Dear all, 

I hope you are doing well. As you may be aware, the Applicant Support Program was developed to ensure worldwide accessibility and competition in the 2012 new generic top-level domain (gTLD) Program. It enabled new gTLD applicants meeting certain qualifying criteria to receive financial and non-financial support. 

The GNSO Council determined that the provision of guidance for the next round is best accomplished via the GNSO Guidance Process (GGP). Please take a look at the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Final Report (starting on page 71 on the Applicant Support topic). The working group started working in November and we have had 2 meetings so far. We have 6 tasks, and as homework have been asked to review tasks 3, 4 and 5. As a recap, here are the tasks:

1. Task 1 - Review the 2011 Final Report of the Joint Applicant Support Working Group and the 2012 implementation of the Applicant Support program in detail, to serve as resources for other Applicant Support related questions/tasks.
2. Task 2 - Working with ICANN org staff as appropriate, identify experts with expertise to aid in tasks 3, 4, and 5.
3. Task 3 – Analyze the set of suggested metrics in Implementation Guidance 17.9 and propose which ones should be prioritized. The set of prioritized metrics is NOT limited to what is identified in 17.9.
   
4. Task 4 – Identify any other appropriate metrics and measures of success to help in identifying the necessary program elements and measuring program success after the fact. In identifying the suggested set of metrics, propose how data can be collected, how metrics can be measured, who can collect the data, as well as what represents success.
   
5. Task 5 – Consider, and to the extent feasible, suggest how the “outreach, education, business case development, and application evaluation” elements of the Applicant Support Program may be impacted by the identified metrics and measures of success. For example, based on the success metrics for Awareness and Education, this may impact the approach for performing outreach and education. To the extent feasible, suggest an approach to outreach, education, business case development, and application evaluation assistance.
   
6. Task 6 - Recommend a methodology for allocating financial support where there is inadequate funding for all qualified applicants.
   

We discussed Tasks 1, 2 & 3 today and I captured some initial feedback on Task 3 (analyzing and prioritising metrics identified in 17.9 - noted in this document), and what we can take back to the GGP:

• Set clear objectives of what we want to see achieved from the applicant support program (e.g. what are potential applicants?).
• Portfolio applications (multiple applications for gTLDs)
• Is it possible to put a cap on the number of applicants? (Note: Limiting the number is complex and there will be objections from people who want to submit multiple applications)
•  ICANN should make it clear that there are policy issues behind the metrics

We shall post this on the wiki to help with discussions next week, but happy to get the discussion started.  

Best wishes, 

Sarah