I'd be interested. Greg ----- Original Message ---- From: Avri Doria <avri@psg.com> To: Council GNSO <council@gnso.icann.org> Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 11:32:43 AM Subject: Re: [council] ICANN Posts Draft FY09 Operating Plan and Budget Hi, How many council members would be interested in us setting up a call  the week before the Paris meeting, and before the deadline of 17 June,  for those interested in discussing this with Doug and Denise?  I might  suggest Thursday 12 June or Friday the 13th.  This would be an  optional meeting, with no quorums or voting. Also would it make sense to open this meeting up to other GNSO  participants who might wish to participate? thanks a. On 18 May 2008, at 17:52, GNSO.SECRETARIAT@GNSO.ICANN.ORG wrote:

[To: council[at]gnso.icann.org; liaison6c[at]gnso.icann.org] [To: ga[at]gnso.icann.org; announce[at]gnso.icann.org] [To: regional-liaisons[at]icann.org]

http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-17may08.htm ICANN Posts Draft FY09 Operating Plan and Budget

17 May 2008

Each year, from July through December, ICANN's planning cycle calls  for creation of the Strategic Plan. At the end of December 2007, the  ICANN Board approved ICANN's Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan is  the three-year overview document that describes the strategic  priorities for ICANN. See: http://www.icann.org/strategic-plan/.

Each year, from January through June, there is a follow-on planning  effort to create the Operating Plan and Budget for a single year.  This document outlines the work map and financial requirements for  the next fiscal year, consistent with implementing the Strategic  Plan Objectives.

The planning work for fiscal year 2009 began with a consultation in  Delhi. The community and ICANN's Board reviewed an initial budget  framework presented at New Delhi in February 2008. This approach  provided the community the earliest opportunity yet to provide input  on a draft budget. Staff held consultations regarding the budget and  plan, received posted comments, and worked with the ICANN Board  Finance Committee to develop the draft FY09 Operating Plan and Budget.

Substantial work has taken place to incorporate feedback from the  community, Board, and staff since the initial framework was first  presented in February 2008, but the overall scope and themes remain  consistent.

In this fiscal year, highlights of planned ICANN results and  activities include:

Complete, and then launch the new generic TLD (gTLD) program Based on progress with the IDN "fast track" process, introduce  country code IDNs (ccIDN) at the top level As part of establishing a documented security agenda, deliver on  DNSSEC readiness, ICANN-internal security improvements, and training  on disaster planning and mitigation for interested country code  operators Working with RIRs and the NRO, continue to highlight issues related  to IPv4 depletion and IPv6 adoption Grow and enhance contractual compliance capability on behalf of  registrant protection Invest in IANA services and staffing to improve service  availability, automation, response time, and disaster recovery Strengthen the multi-stakeholder model by implementing GNSO  improvements, expanding stakeholder travel support and expanding  translation programs In summary, the draft budget proposes revenues of about $60.7MM and  total expenses (including depreciation, allowances and contingency)  of $58.5MM with a contribution to reserve of about $2.2MM. Compared  to what was presented in New Delhi, this actually represents a  reduction in operating expenses from $54.1MM to $51.8MM. As compared  to FY08, the total expense budget, including contingency, is  projected to increase from $42.6MM to $58.5MM (37% increase).  Operating expenses (excluding contingency, depreciation, and bad  debt) are projected to increase from $38.9MM to $51.8MM (33%  increase).

This draft Operating Plan and Budget calls for substantial expense  growth for ICANN, as a result of an ambitious work program for FY09,  as dictated by the Strategic Plan. The goal of this draft FY09  Operating Plan and Budget document is to enable informed, active  community and Board feedback regarding proposed objectives and  plans. And, when the draft plan is finalized and approved, establish  the resources and objectives that will deliver on the right  initiatives for the ICANN community during FY09.

This draft FY09 Operating Plan and Budget is being posted for  community review with the support of the Board Finance Committee  (BFC).

The plan is available at: http://www.icann.org/financials/proposed-opplan-budget-fy08-09-17may07.pdf   [PDF, 356K]

This draft plan is one more step in the planning cycle, to allow for  additional review and feedback. A public comment forum is available  at: op-budget-fy2009@icann.org

Additionally, consultations will be held with ICANN constituencies  to get direct feedback, and the final plan discussed at ICANN's  Paris meeting, for adoption by ICANN's Board in June.

-- Glen de Saint Géry GNSO Secretariat - ICANN gnso.secretariat[at]gnso.icann.org http://gnso.icann.org