From the RPMs PDP WG Co-Chairs to WG members:
Subject: RPMs PDP WG Project Change Request (PCR) to Extend Timeline to Deliver Final Report To: gnso-rpm-wg@icann.org<mailto:gnso-rpm-wg@icann.org> Dear WG members, As mentioned during the WG meeting this past Tuesday (September 8), the RPMs PDP WG Co-Chairs and Council Liaison were reluctantly considering submission of a Project Change Request (PCR) to extend the timeline to deliver the WG's Final Report to the GNSO Council. The Co-Chairs have since then met with the Council Liaison and ICANN support Staff and - notwithstanding concerns having been raised that any extension could unintentionally lead to re-litigating closed issues and eliciting open-ended debates - it was agreed that a PCR requesting an extension of 40 days was necessary. The co-chairs are committed to assuring that this extension is used to complete our final work and is not wasted or abused. If granted by Council, this will mean the due date for delivery of the PDP Final Report will shift from mid-October to the end of November. It will also represent the tenth change in the PDP timeline since the PDP was launched in February 2016. As such, we must be absolutely confident that the WG commits to meet the new deadline since the GNSO Council is unlikely to entertain requests for any additional extensions. The Co-Chairs note that this proposed extended timeframe will not allow time for a supplemental public comment period on any new proposals or recommendations. Therefore, any new proposals will need to meet the standard for consideration in the consensus call (broad support and minimal opposition) and will also need to be agreed as not requiring public comment, in order to be considered as WG recommendations for inclusion in the Final Report. Despite the requested extension, the Co-Chairs agree that maintaining an aggressive schedule of twice weekly meetings remains critical to meet the new goal of delivery of the Final Report by the end of November 2020. In this regard, we request that WG members remain mindful of the WG Guidelines, in particular insofar as those call for WG members to refrain from reopening closed discussions, and at the same require WG members to time be informed on and keep up with deliberations as we move toward finalizing our report and a formal consensus call; notably, this latter provision includes WG members who have not been active participants during the course of our work. In turn, the Co-Chairs and Staff will work to give the WG adequate time to review new and revised documents and materials. The Co-Chairs thank the WG members for their commitment and diligence in helping us to achieve our shared goal of completing Phase I of this PDP within the (new) time frame that will hopefully be approved by Council. Kind regards, Brian Beckham Phil Corwin Kathryn Kleiman RPMs PDP WG Co-Chairs Philip S. Corwin Policy Counsel VeriSign, Inc. 12061 Bluemont Way Reston, VA 20190 703-948-4648/Direct 571-342-7489/Cell "Luck is the residue of design" -- Branch Rickey