On 19-Feb-07, at 10:57 PM, Bruce Tonkin wrote:
I have heard of instances where interested parties that wish to join the IDN working group have been unable to join a constituency in order to participate.
Bruce - Thanks for the recap and proposal. The framework you've outlined only goes part of the way towards solving the problem. As long as the GNSO is populated with constituencies that have very narrow membership criteria we will continue to encounter parties that are unable to participate in working groups. I do not believe that it is the role of the Council to act as the general manager of the constituencies, but the council has a strong interest in ensuring the proper function of its working groups as we strive to ensure the integrity of our policy development process. In this situation, the interests of the constituencies (preserve a very narrow membership criteria so as not to dilute the lobbying position of the original stakeholder groups) and the interests of the Council (ensure a diversity of voices to underpin a broad consensus around key policies) are at odds. Until such time that the constituencies can provide the diversity of input that our processes require, we should seriously consider implementing a temporary framework that would allow for greater participation in the working groups and task forces without the high bar that qualifying as an expert (or creating a new constituency) requires in situations where a stakeholder has applied for membership in a constituency, but does not qualify due to the narrow qualification criteria employed by a constituency. Regards, Ross Rader Director, Retail Services t. 416.538.5492 c. 416.828.8783 http://www.domaindirect.com "To solve the problems of today, we must focus on tomorrow." - Erik Nupponen