Hello Grant,
I think it is crucial that in gathering data, asking questions, analysing and making recommendations, that this is done in a clear and agreed understanding of the purpose of the GNSO given ICANN's mission, core values (eg bottom up, consensus based policy development) and commitments (eg MOU).
I agree that it will be important to have a clear statement of the GNSO's purpose, and perhaps some examples of what has been done within that purpose to set the background when asking review questions. While I suspect that members of individual constituencies may understand the purpose of their own constituency - they may not understand the wider context within which the constituency operates. When you talk to people outside of the GNSO constituencies the level of understanding is probably even lower. I would suggest that the relevant section of the current bylaws be summarised, and perhaps it would also be useful to retrieve material from the formation of ICANN where the constituency structure was first proposed. The most recent ICANN reform process that occurred a few years ago - was more focused on the structure of the Board, and structure of the Councils, but did not delve down into the structure/efficiencies of the constituencies themselves - so much of the thoughts that led to the formation of the original constituencies (and there have been no changes in the number of constituencies) probably dates back to early documents in the formation of ICANN. Some members of Council may be able to assist by providing references to the Council list of appropriate documents. Regards, Bruce Tonkin