Let me take a crack at getting the discussion started. First of all, in my opinion it would seem to be helpful to differentiate between baseline job criteria that would apply to all candidates and variable criteria that would be based on near term needs of the Council. Here are some of my initial ideas in this regard that hopefully clarify what I am suggesting. Baseline Criteria These criteria should include basic skill sets and minimal knowledge that facilitate discussion of GNSO issues without the need to educate individual Councilors before effective discussion can happen. Some are a couple of examples: * Basic understanding of the DNS - We do not need technical DNS experts, but a minimal understanding of the DNS is needed to effectively function on the Council. * Demonstrated experience working effectively in collaborative environments involving diverse interests. Variable Criteria These criteria should primarily focus on skill sets and areas of expertise that may be missing on the Council in the next few years. They could vary each year depending on the projected makeup of the Council. Forgive me for using names but I think that two people illustrate this need best, one just-departed Councilor and one current Councilor: 1) Cary Karp played an essential role during the last few years in providing IDN expertise; 2) Jon Bing's expertise in the intergovernmental arena provided clarity that was very useful. In both cases, we would have probably had to seek outside expertise if they were not on the Council. Here are some possible areas for future needs: * Intergovernmental expertise (especially if Jon is not re-nominated by the NomCom) * IDN expertise * Understanding of the special needs of financial services businesses; this could possibly come from the BC, but it is not always possible for constituencies to elect Councilors from all key areas they represent. Ideally it would be nice to get candidates that meet all of the variable criteria but that seems impossible considering the diverse needs even in the short list I provided. So it would be important to communicate to the NomCom that candidates meeting any subset of the variable criteria would be welcome. Areas of special expertise that seem to be well covered now and predictably in the next few years include: registry and registrar operations; intellectual property; legal; civil society; e-commerce businesses; developing economies; etc. Chuck Gomes "This message is intended for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Any unauthorized use, distribution, or disclosure is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify sender immediately and destroy/delete the original transmission." ________________________________ From: owner-council@gnso.icann.org [mailto:owner-council@gnso.icann.org] On Behalf Of Avri Doria Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2007 6:49 AM To: Council GNSO Subject: [council] Fwd: Letter on behalf of Hagen Hultzsch re job description for open GNSO Council position in 2008 Hi, Another thing we need to put on our agenda for the next meeting. Perhaps we can discuss this on the list over he next week. I can then synthesise the comments into a draft we then discuss on the 20th. thanks a. Begin forwarded message: From: "Patrick Jones" <patrick.jones@icann.org> Date: onsdag 7 nov 2007 22.23.58 GMT-02:00 To: "'Avri Doria'" <avri@acm.org> Cc: "'Hultzsch'" <Hultzsch@telekom.de> Subject: RE: Letter on behalf of Hagen Hultzsch re job description for open GNSO Council position in 2008 Dear Avri, On behalf of Hagen Hultzsch, I am sending you a draft "job description" for the GNSO Council position to be selected by the 2008 ICANN Nominating Committee. The Nom Com intends to use job descriptions for the open positions (ALAC, Board, ccNSO Council, GNSO Council) during the selection process for 2008. It is my understanding that Hagen has already advised you that this draft document would be sent following the LA meeting. Please let Hagen or myself know if you have any questions. In order to assist the Nom Com, could you provide feedback or confirmation in two weeks (by 21 November 2007)? Thanks for you assistance. Best regards, Patrick GNSO Council Position: GNSO Council Number of Seats: 1 Start of Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2008 End of Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2010 The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) is a policy-development body responsible for developing and recommending to the ICANN Board substantive policies relating to generic top-level domains. The GNSO consists of various Constituencies representing defined groups of stakeholders and a GNSO Council, responsible for managing the policy development and administrative processes of the GNSO. The GNSO Constituencies choose the majority of the Council members; Nominating Committee chooses three Council members with staggered terms. The GNSO also includes a liaison from the ALAC and the Governmental Advisory Committee. Liaison activities from the ASO and ccNSO are under development. GNSO Council Members receive no compensation for their services as GNSO Council Members. ICANN provides administrative and operational support necessary for the GNSO to carry out its responsibilities through the GNSO Secretariat. Most recently ICANN also provides staff support for policy development. As stated in the ICANN Bylaws, such support shall not include an obligation for ICANN to fund travel expenses incurred by GNSO participants for travel to any meeting of the GNSO or for any other purpose. However, ICANN has customarily furnished travel expenses for Nominating Committee appointed Council members to ICANN meetings. This custom is planned to continue, but is subject to the Bylaw statement. [Bylaws Article X, Section 4, see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#X-4 <http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#X-4> ] Nominating Committee will use the Criteria for Selection of ICANN Directors (see above) in choosing Selected Nominees for the GNSO Council. GNSO Council members are expected to support the ICANN mission and the implementation of ICANN's Core Values. Nominating Committee will also take into account the following eligibility factors and additional considerations. GNSO Council Eligibility Factors 1. No person who serves on the Nominating Committee in any capacity is eligible for selection by any means to any position on the Board or any other ICANN body having one or more membership positions that the Nominating Committee is responsible for filling, until the conclusion of an ICANN annual meeting that coincides with, or is after, the conclusion of that person's service on the Nominating Committee. [Bylaws, Article VII, Section 8, seehttp://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VII-8 <http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VII-8> ] 2. No more than one officer, director, or employee of any particular corporation or other organization (including its subsidiaries and affiliates) shall serve on the GNSO Council at any given time. [Bylaws, Article X, Section 3(5), seehttp://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#X-3.5 <http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#X-3.5> ] Additional Considerations For the GNSO Council position, specific experience related to the scope of the GNSO's work with the Domain Name System would be advantageous. The current composition of the GNSO Council is available here http://gnso.icann.org/council/members.shtml <http://gnso.icann.org/council/members.shtml> The Bylaws do not state a limit on the number of terms GNSO Council members may serve, although it is possible that term limites may be considered in future. Time Commitment The basic responsibilities of a GNSO Council member would spend at least 20 hours per month on Council related activities, with those chairing or participating in committees or task forces spending at up to 60 hours a month. Task force members and councilors are not compensated for either time or teleconference costs. Additional GNSO criteria: During the Nom Com meeting with GNSO Council at the ICANN meeting in Lisbon, the Council provided the following outline of qualities the NomCom should consider in GNSO candidates: Criteria: * ability to chair a multi-stakeholder group to reach consensus * basic of knowledge of DNS systems and industry structure - registries, registrars * individual expertise that is not otherwise available on the Council Possible expertise of interest to the GNSO: - setting up of dispute and objection processes - enforcement - application software development - e.g multi-lingual support - online consensus building technologies - wiki's etc - competition law and economists capable of market analysis - statistics and survey analysis - project management and document control processes (March 29, Lisbon <http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/council/msg03352.html <http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/council/msg03352.html> >) The Nom Com had some discussion about what "basic of knowledge of DNS" meant and it was something along the lines of "do you know what happens in the DNS when you send an email, or access a webpage". This is not a precise technical description, but an understanding of concepts of resolution. Patrick L. Jones Registry Liaison Manager & Coordinator, ICANN Nominating Committee Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers 4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 330 Marina del Rey, CA 90292 Tel: +1 310 301 3861 Fax: +1 310 823 8649 patrick.jones@icann.org <mailto:patrick.jones@icann.org>