Hello Anne,
Thank you for your questions and comments. Please find our response below:
- Understood, and we will provide guidance to pro bono service providers to be as detailed as possible in their profiles on their areas of expertise so
supported applicants understand the breadth and depth of services offered and guidance available. Additionally, supported applicants will receive comprehensive guidance on how, when and why to tap into pro bono service provider support on complex topics such
as replacement strings and other details of the application and evaluation processes. Lastly, as discussed in the ASP IRT Sub-Track, we would like to invite IRT members to the pro bono service provider / mentor orientation webinar to provide input on areas
where they feel it may be beneficial for supported applicants to receive additional guidance and benefit from their expertise.
- As discussed in
previous presentations, we have defined the scope of the Applicant Counselor per the slide below:
As the Applicant Counselor is ICANN staff, it would not be appropriate for them to help supported applicants with application drafting, attracting investors or the creation of business plans. As noted in the
Board comments on the Subpro Final Report:
We encourage the PDP WG to ensure that applicant support is well scoped by preventing, to the extent possible, the possibility of inappropriate use of resources, e.g. inflated expenses, private benefit
concerns, and other legal or regulatory concerns. (Pg. 68)
And in the
September 2023 Scorecard: Subsequent Procedures (SubPro PDP):
As previously noted, the Board is concerned that the expansion of applicant support to affirmative payments of costs beyond application fees could raise fiduciary concerns for the Board. For example, such
expansion of support could raise the possibility of inappropriate use of resources (e.g. inflated expenses, private benefit concerns, and other legal or regulatory concerns).
Since ICANN is not in the position to pay for consultants to help applicants directly, we have sought to provide these services through the pro bono service providers. We have strong coverage so far under
the pro bono service provider general business services, and more service providers in the process of signing up. For example, under General Business Services we have identified coverage to support 72 - 215+ applicants in areas such as business plan development,
marketing and communications plans, operationalizing a gTLD, and more (see
deck for more information).
In designing the nonfinancial support package for the ASP we reviewed community input, such as the
ALAC proposal, for all the things the counselor could do and analyzed the suggestions internally to determine the tasks that would be appropriate for ICANN staff members to perform. To help provide
as much coverage as possible while respecting ICANN’s remit and previous Board decisions, the ASP team developed the nonfinancial support package to include the Applicant Counselor role, pro bono service provider and mentor recruitment, and ASP Capacity Development
program to cover a number of these areas.
The ASP Capacity Development Program will provide supported applicants with information on applying for a gTLD, digestible content explaining aspects of the AGB, and special topics webinars on different aspects
of the registry business.
The role of the Applicant Counselor as ICANN staff is to help ASP applicants through their ASP application process and the new gTLD program application, by answering questions using their specialized knowledge.
ICANN must avoid giving undue benefit to one applicant over another, therefore the Applicant Counselor role was designed to provide guidance on understanding the application materials, respond to questions, and provide information about existing materials
and resources. They can also provide guidance on costs involved, using published information, and reinforce understanding of contracting requirements, as needed.
It is also important to note that we have a fully staffed Global Support Team, and the Applicant Counselor is an escalation point for areas of expertise for which they can provide specialized knowledge and
one on one support. We expect this level of support, in addition to the capacity development resources and pro bono services and mentors, will sufficiently serve the volume of inquiries anticipated and the needs of the 40-45 supported applicants as they move
through the gTLD application process. Additionally, through regular assessments we will continue to evaluate the resources provided and explore enlisting additional resources as necessary.
We share your view that the success of the Applicant Support Program is crucial, and want to make every effort within our remit to set up supported applicants for a chance at success. To this end, we have
made substantive changes to the program and nonfinancial support offered from the 2012 round with the goal to equip supported applicants with the knowledge and ability to make educated decisions on applying for a gTLD and meet the GGP metric of success of
at least 10 ASP delegated applicants.
We are always open to feedback and input and will continue to take this feedback into account for future iterations of the program.
