Email from ICANN

FYI--

From: ICANN Community Digest <digest@icann.ccsend.com>
Reply-To: "policyinfo@icann.org" <policyinfo@icann.org>
Date: Thursday, July 10, 2025 at 10:11 AM
To: Julie Bisland <julie.bisland@icann.org>
Subject: [Ext] NEW: ICANN Announces Publication of Continuous Improvement Program Framework

Thursday, 10 July 2025

ICANN Community Digest

Click here to learn more about the New gTLD Program [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Applicant Support Program [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Registry Service Provider Evaluation Program [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

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: ICANN Announces Publication of Continuous Improvement Program Framework

· NEW: ICANN’s Organizational Objectives for Fiscal Year 2026

· NEW: How Choice of Reputation Blocklists Affects DNS Abuse Metrics

· NEW: Publication: SAC129 SSAC Comments on GNSO Domain Name Registration Data Accuracy Concept Proposal

Next Round

· Next Round Outreach, Engagement, and Communications Snapshot

· ICANN Materials Provide Prospective New gTLD Applicants Clarity on Key Topics

· Next Round Champions Toolkit Available in the Six ICANN Languages

🚨 Action Items 🚨

· ICANN Opens Nomination Period for Dr. Tarek Kamel Award for Capacity Building

· Call for ASP Mentors

· ICANNWiki Seeking Volunteers

Public Comment

· MONDAY: Updated ICANN Community Participant Code of Conduct Concerning SOIs

· Proposed Next Round Base gTLD Registry Agreement - Public Comment 1 of 2

· Final Proceeding for Proposed Language for the Draft Next Round Applicant Guidebook (AGB)

· Root Zone Label Generation Rules Version 6 (RZ-LGR-6)

· Maximal Starting Repertoire Version 6 (MSR-6)

Events

· These events occur in July 2025.

Information Sharing

NEW: ICANN Announces Publication of Continuous Improvement Program Framework

With the framework now published, the work of the CIP-CCG is complete and the CIP enters the implementation phase, during which each SO and AC, and the NomCom will begin planning and executing an assessment of the CIP.

Read more. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

NEW: ICANN’s Organizational Objectives for Fiscal Year 2026

The FY26 Organizational Objectives will act as the organizational Objectives and Key Results to track the ICANN organization's (org) progress on the FY26 Operating Plan and Budget.

Read more. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

NEW: How Choice of Reputation Blocklists Affects DNS Abuse Metrics

Reputation blocklists (RBLs) are fundamental for identifying and measuring Domain Name System (DNS) Abuse.

Read more. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

NEW: Publication: SAC129 SSAC Comments on GNSO Domain Name Registration Data Accuracy Concept Proposal

This is a comment to the GNSO Council in response to their Concept Proposal on Accuracy Scoping from the ICANN SSAC.

Read more. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Next Round

Next Round Outreach, Engagement, and Communications Snapshot

We’re excited to introduce the Next Round Snapshot, a new monthly recap that highlights key updates shared during the IRT Outreach meetings. This report covers recent activities across the Applicant Support Program (ASP), Registry Service Provider (RSP) evaluation, regional and topical engagement, web traffic stats, and communications milestones. Developed in response to GAC feedback, this snapshot supports visibility and alignment across teams working on the New gTLD Program: Next Round.

📅 Published monthly following each IRT Outreach meeting

📎 Check out the inaugural April/May edition here [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net].

For questions, contact globalsupport@icann.org.

ICANN Materials Provide Prospective New gTLD Applicants Clarity on Key Topics

ICANN org is developing supplemental, complementary materials to aid prospective generic top-level domain (gTLD) applicants in understanding the Next Round application requirements, and how to navigate the application and evaluation processes.

Blog [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net].

Key Topic Overview Documents. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

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 [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net].

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.

Action Items

ICANN Opens Nomination Period for Dr. Tarek Kamel Award for Capacity Building

It recognizes ICANN community members for significant efforts in developing aptitude in areas related to ICANN's mission.

Deadline: 31 July 2025 at 23:59 UTC

Read more. [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]

Call for ASP Mentors

ICANN is seeking volunteer mentors who would like to offer their expertise to supported applicants as part of the ASP in the new gTLD Program: Next Round [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]. ICANN is looking for mentors who can share insights and experience across ICANN Languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, or Spanish) to support diverse gTLD applicants.

Mentors may play a role in: advising applicants on navigating the gTLD application process and DNS industry; identifying resources; providing guidance; sharing experiences as appropriate; and helping supported applicants navigate the ICANN community and Public Meetings. If you or someone in your network might be interested, please refer to the mentor registration announcement [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net] for more information.

Questions about the ASP or becoming a supported applicant Mentor can be sent to globalsupport@icann.org.

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 [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net]. Then, make sure to read the short content guide [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net] to get a feel for what belongs in the wiki. Also, feel free to take a look at some data source suggestions [danh45uab.cc.rs6.net] on where to find reliable data. Happy editing!