Dear WG Members, During recent full WG calls, it was agreed that in order to drive progress, drafting teams should be established for a handful of the overarching issues. The expectation is that these drafting teams will be able to develop proposals that can then be considered by the full WG. Please review the three calls for volunteers below and follow the instructions to participate in any or all where you are interested. Please indicate your interest by 15 February so that these teams can initiate their work in a timely manner. If you have any questions, please let WG leadership or staff know. Best, Steve Call for Volunteers – Subsequent Procedure Drafting Teams 1. Charter Topic: Different TLD Types (https://community.icann.org/x/Nz2AAw) What This Team Will Do: The WG is seeking to define the characteristics of the preliminary set of categories identified by the WG, then determine what changes could be needed. This drafting team will prepare a set of draft outputs that will be considered by the full WG. The anticipated deliverables include: · A matrix that pinpoints the specific characteristics of the categories · At least at a high level, the related changes to the application process, evaluation criteria, and contractual requirements that would likely be necessary and perhaps unique to certain categories/characteristics. · Any enforcement mechanisms that may be needed as a result of establishing different paths to obtaining a new gTLD. · A recommendation as to whether the creation of applicable categories is necessary or whether the unique aspects of those categories can be handled through the existing processes. Documentation of deliberations to date can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16Sd6mpO5MqHl7BHOl9HBENDgUvcqQ04QumbVNfVu... How This Team Will Work: This drafting team may employ a variety of mechanisms to address its work. It is anticipated that the drafting team will complete its work primarily over email, collaborating via Google Docs, and occasional meetings. Meetings will be recorded, the email list archived, and the group will utilize public workspaces (i.e., Google Docs, Wiki). How to Participate: Simply add your name to the sign-up document here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g-OoBec_Q6nnBofBvcTnfAotFh7yq07HUM7kxh62...). The only requirement to participate is that you are a member of the WG. If you have any issues accessing the Google Doc, you can send an email to staff instead and we can add your name on your behalf. 2. Charter Topic: Predictability/Community Engagement (https://community.icann.org/x/Nz2AAw and https://community.icann.org/x/IT2AAw) What This Team Will Do: Preliminarily, the WG has determined that a framework for predictability and change control may help mitigate the destabilizing effect from unforeseen issues encountered after policy implementation and/or program launch. Some elements of the framework could include determining what factors should be predictable (e.g., outcomes, timeframes, input from the community, etc.), expectations for what could cause change and the scope of an acceptable level of change, how fundamental changes are dealt with, etc. This drafting team will prepare a set of draft outputs that will considered by the full WG. Documentation of deliberations to date can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16Sd6mpO5MqHl7BHOl9HBENDgUvcqQ04QumbVNfVu... How This Team Will Work: This drafting team may employ a variety of mechanisms to address its work. It is anticipated that the drafting team will complete its work primarily over email, collaborating via Google Docs, and occasional meetings. Meetings will be recorded, the email list archived, and the group will utilize public workspaces (i.e., Google Docs, Wiki). How to Participate: Simply add your name to the sign-up document here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g-OoBec_Q6nnBofBvcTnfAotFh7yq07HUM7kxh62...). The only requirement to participate is that you are a member of the WG. If you have any issues accessing the Google Doc, you can send an email to staff instead and we can add your name on your behalf. 3. Charter Topic: Applications Assessed in Rounds (https://community.icann.org/x/Jz2AAw) What This Team Will Do: The WG agreed that there should be an ongoing process that is clearly defined and provides clear guidance on how and when applications will be accepted in the future, however, it has yet to establish specific details to promote these features. The WG has agreed that a drafting team should document the issue, identify requirements, and propose a solution or solutions for consideration by the full WG. The WG has already considered several options detailed below, but the drafting team would not be limited to just these ideas: · A fixed set of rounds (or perhaps defined by certain criteria to determine the “extent of demand”), followed by some form of steady state. o The steady state could be first come, first served, though issues have been identified with this approach (e.g., may favor ICANN insiders, may cause a strain on ICANN systems, may promote hastily prepared applications, etc.) o The steady state could be annual windows, or something similar (e.g., three months of application acceptance, remaining 9 months to complete evaluation, repeat on a yearly basis). · Immediately settling into a steady state. Documentation of deliberations to date can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16Sd6mpO5MqHl7BHOl9HBENDgUvcqQ04QumbVNfVu... How This Team Will Work: This drafting team may employ a variety of mechanisms to address its work. It is anticipated that the drafting team will complete its work primarily over email, collaborating via Google Docs, and occasional meetings. Meetings will be recorded, the email list archived, and the group will utilize public workspaces (i.e., Google Docs, Wiki). How to Participate: Simply add your name to the sign-up document here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g-OoBec_Q6nnBofBvcTnfAotFh7yq07HUM7kxh62...). The only requirement to participate is that you are a member of the WG. If you have any issues accessing the Google Doc, you can send an email to staff instead and we can add your name on your behalf. Steven Chan Sr. Policy Manager ICANN 12025 Waterfront Drive, Suite 300 Los Angeles, CA 90094-2536 steve.chan@icann.org mobile: +1.310.339.4410 office tel: +1.310.301.5800 office fax: +1.310.823.8649 Find out more about the GNSO by taking our interactive courses and visiting the GNSO Newcomer pages. Follow @GNSO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ICANN_GNSO Follow the GNSO on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/icanngnso/ http://gnso.icann.org/en/