Email from ICANN Thursday, 09 April 2026 ICANN Community Digest Click here to learn more about the New gTLD Program 2026 Round Applicant Guidebook 2026 Round Vendor Sourcing Timeline The ICANN organization Policy Development Support function publishes this twice-weekly digest to help ICANN community groups track requests and follow updates. Do you have any ideas for improving the ICANN Community Digest? Write to us at policyinfo@icann.org! Table of Contents Information Sharing NEW: Preview the ICANN FY27–31 Operating and Financial Plans UPDATED: ICANN Board Seeks Input on Additional Funds for 2026 Round Applicant Support Program NEW: Rethinking Delegation in the Domain Name System 2026 Round NEW: Key 2026 Round Updates and Resources Advancing Toward the Open of the 2026 Round ICANN Announces Community Priority Evaluation Provider for 2026 Round 2026 Round Highlights from ICANN85 Call for Expressions of Interest: 2026 Round Independent Objectors Next Round Champions Toolkit Available in the Six ICANN Languages Webinars NEW: Preview the ICANN FY27–31 Operating and Financial Plans 🚨 Action Items 🚨 CLOSES TOMORROW: ICANN Extends Deadline for Geographic Names and Reserved Names Panels RFP for 2026 New gTLD Program ONE WEEK FROM TOMORROW: ICANN86 Community Childcare Grants Program: Apply Now ICANN87 Fellowship Application Round Now Open ICANN Issues Request for Proposal: 2026 Round Auction GNSO's DNS Abuse Mitigation PDP-1 Observer Enrollment ICANNWiki Seeking Volunteers Public Comment NEW: Public Comment Summary Report: ICANN FY27–31 Operating & Financial Plan, ICANN/IANA FY27 Op Plans & Budgets NEW: Public Comment Summary Report: Draft PTI FY27 Operating Plan and Budget CLOSES MONDAY: Standard Bylaws Amendment – Transition Article on Specific Reviews CLOSES MONDAY: Draft Guidelines for Advancing UA Adoption Draft Evaluation Guides for Community Priority Evaluation (CPE) Events These events occur in April 2026. Information Sharing NEW: Preview the ICANN FY27–31 Operating and Financial Plans ICANN has thoroughly considered the community's feedback on the Operating and Financial Plans for FY27–31, incorporating revisions where appropriate, but making no material changes to the plans. Read more. UPDATED: ICANN Board Seeks Input on Additional Funds for 2026 Round Applicant Support Program The ICANN Board is requesting community input via written correspondence on additional funds for the ASP. NEW Deadline: 19 April 2026 Read more. UPDATED: ICANN Board Seeks Input on Additional Funds for 2026 Round Applicant Support Program The ICANN Board is requesting community input via written correspondence on additional funds for the ASP. NEW Deadline: 19 April 2026 Read more. NEW: Rethinking Delegation in the Domain Name System The work underway in the DELEG Working Group represents an opportunity to modernize one of the oldest parts of the DNS architecture Read more. 2026 Round NEW: Key 2026 Round Updates and Resources Stay tuned for more information and updates as we approach the 30 April 2026 opening. Read more. Advancing Toward the Open of the 2026 Round We are only weeks away from opening the 2026 Round of the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program. The program leaders and their teams continue to make significant progress toward the 30 April launch. Read more. ICANN Announces Community Priority Evaluation Provider for 2026 Round ICANN announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Analysys Mason Limited to be the Community Priority Evaluation (CPE) provider for the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: 2026 Round. Read more. 2026 Round Highlights From ICANN85 With ICANN85 behind us, I'd like to provide you with an update on the progress being made as we approach the launch of the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: 2026 Round. The ICANN85 Community Forum, the last Public Meeting before the launch day, was busy and productive. Read more. Call for Expressions of Interest: 2026 Round Independent Objectors ICANN opened a Call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) to identify three individuals to serve as Independent Objectors, including one who will act as chair, as part of the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: 2026 Round. The Independent Objectors will file Community and Limited Public Interest objections and appeals and participate in mediation, where appropriate. Although an individual may be affiliated