Dear ALAC and community members: As decided by the ALAC in their meeting on 10th August 2007, as a consequence of decisions taken by the ALAC in their meetings in San Juan, the Board of ICANN is to be formally requested to acknowledge certain changes to the way in which ALS applications are to be handled, and to acknowledge the written guidelines established by the Committee which replace a previously unwritten understanding between committee members of how to interpret the Minimum Criteria and Bylaw requirements related to ALS Applications. In my view, these changes are an important landmark in the development of the community, providing amongst many other benefits and features: * A truly bottom-up-driven applications review process - where the existing ALS community in the region new applicants are from are able to provide advice to the ALAC about applicants; * A standard and open way to evaluate applications which is in conformity with the RALO MoUs (the previous process, since it predated the RALOs' formation, was not); * A flexible system which allows much larger volumes of applications to be handled without an overly burdensome load on volunteer time and energy being required to process them; * A process and guidelines that learn from the more than 100 previous applications and which should ensure that questions about specific aspects of applications are raised and answered earlier in the cycle of applications management; * Utilising a new and online interface, the applications handling process will be transferred into a forms-based database environment which will make review of applications easier on all parties - especially the volunteer community. As the ICANN staff person who was the focal point for administration of this effort, I would be remiss in not thanking the many other members of staff who provided advice and reviewed various stages in the development of this work, which began in January 2007 - and I would also like to extend my compliments and admiration to the members of the community, and in particular the members of the At- Large Advisory Committee, who devoted considerable time and effort to completing this important work. -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +41 (22) 595 85 44 mobile: +41 (79) 595 54 68 email: nashton@consensus.pro Win IM: ashtonhart@hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart@mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart  -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart Director, At-Large ICANN USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +41 (22) 595 85 44 mobile: +41 (79) 595 54 68 email: nick.ashton-hart@icann.org Win IM: ashtonhart@hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart@mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart