's obligation to conduct this review was incorporated into ICANN Bylaws. The composition of the Review Team will be determined by the ICANN community. For more information, please see Section 4.6. of the ICANN Bylaws.

More information is included in the "Background" section below to provide an overview of events leading up to this Call for Volunteers.

Scope of the Accountability and Transparency Review

ICANN Bylaws mandate that the community conduct a periodic Review to assess how ICANN is executing its commitment to maintain and improve robust mechanisms for public input, accountability, and transparency. This ensures that the outcomes of its decision-making reflect the public interest and are accountable to the Internet community. The focus of the ATRT3 Review may include, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Assess and improve Board governance which may include an ongoing evaluation of Board performance, the Board selection process, the extent to which the Board's composition and allocation structure meets ICANN's present and future needs, and the appeal mechanisms for Board decisions contained in the Bylaws;
  • Assess the role and effectiveness of the GAC's interaction with the Board and with the broader ICANN community; and make recommendations for improvements to ensure effective consideration by ICANN of GAC input on the public policy aspects of the technical coordination of the DNS;
  • Assess and improve the processes by which ICANN receives public input (including adequate explanation of decisions taken and rationale);
  • Assess the extent to which ICANN's decisions are supported and accepted by the Internet community;
  • Assess the policy development process to facilitate enhanced cross community deliberations, and effective and timely policy development;
  • Assess and improve the Independent Review Process; and
  • Assess the extent to which prior Accountability and Transparency Review recommendations have been implemented and the extent to which implementation of such recommendations has resulted in the intended effect.

Compensation

ATRT3 Review Team members will not receive compensation from ICANN for their service on the team. However, travel, meal and lodging costs for Review Team members who participate in Review Team meetings will be reimbursed upon request in accordance with ICANN's community support travel guidelines.

Responsibilities

Review Team members will have the following general responsibilities:

  • Participate in creation of charter documents for the Review Team;
  • Select appropriate performance indicators and benchmarks;
  • Consider public, ICANN Organization and Board input and incorporate it as appropriate in Review Team recommendations;
  • Determine whether additional data or analysis is needed and participate in an ensuing provider selection, if necessary, in accordance with ICANN procurement practices;
  • Provide timely updates to the community on the status of the Review Team's work;
  • Analyze findings;
  • Draw conclusions based on findings, develop useful, feasible and implementable recommendations;
  • Provide guidance on prioritization of recommendations and definition of desired outcomes;
  • Post the Draft Report of the Review Team for public review and comment;
  • Deliver a Final Report of the Review Team;
  • Designate several Review Team members to participate in the implementation planning work that follows the delivery of the Final Report of the Review Team and Board action on the recommendations.

Skills and Experience

To compose a well-balanced Review Team, ICANN seeks members who, in the aggregate, possess the following skills and experience:

  • Performance assessment and audits
  • Good governance and board performance
  • Performance measurement
  • Process improvement
  • Knowledge of recognized frameworks for organizational excellence
  • Principles of accountability applicable to organizations broadly similar to ICANN
  • Expertise with Cross Community Working Group (CCWG) Work Stream 1 (WS1) and Work Stream 2 (WS2) highly desired

Desired Attributes

Applicants should possess the following professional and personal attributes:

  • Commitment and time to participate
  • Multistakeholder community understanding
  • Team spirit, adaptability, consensus-seeking attitude
  • Willingness to learn
  • Readiness to contribute
  • Capacity to reason objectively, putting aside personal opinions or preconceptions
  • Analytical skills
  • Good communication skills using multiple methods and tools

Methodology, Budget and Support

ICANN will provide the Review Team with a clearly articulated review budget. Throughout the Review, the Review Team will periodically report on its progress related to planned schedule and budget.

ICANN organizational support will be made available to the Review Team. Support will include assistance with project management, organization of work, documents and activities, and sharing of tools and best practices for conducting an effective review.

English is the working language of the Review Team. Key communications and documents will be translated in accordance with the ICANN Language Services policies [PDF, 277 KB]. Review Team calls are conducted using Adobe Connect.

Background

The ICANN Bylaws stipulate that "The Accountability and Transparency Review shall be conducted no less frequently than every five years measured from the date the previous Accountability and Transparency Review Team was convened." That would mean that the Call for Volunteers would take place no later than 4 October 2017. However, prior to the incorporation of this review into the ICANN Bylaws, several events took place leading up to ICANN's current commitment to launch the Call for Volunteers for ATRT3 in January 2017.

The information presented below provides an overview of events leading up to this Call for Volunteers.

  • October 2012 – Call for Volunteers for the Second Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT2).
  • February 2013 – ATRT2 Review Team announced.
  • December 2013 – ATRT2 issued Final Report [PDF, 3.46 MB] and Recommendations.
  • June 2014 - the ICANN Board of Directors accepted all twelve ATRT2 Recommendations and directed the President and CEO of ICANN, through his designee(s), to proceed with the implementation - Resolution 2014.06.26.14. For more information on the status of the implementation activities, please visit the ATRT2 Implementation Wiki.
  • July 2015 - In response to community concerns about workload, the ICANN Board delayed the start of ATRT3 until July 2017 via Resolution 2015.07.28.09. Note that under the Affirmation of Commitments, reviews were on a shorter cycle.
  • January 2016 - In response to concerns raised by The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) about delaying ATRT3 until July 2017, ICANN noted [PDF, 469 KB] that the Call for Volunteers to form the ATRT3 Review Team will be launched in January 2017.
  • August 2016 - the Co-Chairs of the Cross Community Working Group on ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) wrote [PDF, 118 KB] to the ICANN Board, presenting possible options of how to combine Work Stream 2 (WS2) efforts and the ATRT3 work, to avoid work duplication. The co-Chairs took this step because as the IANA Stewardship Transition was being completed, and the ICANN Community was engaged in WS2 to address remaining issues, many of the WS2 topics were related to issues expected to be addressed in the ATRT3, i.e. accountability and transparency.
  • October 2016 - The ICANN Board responded. [PDF, 439 KB] that, "It is not up to the Board to dictate the scope of this important community review. While we share the concerns raised of avoiding duplication of resources, it is essential that the broader ICANN community have a voice in determining how the ATRT3 should be scoped in alignment with the Bylaws. The Board and the ICANN Organization stand ready to support the community's direction."
  • December 2016 - the CCWG-Accountability Co-Chairs contacted the SO/AC Chairs, proposing a limited scope for ATRT3 as well as a reduced-size Review Team. They suggested that if the broader ICANN Community agrees with the proposal and rationale, the SO/AC chairs issue a public statement or letter to the ICANN CEO and Board Chair that explains why a limited scope is appropriate and indicate the level of support among the ICANN community for this limitation. ICANN organization is not aware of any collective community response to the CCWG-Accountability Co-Chair's note.