Following our conversations over recent weeks, as agreed I am pleased to share with you some background materials that staff from the Meetings and Policy Development Support teams prepared for your reference, ahead of the ICANN81 Roundtable next Friday. I agree that our time together will be best used for discussion rather than for informational presentations, so I hope you find these materials helpful in preparing for the Roundtable.

 There are four attachments in total:

(1) a thematic summary of the community feedback that we received in response to the discussion paper we shared in July, including some suggested topic areas that might be useful in framing further community dialogue

(2) an updated version of the additional paper we had also circulated, outlining the types of costs associated with an ICANN Public Meeting and the trends we are seeing

(3) a slide deck that visually depicts the updated meetings cost data described in that second paper

(4) a visual summary of the costs of the inter-sessional (i.e., non-ICANN Public Meetings) in-person and hybrid community meetings that ICANN funded between 2022-2024. I note that you had requested the data reflected in this document at the last Roundtable as a staff action item.

My colleagues and I are looking forward to continuing our conversations about how we can collaborate with you and the rest of the community to determine where and how we can realize cost savings from the meetings we hold, while ensuring that the community continues to receive the support it needs to advance its priority work. As the ICANN81 Roundtable will be mostly focused on this topic, I will invite CFO Xavier Calvez to join the meeting to provide you with any needed information about the budget and our planning for FY26.

Thank you and your communities for your willingness to continue this important discussion. Safe travels and see you all very soon in Istanbul!

Best regards,

Sally