Hello All, During the call today there were some questions raised about the policy development process should a task force not be appointed. The bylaws in this regard state: "a. If the Council decides not to convene a task force, the Council will request that, within ten (10) calendar days thereafter, each constituency appoint a representative to solicit the constituency's views on the issue. Each such representative shall be asked to submit a Constituency Statement to the Staff Manager within thirty-five (35) calendar days after initiation of the PDP. b. The Council may also pursue other options that it deems appropriate to assist in the PDP, including appointing a particular individual or organization to gather information on the issue or scheduling meetings for deliberation or briefing. All such information shall be submitted to the Staff Manager within thirty-five (35) calendar days after initiation of the PDP. c. The Staff Manager will take all Constituency Statements, Public Comment Statements, and other information and compile (and post on the Comment Site) an Initial Report within fifty (50) calendar days after initiation of the PDP. Thereafter, the PDP shall follow the provisions of Item 9 below in creating a Final Report." With respect to the process above, it covers the step of gathering constituency statements, but doesn't give the opportunity for discussion of the statements amongst the constituencies prior to completing the initial report. I recommend that under (b) above ("Council may also pursue other options that it deems appropriate to assist in the PDP"), that the Council augment the process described above by forming a committee of the whole council with the objective of working closely with the ICANN staff manager to develop an initial report that is close to a consensus position (e.g via fortnightly meetings). This may require the staff member to organise the constituency statements into a consistent report, and organise a teleconference amongst council members to discuss these positions and attempt to identify where areas of consensus emerge. It will also be an opportunity for a dialog between the council members and the ICANN staff to ensure that a proposed policy is implementable by ICANN staff. This avoids large gaps in time between when the council formally initiates the PDP and the Council receives an initial report to consider. I would separate the roles of "committee of the whole council" as a forum where views are shared with the objective of iteratively reaching a consensus position and a forum where guidance can be provided to the staff manager during the preparation of reports, and a formal meeting of the council to approve a particular policy. A separate public mailing list can be created for the purpose of discussion of a particular policy area independent from the main council mailing list. Regards, Bruce Tonkin