Staff Update Report from Paul Verhoef to the GNSO Council meeting on 21 October 2004 1. The recruitment of the staff position relevant to the GNSO is progressing well. To date some one hundred applications have been received and the process of initial screening has started with the aim to create a shortlist for subsequent interviews. The goal is to try and finalise the recruitment during the first weeks of November and depending on the availability of the choses candidates, they should be able to commence early in 2005. The request for applications will be withdrawn from the ICANN website and the various job boards during these days. 2. The schedule for the Cape Town meeting is nearing finalisation. Kurt Pritz will provide detailed information on the topic during the Council meeting and inform the Council of the anticipated date of release of the draft schedule. 3. ICANN's first ever strategic plan is nearing internal completion. The ICANN staff fully realises the importance of releasing a credible, well though-out, and comprehensive plan which responds to the requests from the community to obtain a better insight in the planning of how ICANN's mission and mandate will be implemented on a longer-term basis, in order to set a proper bench-mark for future plans. The strategic plan is foreseen to be introduced shortly to the Board and then be posted within the next few weeks. 4. In the context of the New gTLD Strategy, the comment period on the draft strategy is now completed and staff is evaluating the comments received. The final version of the Strategy will be posted as soon as the comments have been processed and the Board has approved the final version. In parallel, staff held meetings with WIPO, IAB and IETF and urged them to provide as soon as possible their expert opinions on the issues involved with the introduction of new gTLD's. Staff foresees to have a meeting in the near future with entities representing consumer interests to review the feasibility of their expert opinion on the matter. As soon as these reports become available they will be posted. 5. At its meeting on 18 October, the ICANN Board has approved the Terms of Reference concerning the Review of the GNSO Council that were jointly developed between a number of Council members and the staff. ICANN staff will now proceed swithly with the search for an external consultant for the role specified in the TOR. Staff would be grateful to receive in the next days from Council members and members of the community further names of potential candidates for such an external consultancy role. 6. As already indicated by email by the Council Chair, staff is expected to finalise shortly the evaluation of the legal issues and operational feasibility of the proposals for the evaluation and implementation of new registry services. 7. As regards the report on the performance of the GNSO Council that Dr. Paul Twomey had retained a consultant, Dr. Liz Williams to prepare earlier this year, a public version of the report will be posted by the end of October. 8. As I will be travelling from Brussels to Marina del Rey at the time of the Council meeting, I would like to express my regrets for not being able to participate but Kurt, Barbara, and Glen will be available to provide any further information and/or assistance. With best regards Paul Verhoef