ICANN's budgeting process for Fiscal Year 2009 is just beginning. The new Initial Operating Plan and Budget Framework, linked from <http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-04feb08.htm>, lists 18 categories of "key initiatives" to drive ICANN's work and budgeting process ($61M) for fiscal year 2009. Those are: 1.IDN Activities 2.New gTLD implementation 3.Operational systems for new gTLDs 4.Compliance activities 5.Registry/registrar support 6.Global outreach 7.Organizational Reviews 8.Organizational improvement 9.Policy Development Support 10.Registrant Protections 11.Security Initiatives, including DNSSEC 12.Transcription and translation 13.Technical work/leadership 14.IANA improvements 15.Broaden Participation 16.Operational systems and infrastructure 17.Meetings and events 18.Administrative improvement I believe several of those will be of particular interest to At-Large, including Registrant protections and Compliance, Global outreach and Broadening Participation, and Transcription and Translation, as well as policy activities including IDNs, new gTLDs, and Security. If ALAC supports these initiatives as described, and/or has other priorities to recommend, this early stage of the budgeting process would be a great time to make recommendations. As we see with the Board's resolution on the AGP, the budgeting process can be a lever for policy activity. There will be an Operating Plan workshop at 16:30 on Wednesday. --Wendy
From the document: <http://www.icann.org/planning/ops-budget-framework-09.pdf>. More detail is provided in its Appendix A.
1.IDN Activities: IDN work related to new gTLDs, country code use of IDNs, and technical coordination/implementation. 2.New gTLD implementation: Process design for new TLD applications, and readiness for ICANN operational requirements in supporting new TLDs. 3.Operational systems for new gTLDs:Computer and administrative systems necessary for new TLD applications and operations. 4.Compliance activities: Registry and registrar compliance; systems and processes necessary for compliance work. 5.Registry/registrar support: Registry/registrar communication, outreach, geographic coverage and RSTEP. 6.Global outreach: Regional liaison program, fellowship program and ALAC support. International fora such as IGF. 7.Organizational Reviews: Ongoing organization review work. 8.Organizational improvement: Support for organizational improvement work 9.Policy Development Support: Direct work with policy-making supporting organizations and advisory committees in support of the policy development process. 10.Registrant Protections: Full escrow of registrar data and monitoring escrow compliance. RAA revisions; failover provisions. 11.Security Initiatives, including DNSSEC: Grouping of security initiatives including DNSSEC work and security training. 12.Transcription and translation: Document translation, and real-time translation at meetings, including transcription in English. Also includes software-automated translation. 13.Technical work/leadership: A variety of efforts where ICANN is making a technical contribution, including IPv6 leadership and investigations into RPKI. 14.IANA improvements: Improvements to IANA base operations, with a focus on automation and statistical reporting. 15.Broaden Participation: Systems and tools that will allow for broader ICANN participation, and effective remote participation. 16.Operational systems and infrastructure: Systems and hardware necessary for ICANN’s operation. Also includes work and expenses related to business continuity work. 17.Meetings and events: ICANN’s thrice-annual meetings, Board retreats, regional meetings. 18.Administrative improvement: Staff and Board training, facilities improvement, purchasing and accounting systems, management process reporting, including dashboard. -- Wendy Seltzer -- wendy@seltzer.org Visiting Professor, Northeastern University School of Law Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet & Society http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/seltzer.html http://www.chillingeffects.org/ https://www.torproject.org/