Kind Regards,
Samantha Mancia
Project Manager, New gTLD Program Team
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
Office Telephone: +1 310 301 5800
From:
Anne ICANN <anneicanngnso@gmail.com>
Date: Saturday, April 26, 2025 at 12:06 PM
To: Samantha Mancia <samantha.mancia@icann.org>
Cc: "subpro-irt@icann.org" <subpro-irt@icann.org>
Subject: [Ext] Re: [SubPro-IRT] SubPro IRT Meeting #133 Follow Up - ASP Support Plan
Thanks Samantha - a couple of further questions/comments:
(1) In an IRT meeting, the topic of how/when/whether to choose a Replacement String came up and since this is complicated, the group felt it would be best for pro bono providers to list whether or not they can advise on this point in the
profiles that you are developing. We understand after our last meeting that the profiles will list areas in which the provider is willing to interact with the qualified applicant.
(2) Though we know there is an existing Applicant Counselor, we understand that this role is not substantive in nature, but is more procedural, advising of processes for qualification, making connections with pro bono providers and mentors
etc. Some on the IRT (including me) had understood that in the implementation of 17.2, ICANN intended to provide Counselors (plural) who could assist qualified ASP applicants with business plans etc. There appears to be some confusion on this point. For
example, one IRT member who is highly qualified mentioned that he cannot afford to provide pro bono work because he is a sole practitioner. However, it's pretty likely that he could serve as a contracted Counselor to assist qualified applicants.
The success of the ASP program is very important - especially in this WSIS+20 year, but it seems as though there is a gap in the substantive counseling realm in the program. Once qualified, how does the ASP applicant develop its business
plan, attract investors, select a name for the TLD, etc etc etc. (These areas are not the typical role of most pro bono service providers.) We are asking because the information provided previously by the Board and Org on implementation of 17.2 seemed
to contemplate substantive assistance from ICANN Counselors. Personally, I recall commenting in more than one meeting that all qualified applicants should be required to go through a training webinar before being referred to a Counselor as to specific questions
so that expenses of Counselors could be controlled.
Could you please update?
Thank you,
Anne
On Fri, Apr 25, 2025 at 10:09 AM Samantha Mancia via SubPro-IRT <subpro-irt@icann.org> wrote:
Dear IRT members,
I hope you are all well. We are reaching out to follow up on several questions posed during the recent SubPro IRT Meeting #133 [icann-community.atlassian.net] regarding the ASP support plan.
In our last ASP IRT Sub-Track call we provided an update on the professional service providers who have volunteered to provide pro bono services and mentorship and where those numbers currently stand. The good news is that we have great coverage so far. You can find more information in the deck and recording from that meeting here [icann-community.atlassian.net].
We also have some planned next steps around pro bono service providers such as:
- publishing the list once the first ASP applicants complete the evaluation process (which we expect will occur within the next few months) or sooner to provide support to ASP applicants still in the ASP application process;
- creating pro bono service provider and mentor profiles for supported applicants to learn about their areas of expertise;
- holding onboarding webinars for pro bono service providers and mentors; and
- holding webinars for supported applicants to introduce them to the services and areas of specialty that pro bono service providers and mentors offer, while also maintaining supported applicants’ anonymity.
We will update the IRT once we make progress on the next steps outlined above.
The duration of the package of support is planned to extend through the lifecycle of the application process and beyond. Capacity development support materials include a learning journey guiding the applicant through post-contracting and highlighting opportunities to engage with ICANN’s multi-stakeholder community. ICANN’s dedicated ASP Applicant Counselor will provide guidance to ASP potential applicants, applicants in progress, and supported applicants through regular touch-points, access to learning resources, and communications. Pro bono service provider resource availability and mentorship is at the discretion of those providers, our ask of them is that they will continue to actively engage with supported applicants for the long-term, as deemed appropriate by both parties.
We hope this has provided additional clarity on the availability and duration of support we are planning. More information on non-financial support and pro bono services can be found in our FAQs [newgtldprogram.icann.org] and in the ICANN82 presentation to the NCSG [icann82.sched.com] deck and recording. For information on the Applicant Counselor, please refer to slide 19 [static.sched.com].
Please don’t hesitate to share additional questions at the upcoming IRT Outreach briefing on 14 May 2025 at 6:00 - 7:00 UTC [icann-community.atlassian.net] or via globalsupport@icann.org.
Kind Regards,
Samantha Mancia
Project Manager, New gTLD Program Team
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
Office Telephone: +1 310 301 5800
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