with a firm, that person will be ultimately responsible for the processes described in this EOI. Individuals from the same firm will not be selected. Read more. Next Round Champions Toolkit Available in the Six ICANN Languages ICANN is working with the community to identify potential Applicant Support Program (ASP) applicants – especially in regions that are currently under-represented in ICANN. If you are interested in helping to raise awareness among your own contacts or communities, please use the materials in the Next Round Champions Toolkit. To stay up to date on the New gTLD Program: Next Round and ASP, join the mailing list: nextroundinfo@icann.org. ASP leads, targets, and ideas can be sent to engagement.newgTLDprogram@icann.org. Webinars NEW: Preview the ICANN FY27–31 Operating and Financial Plans Date: 23 April 2026 at 15:00–16:00 UTC Register. Action Items CLOSES TOMORROW: ICANN Extends Deadline for Geographic Names and Reserved Names Panels RFP for 2026 New gTLD Program Interested providers are invited to submit proposals that ICANN will evaluate for capability and expertise. Because the work related to both panels is similar, ICANN intends to consolidate the work with a single provider. Deadline: 10 April 2026 Read more. ONE WEEK FROM TOMORROW: ICANN86 Community Childcare Grants Program: Apply Now ICANN opened the application round for its Community Childcare Grants Program for ICANN86 in Seville, Spain. The program facilitates the in-person participation of community members with children who are 12 years old or younger at ICANN Public Meetings and eligible ICANN events. Deadline: Friday, 17 April 2026  Read more. ICANN87 Fellowship Application Round Now Open ICANN is opening the application round for the ICANN Fellowship Program for ICANN87 Annual General Meeting. The ICANN87 meeting is scheduled for 17–22 October 2026 in Muscat, Oman. If ICANN87 is held virtually, the Fellowship Program also will be held virtually. The deadline to apply is 19 April 2026 at 23:59 UTC. Read more. ICANN Issues Request for Proposal: 2026 Round Auction The selected provider will implement the ascending-clock, second-price auction method and must have the capability to accommodate a high volume of auctions, including both direct and indirect contention sets. Deadline: 2 June 2026 Read more. GNSO’s DNS Abuse Mitigation PDP-1 Observer Enrollment While the PDP membership is structured as a representative model, all of the ICANN community are also free to enroll as an Observer to follow the deliberations of the PDP. To enroll as an Observer, enrollments will be fielded through ICANN Join. If you have not used ICANN Join before, please follow the first-time user instructions below. Accessing ICANN Join does require having an ICANN Account. ICANN Join Instructions ICANNWiki Seeking Volunteers ICANNWiki is seeking volunteers to assist with creating and editing articles and content for the site. Do you want to help? Getting started is as simple as requesting an account. Then, make sure to read the short content guide to get a feel for what belongs in the wiki. Also, feel free to take a look at some data source suggestions on where to find reliable data. Happy editing! Public Comment NEW: Public Comment Summary Report: ICANN FY27–31 Operating & Financial Plan, ICANN/IANA FY27 Op Plans & Budgets NEW: Public Comment Summary Report: Draft PTI FY27 Operating Plan and Budget CLOSES MONDAY: Standard Bylaws Amendment – Transition Article on Specific Reviews Open for Submissions Date: Wednesday, 11 February 2026 Closed for Submissions Date: Monday, 13 April 2026 CLOSES MONDAY: Draft Guidelines for Advancing UA Adoption Open for Submissions Date: Monday, 23 February 2026 Closed for Submissions Date: Monday, 13 April 2026 Draft Evaluation Guides for Community Priority Evaluation (CPE) Open for Submissions Date: Tuesday, 24 March 2026 Closed for Submissions Date: Monday, 04 May 2026 See upcoming proceedings. See other public consultations. Events These events occur in April 2026. To learn more, please visit our community engagement calendar. 1st African Preparatory Meeting for WTSA-28 DNSSEC Training CaribNOG 31 Regional Meeting USTTI Cybersecurity Leadership ARIN 57 48 Meeting of PCC.I ZANOG@iWeek 2026 Volume 8, Issue 24 | Archive | Next Issue: Monday, 13 April 2026 STAY INFORMED: Subscribe here ICANN | 12025 Waterfront Drive Suite 300 | Los Angeles, CA 90094-2536 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice